55-60L backpack vs. budget airlines policy + travelling through seasons

Hi all users,

I already bought very cheap tickets from AirAsia to travel SEA and India starting from July, of course no add-on luggage. Because the trip is supposed to last up to 6 months, I'd need a 50-60L backpack and I thought if stuffed, it will be very noticeable and cannot pass their hand luggage policy. I also read from this forum how strict budget airlines can be. So if you already had experience with this, please do share!

One more thing, if my plans work out, I'll have to go through both summer and winter (north India + Pakistan). Could you suggest how to pack suitably? I'd definitely not want to bring winter clothes in my backpack for at least 3 months but buying them along the way would hurt my budget so much (or so I think).

Thanks for your reading.

If you want to carry a bag that big (and 'stuffed')...you will have to pay separately.You won't get it on as hand luggage!
Airasia charges much less for this if you do it in advance rather than at the airport when you check in.

For the winter clothes......will you be going back to the same place more than once?
If so you will be able to leave a bag with clothes in at a hostel (pretty much all hostels will do this) and pick it up when you need it....

Alternatively you could buy as you go.....I wouldn't do that,not for the cost (you can pick up jumpers or jackets cheaply)but for the quality,particularly if you are trekking or going up into the mountains.

Hi Lucapal,

Thanks for your suggestions. I may need to downsize the bag. What size do you think works better? Is 40L good to go?

I don't think I will go back to that same place. Hmm, I believe someone out there had been in that situation before, round-the-world travel and goes through all kinds of weather.

I've been in that situation plenty of times...there is no 'perfect'solution.

Either you leave them somewhere (and then you have to go back)...or you buy as you go (spending money and hoping to find something of good quality)..or you carry everything with you!

I guess last possibility could be someone posting the stuff to you when you need it....I don't know if I'd trust poste restante that far though......

I've carried winter and summer clothes around for 6 months and managed to get it all into a 50L backpack weighing about 13kg. It's a pain, but if you don't want to backtrack or buy clothes on the way, there's not much option.

Unless you can fit everything into the stipulated size AND weight for carry-on baggage you'll need to pay for the minimum 15kg of checked baggage. It doesn't cost that much with Air Asia.

I travel with a 40L pack and have never had them reject it for carry on. US airline or otherwise. I did have to put it underneath on buses. I didn't have to worry about cold weather but found 40L to be plenty for 4 months in SEA and I had a SLR and a netbook in there. The less crap you take the better. I am planning for my next trip and thinking about ditching the DSLR and going with my 35L bag for a year but might have to stick with 40L if everything doesn't fit.

If you're only travelling in hot places, 40L is plenty. Harder if you're going somewhere where you'll be trekking in sub-zero temperatures though.

@win2: thanks for your specific info. I'm flying with AA this early March and attempt to bring a 40L with me to see how they react. I did think I'm pacnicking about backpack sz because this is my first long trip and I'm obsessed with what I'm bringing (though the Travel Gear section helps a lot). From this topic and a few more in Travel Gear, I think I'll settle with 40L and try to be realistic about what to bring.
@joolz2: Mostly I'll be in hot zones (Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines). That's my fixed plan so far. I hope to have my time in India around AUG - DEC, then Pakistan until spring and to Iran. I'm not interested in trekking in mountainous areas, sticking to the cities/towns and people.

The best I can come up with is to bring a few winter items with me (one jacket, two pair of pants, two sweaters). Those socks, gloves and hats can be bought along the way.

Ah - OK.

You probably need a winter jacket then, although you might be able to pick up a cheap one in India or Pakistan.

And you only really need one pair of winter pants and one sweater, unless you think it will be so cold that you will need to wear both pairs of pants and both sweaters together. I assume you will have T-shirts for the hot places, so a sweater with 3 or 4 T-shirts underneath might be enough.

If you are not trekking...good gear is not so important.I'd just buy a cheap heavy sweater/jacket from a market when you get to India and wear/carry it untilò it gets warm enough to give it away......

I have made multiple, multi-season backpacking trips for months at a time and do it comfortably with a 35L backpack.

The important thing is to accept that you don't need to take everything you need from day one. I buy clothes along the way, I donate clothes along the way, I wash clothes along the way and as a result, while my wardrobe is always changing, I don't need to have that much stuff at any one time.

The advantages to having a smaller, lightweight backpack that always qualifies as carry-on and is easy on my back far outweighs the disadvantage of having to occasionally buy and/or donate some clothes along the way.

@joolz2, lucapal: i'm still figuring out how cold can I take. I'm from SEA so you see we don't have that much coldness available. I once came to Korea when it was 4-5oC and I put all the clothes I had on (pretty around 1 jacket 1 sweater 3 Tshirts), still cold when outside.

@laketraveller: I'm choosing between 35L and 40L, will dig around more. Btw, your signature is awesome ;).

There is a weight limit too. For Air Asia it is 7kg for carry on luggage and 10kg for Jetstar.

To get around the weight limit, I actually put on heavy jackets and load it up with almost 3kg of batteries, iPad, phone, camera to get pass check in staff and check points where budget airlines ccasionally weigh carry on luggage.

On Air Asia and Jetstar you might get away with a kg or so overweight by smiling boradly.
Like Ryanair, Tiger Airways is very strict with weight limit and airline staff seem to have no discretion or sense of humor.

Let me see if I have this right. You are deciding how big a pack you need based on whether you can avoid paying a fee for checked baggage. Is that right?

You have your priorities mixed up davataged. Criteria number one should be how much weight can you comfortably carry on your back for as long as you think you might have to. Generally, that means a maximum of 25% of your body weight if you are physically fit. Ideally, you want it to be less than that.

Packing too much is an extremely common error that travellers make. But getting it down to 7kg to meet carry-on is beyond most people. While a 45L bag might meet size restrictions, it is not likely you will meet the weight restriction.

So, before you buy any pack, first determine the max. weight you want to have to carry on your back. Compare that to the 7-10kg. usual carry-on restriction. Then get together everything you think you want to take and WEIGH it all. Don't forget to add the weight of the pack itself. When you see what weight you are looking at you can make some decisions. ie. if you find you want to take 20kg. you can forget trying to avoid luggage charges. If you find you want to take 30% of your body weight, you can forget walking very far with it on your back.

It is that 7-10kg. weight criteria that is the killer.