What's the MOST you've ever packed?

.....Can anyone top THAT?.... Why would we want to? This isn't a contest site.

Oh, I'm not proud of it. I still can't believe we took that much. Besides, I thought Rick offered a prize every year. The Leaddie, for Lead Luggage Award.

The most I ever packed on any trip involving a flight was a full-sized backpack. I lived out of that for 7 months in Europe. I was much younger then.

Oh, I used to travel with two 24" suitcases just for myself even for a one-week trip. Mainly because I needed half of the space for gifts and books. Yup, I took close to 50 lbs of books along. I often left an extra sweater behind to fit in one more book. English language books on the way to Europe, German language books on the way back. I ran into serious trouble checking in one year beinig overweight for that reason. And I was sick with the flu and feverish at the time and in no way able to negotiate. It was horrible ...

Anyways, I since found a German bookstore that ships any book for free worldwide!!! Don't have to do that anymore and can get by with one suitcase. I still haven't managed to do the carry-on only because I still need room for gifts. And since one of the gifts is always a bottle of cranberry juice for my father I have to check in no matter how little else I pack. Oh, and I need the room on the way back to bring along some Persil ;-)

Once someone was going on a Mediterranean cruise, and brought in a huge wheeled suitcase to get it weighed on our shipping scale. It was about 75 lbs, too big for UPS.

I'm telling on my mother! My mother can not pack!

For a 2 week Alaska cruise she packed 2 32in rolling trunks, that cost my parents an extra $200 in fees with Delta because they were over weight. That is $200 going and coming per bag. I volunteered to drive them to the airport just to see the look on my dads face. As I had tried for months to tell my mother she was over and was packing to much. But she wouldn't listen to me.

I travel to Europe with one moderately sized backpack and a messenger bag (day bag) carried either separately or stuffed in the back pack, depending on the airline. By moderately sized, I mean something like 17x13x9 inches. It’s essentially the size of a kid’s school backpack. This may be too small for some, but it has worked for me for years. I can’t imagine travelling with more than what I have described. The backpack is by Victorinox, and the small messenger bag is by Timbuk2.

Perhaps I’m an outlier, but the only drawback I have experienced when travelling so lightly is that I have been thoroughly questioned by customs/immigration control upon returning to the U.S. as to why/how I could be away for weeks with such a small amount of “luggage.” This has occurred only twice – once at ORD and once at ATL. Maybe I look like someone who has spent a lot of time at one of the coffee shops in Amsterdam…who knows? It really was no big deal…just a funny anecdote.

Oh, I always have to pack heavy for our national sales meeting. It's over a week long and you have to have multiple outfits for each day! It's the anti Rick Steve travel. I've managed to do it with a medium sized bag for my stuff and usually an extra small bag with books that I've not trusted to have been sent. Almost everyone at this meeting has big luggage. Some of it is the trunk size--particularly in January when we have to dress for the prom--awards dinner. LOL Pam

In 1995 I had a Conference in Birmingham, UK and it was Audrey's first trip abroad so we were staying on in England and Ireland for a couple of weeks. Further complications were the several official functions we had to attend including Mayors, Ambassadors, Bishops and other lowlifes...(One of the invites required a "Lounge Suit"). I was also required to bring Alb & Stole (I am an Episcopal priest) so with Audrey's high heels and outfits, we were, in Rick's terms, a packing disaster. We now travel with two carryons and usually are in Europe for 17-21 days- we, and those around us- are grateful for febreeze. George, Pittsburgh

Given the circumstances of my travel, I'm not sure I'd say this was overpacking. But on a six-week trip in Africa I carried a 7000 cubic-inch internal frame backpack. It was not full on my way to Africa. I had room in it for my daypack filled with camera gear and film (pre-digital days). But on my return trip it was stuffed with African "artifacts" and weighed in at close to 80 pounds. The airline staff at the Nairobi airport simply put a tag on it that said "Heavy." No extra charges! Whenever I've gone to Europe I've always packed light, usually with carry-on only. It's not what I take that might load me down, but what I bring back. But 19 pieces of checked luggage!? That sounds like a late-19th century British expedition.

