I hate travelling with hand luggage only. I’m one of these weird creatures who would far rather take a bigger bag, check it in and wait for it at the other end. But I also refuse to pay extra for it unless absolutely necessary (when walking the Laugavegur Trail in the summer, it will be necessary) so hand luggage it is.
But when I get to the other end, that hand luggage is too big & heavy to be hauling around every day. When I went to Norway last year, I took a miniature backpack, which sort of worked. It was tiny but it fitted in my bag.
But then I was in Ikea a few weeks ago and one magnificent thing Ikea makes is a foldable bag. My mum has a couple of the shopping bags but this was a backpack. It also comes in a sports bag and possibly a big market bag. I have the black & white but they all come in red & white too.
It folds down into a flat little package that you can shove in your main bag or pocket. And then you unfold it and suddenly it’s a pretty big bag for carrying around by day.
Now. It’s not very pretty. The straps are not supportive or excessively comfortable. But the bag is surprisingly big and very light and I’ve never mastered the stylish thing anyway.
For me, it was ideal for carrying Stockholm and it’ll be ideal for taking to the beach in Cyprus soon. And if you don’t like this particular model, I’m sure other people make similar things.
