Traveling full-time gives one a different perspective on a suitcase. Early on in this endeavor, I wrote this article and suggested certain bags.

Those bags are history. I gave one of them to some guy in Hong Kong and the other to one of my kids. Adios, bags.

Back then I wrote, “These are my bags of the moment. Will I move on to something else eventually? Probably…” I was right about moving on.

What am I using now?

I’ll preface the answer with this quote (of myself, from that old article. Yeah, I’m quoting myself. Get over it.).

My preference is to avoid checking my bag. I use a carry-on. I’m not willing to wait on my luggage or risk it getting lost. It’s just not worth it to me to wait in order to have a few extra items. You may feel differently.

I still prefer a carry-on bag. Sometimes I have to check. The discount airlines restrict carry-ons to 7 kg, and I’m always over that limit. Oh well, sometimes checking is unavoidable.

But many of those checked bag episodes remind me why I like to carry the bag myself. I often end up waiting. It’s not so bad if there’s a long line at immigration and the bag pickup is after the line. But if I have to stand by the carousel watching the thing go round and round, I get pretty annoyed. It’s in those moments that I rededicate myself to the carry-on.

So what am I using now?

I was using a backpack. It was a very nice Tom Bihn backpack, but it was on my back. It got heavy when I had to walk a long way through an airport. Maybe I’m lazy or weak, but I got pretty annoyed by having to carry the thing.

My wife was rolling along, skipping really, with her Rimowa Salsa Air Ultralight Cabin Multiwheel. I got jealous. She was rolling and I was trudging.

In Hong Kong, we happened to walk by a Rimowa store. We entered. The salesman explained that there is no sales tax in Hong Kong. I pondered my situation and slapped down the credit card. I’m a Rimowa Salsa Air guy now.

The Salsa Air is a bare-bones piece of luggage. It lacks bells and whistles in the interest of keeping it light. It has a single pole handle. It has no pockets or anything fancy. It weighs in at 4.2 pounds. That’s light for a bag with wheels.

I’ve had my Salsa Air for eleven months now. It gets used frequently. It’s holding up well.

Is this the bag for you? Hard to say, as there are so many bags and so many types of travelers. However, it is working for me.