Been lurking for a while, but this is my first post! We're going to Australia and NZ for seven weeks -- 2 adults, 2 kids. I've been a one-bagger since the mid-90s when I flew every week, fifty weeks a year for work (ugh). My wife is a semi-one-bagger, depending on the trip. The kids are a bit of an issue -- the older one (13) can carry her stuff, if we can get her to limit her packing. But the six-year old is the one I'm a bit worried about. I guess the real question is, what bag should we get for him?

I want him to be able to carry or pull as much as he can (because we won't have room for much of his stuff), but he's definitely limited to what he can carry. If it was just a flight down there and back, it would be fine. But we'll have one AKL-SYD flight and five or six domestic flights in Oz. So he'll be lugging that bag around quite a bit. He certainly can't handle one of our bags (an MLC and an old REI Adventure Tour Lite). He can't carry much on his back for any length of time. A few of our flights are on Virgin Australia, who limit us to 7kg carry-on, which is really restrictive, and doesn't leave the adults much extra weight to put his stuff in our bags.

So I'm considering (brace yourself for the heresy!) getting him a small wheeled backpack. I know, I know, but it's either that, or check his baggage, or I'll have to carry his bag around and my bag, or give up packing space and weight in my bag to put his stuff. What to do? At least with a wheelie, when he gets tired, he can pull it. And it would probably be small enough that the wheelie bulkiness wouldn't be a problem -- he certainly can't handle a 22x14x9 wheelie. Anyone one-bag with small kids before? Any advice the approach to take and possible bags would be greatly appreciated.

I will be really interested to hear what works for you here! So far my one bagging is limited to travel without my two young sons.

My boys have Tom Bihn Synapses, which I think is about the largest bag an average six year old could carry (and it's definitely at the upper end). The challenge is that kids that age need (want?) games and amusements (and sometimes cuddly toys) as well, all of which are hard to fit with clothes in a bag that small. And they get dirty, which IME means you need a larger rotation of clothes than you would for an adult (unless you want to risk having everything soiled and/or wet at once!).

Take care with the Virgin size limits for carry on here in Australia as well as the weight restriction. Maximum linear dimensions can be 105cm rather than 115cm.

Good luck!

I highly recommend going the packing cube route for kids, especially young kids. There is a sense of ownership of that packing cube for the kid that can then be carried by either adult or even the kid himself. In a situation where the group needs to be separated, the cube gets pulled out of the bag and goes with the kid and whichever adult. The main problem with having dedicated luggage for a young kid is that one of the adults will end up hauling it most of the time. That means one less free hand to hold on to the child, handle money, etc So a packing cube is ideal as a substitute for real luggage while at the same time being ultra practical for the adults as well.

Something like one of the Tom Bihn packing cubse that converts into a backpack would be ideal. The kid can carry his stuff and then later it can be easily incorporated into the adult bags when he is too tired to carry. Just sew-on/iron-on a few of his favourite characters to personalize the bag :) Packing cubes are also ideal for teenagers to learn how to organize their stuff and pack light ;-) But of course they should carry their own full-sized carry-ons.

Thanks for the tips. That IT bag looks pretty good - he can probably manage that size. It certainly doesn't look like it will last twenty years, but he'll outgrow it soon enough.

The packing cube idea is a good one too -- I just picked up some Specter cubes at REI yesterday, and he was very interested in them. I was checking out the Tom Bihn cube/pack online, and thinking of getting one. I do want him to carry his own bag most of the time; he's done OK carrying a little rucksack on a few recent flights domestically, but he didn't have too much in them.

JL - thanks, I did notice the VA 105cm limit. And the 7kg limit instead of 10kg. They're really messing with us, as ANZ, Qantas, and Jetstar are all allowing us 115cm. Ugh. I think this will be the last time I fly Virgin Australia; unfortunate, as Virgin America are quite good.

BTW, how strict are VA about checking size and/or weight for carry-ons? Not sure I've ever seen anyone check size or weight on a US flight unless the bag was obviously huge.

The size and weight restrictions can be a bore here (and in Asia more generally). Note QF weight limit is 7 kg per bag as well. Two weeks ago my hand luggage was weighed by Thai Airways at check-in (I got away with a size-compliant but overweight bag -12 kg - only because my total carry-on weight did not exceed the 14kg permitted for two bags; well, that and my winning smile, of course...). Having hand luggage weighed for domestic flights is rare IME: you are more likely to strike problems with the number of items you are carrying. My usual approach is to try to carry a bag that looks light and under-packed. Unstructured bags obviously help (can cram them into the sizer if challenged). Bulging wheeled bags may attract attention, especially if you are weighed down with lots of personal items. You should be pretty safe if you stick to one main carry on plus one personal item per person. Also be careful about the so-called 22" MLC wheeled bags if you are considering one (although it sounds as if you're not). You have probably noticed that lots of manufacturers only state the dimensions of the bag excluding wheels and handle (annoying and irrelevant for practical purposes). These will be visibly too large to meet the 105cm limit.

Thanks, JL. I think our approach will be to bring our soft-sided, non-wheelies for the adults and the teen, and a smaller wheelie (like the 16" IT) for the six year old. Plus some small, personal items. Then we can slightly underpack the bags to not attract attention. My assumption is that regarding dimensions, as long as you can compress and cram the bag into the sizer, they won't usually care. The big question will be whether they (Virgin especially) tend to weigh all or most carry-ons, or only ones that look heavy and stuffed. Unfortunately since we're going in winter and my wife has some business down under too, we might need a lot of stuff...

QF very unlikely to weigh carry ons at the gate; I don't think I've ever seen a sizer with scales at a domestic gate. And since virtually all checkin is either done on-line or at kiosks in the terminal, there's nobody scoping your hand luggage when you arrive at the airport. I haven't flown Virgin in ages so can't comment on their practice at the gate but I'd be surprised if it's any different from Qantas. Your approach sounds sensible and consistent with the norm so you are unlikely to attract attention.

Have a great trip and make sure to let us know how your six year old went with the bag!

Virgin can weigh your bag if they spot you having difficulty lifting it at the security check. However they never seem to cavil at the weight of my ladies' handbag (purse), so I dump all the heavy stuff (electronics, toiletries etc) in that until I reach the gate-lounge, where if get shifted back into my big bag.

The five year old happily drags my smallish rollie bachpack around airports. His clothes, toys etc easily fits, with his fleecie blankie and little horseshoe pillow nearest the opening.

In the front pocket is his "plane pack" with snacks, small toys and puzzles, books, pad and pencils, spare top and slipper socks, preloaded toothbrush, damp washcloth in ziplock, platypus-type bottle in a pair of zipped pouches. A great new addition gas been putting a carabiner on the "Entertainment" pouch so it can be clipped onto the seat pocket.He chooses what goes into it - the rule is nothing comes out of his main bag once it goes into the overhead locker.

The Platypus gets filled up when we are through security, and travels in its own zipped pocket until he is seated.

I need to correct a statement I made earlier in this thread- I flew QF domestic over the weekend and of course, the sizer at the gate had built in scales. Sorry for any confusion!

I've only ever had my carry-on weighed at the VA check-in counter, never at the gate, but that was back when I used to carry too much stuff in it. Haven't had it weighed since I've started packing light - and it recent times I check-in online anyway.

Despite the restrictions I still like to fly VA. Good service and chances of arriving on time are better than some other airlines.