The Best Underseat Bag for Budget Travellers
Budget airlines love to impose ever restrictive rules on the luggage you can carry onto a flight. To be fair, this is the only way they really make money. The only 'free' luggage you can carry on to most budget airlines in Europe today is a bag that fits under your seat, with maximum dimensions of 45cm x 25cm x 20cm. If you're a budget traveller (like me), sticking to the 'free' luggage can save you a huge amount of money. By the way, for other tips to save money when travelling check out my post
I have used two types of underset bag at different price points. Below are my reviews
The Go-To Underseat bag : Cabin Max Travel Hack backpack (£35)
My top pick if you want to invest in a versatile carry on bag
Honestly, this is half review and have love letter to my Cabin Max Travel Hack backpack. I love it. It's my girl. It has made travelling so much easier for me. It's everything.
Highlights for me are as follows
1. It's a backpack
The perks of a backpack over a tote are numerous - it's much easier to walk around, if you're in a city you can sling it over your front for extra safety, and it's easier to stay organised.
2. It has an all-the-way opening from the front
Unlike most other backpacks, you can completely unzip the Travel Hack backpack making it so much easier to pack and unpack
3. It's (deceptively) the perfect size
It doesn't look huge, but the main compartment is super-generous and fits much more than you would expect
4. It has features galore
Top of that list is the laptop compartment (which a lot of other female-targeted bags lack). It also has a handy zip at the top (which I use for easy access liquids) and mesh pouches in the front (where I put for things I use a lot like my phone charger). It also has a pocket on each size, one of which is extendable for your water bottle. See below for pictures of my favourite features.
5. It's very comfortable to wear
It's much more comfortable than a non-backpack and the back and straps are padded with breathable material
6. It doesn't look depressing
On top of all of that, the Travel Hack Cabin Max bag is stylish and feminine (which generally just makes me happy when my flight has been delayed 3 hours and I'm trying to figure out how to get home at 1am). For some reason, most other options on the market are black or grey and a little bit flat.
The Budget version: Aerolite Holdall (£10 - £15) (link)
My top pick if you'll only be doing a few carry-on only flights.
This bag literally measures 40 x 20 x 25 and is the most basic, straightforward tote you could want. That said, this bag contains no features to make travel easier and doesn't really offer you in-built options to organise your belongings. This is easy to overcome if you use packing cubes wisely.
All your travel tips are practical and so useful. Thank you very much for your posts.