Travel In Style


Conference season is approaching for writers, and vacation season for all of us, not to mention those visits to college campuses for those with graduating high school seniors. Whatever your reason for traveling, you'll be pulling out the old luggage and trying to figure out if it will survive another trip. If you make an investment in Luxury Luggage, you won't have to play this guessing game each time you plan a trip.

Bulging Book Filled Bags

As for writers, when we go to a writing conference, we come home with suitcases bulging at the seams with complimentary copies of new books and all kinds of promotional materials. More often than not, some hapless traveler (name withheld to protect the embarrassed) ends up with busted zippers on a bag or broken wheels or both. When that baggage carousel at the airport goes around, there's usually more than one duct taped bag circling the room. If you make an investment in quality luggage, that won't be you hoisting the crippled bag from the carousel.

How To Buy Quality Luggage

Analyze the kind of travel you do. How often do you travel? That determines the level of durability you need. How long do you usually stay away from home? That determines the size of the bag you want. If you travel a lot, leather is probably your best choice though there is high quality cloth too.

Handles

Make sure the handles fit your hand well and are easy for you to hold because sometimes, even with wheeled luggage, you'll be lifting and holding your bags.

Wheels

Make sure the wheels on the bag are adequately sized and engineered well. In the past, when I was in France, the wheels on my bag locked and wouldn't turn. That was my lesson that cheap just doesn't cut it. I dragged that bag through France and tossed it in the garbage when I got home. You want big wheels that maneuver easily, every which way.

Writers Love Desk Accessories

I don't know of a writer who isn't a junky for office supplies and desk accessories. I know I've adored leather desk accessories ever since I visited a leather factory in Florence. When you have a beautiful leather piece, like a Writing Folio, on your desk, the smell and the tactile sensation just make you feel good. The great thing about a leather writing folio is that you can tuck it in your carry on bag so you can make notes the old fashioned way.

Takeaway Truth

Sometimes quality just costs more, but because it lasts longer, it ends up costing less. A nice conundrum.

3 comments:

  1. Great post! True statement - "Sometimes quality just costs more"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being male, I love hardware stores, and when I was first married to my late first wife, I used to pick up bargains out of the dump bin of Globemaster tools near the cash register.

    Eventually, she stopped me, and said, "Honey, we can't afford these. When these break or slip, you end up ruining the wood. Not to mention getting blood on your clothes. Let's economize by going over to Sears and buy Craftsman instead."

    Paying too much wastes a little money, but paying too little wastes 100% of what you spend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Eric.

    Well said, Harl.

    You gain enough experience, you realize bargains aren't always bargains.

    ReplyDelete