When my wife moved to Rome a few months ahead of me, she took 9 suitcases, all at last 50 lbs. In addition, she had two very full carry-ons. Fortunately, the school she works at paid the additional luggage fees. Unfortunately, she had to manhandle these 11 pieces of luggage, stacked incredibly high on two separate baggage carts, from Baggage claim to the B Arrivals area - where someone from the school was waiting for her. BTW, no "gentlemen" in the baggage area helped her load or push the baggage carts.

I went over a couple months later and brought her two MORE suitcases... and then at XMAS she came home to the States, went to our storage facilities and filled up two MORE suitcases - I think we're up to 13 now! She had one suitcase with just shoes - another just purses...

Needless to say, when we have to leave Rome, there's no way we will be able to haul all this, and what we've accumulated here (Italian shoes!!!) ... so look for us to open a stall at Porta Portese where we will be selling various items - because if we're going somewhere else in Europe, like Barcelona, she will need "new" clothes!!!! -- LOL, what else can I do?

Well, sadly, I'm not yet a convert to packing/traveling light. There are always SO many things I want to bring back home from my travels.

When my mom and I travel we usually pack one medium suitcase inside another larger one, then return home with two full suitcases each. We can't help it. We are into 'flea market' finds (antique bed/table linens, china pieces, antique wood crafts, etc...) and we travel specifically to shop and visit our relatives.

It works fine when we rent a car and travel all over, but traveling this way by train is NOT recommended.

What did people do before suitcases had wheels?? As a child in the 70's I remember heave-ho-ing large suitcases everywhere on our travels.

Ron, your post made me laugh cause that is how it was when I moved over here too. No one paid my moving costs, so it was a matter of seeing how much I could bring. It was just me and my son, but I managed 2 Army duffel bags at 50 lb. each, 2 of the largest suitcases I could find, also weighing in at 50 lbs. and I think 5 carry-ons total. I had a backpack, large purse and a big bag, son had a little backpack and a lego "suitcase". yeah, this was back in the day when carry-ons were not so controlled. The funniest was when I went through security before boarding. I had my Revere Ware and a wok in my carry-on (what do you expect from a cook?) and the people at security were cracking up. I could see them pointing and laughing. I know I would be amused too, if I saw someone doing the same thing.

Technically, I suppose this does not count, since it was only the return leg, but on our first trip we bought many souveniers and lots of wine. For the return trip, we checked and carryed on: two "trunks" that we had bought to put stuff in, a large duffle of soft stuff, our two carry-on size bags, a case of wine, and two daybags for the two of us. Somewhere in there was 50 bottles of wine, cuckoo clock, and god knows what else. Oh how I miss the days before weight restrictions and liquids in carry-on.

I recently had the same experience as Michael--I was viewed with some suspicion by some security/immigration people because for a two-week trip I had only the pack on my back, which looks smaller than it is. Maybe I should bring some inflatable luggage next time.

I'm certainly not a packing light convert. My husband finally convinced me to start using a backpack instead of a suitcase when we travel to
Europe, and it ended up being a godsend. It weighs less than a suitcase, so I can really cram a lot of clothes into it!

Good heaven's Frank, I don't think the OP was trying to get a contest going.

Karen, I did laugh quie a bit when I tried to imagine the scene.

Im guilty of coming BACK with too much. I went to London with my 21 inch suitcase (checked) one carry on, one big purse. I brought a zippered duffle in the checked bag. I left London with my 21 inch suitcase, carry on stuffed to the gills, duffle unzipped and stuffed to the gills, and a backpack as another carry on (I had to buy one in a charity shop for 2 pounds) stuffed. It was horrendous getting to the tube, riding the piccadilly line at rush hour at 8 am with all this stuff around me, no seat, and then getting to the airport and schlepping it for what seemed like miles through Heathrow to the counter to check 2 bags, and still having to carry 2 more. I definately shopped too much!! Luckily the bags were only 25 and 17 pounds each so no fees.
I cant say that next time I will shop less, but I will definately bring less with me in the first place. Since its my third trip coming up, I know what I can get there instead of dragging it along. And maybe I will send some stuff back home ahead of time.

My first trip to Europe in 1982, I was to meet friends in London and travel with them to the continent for 3 weeks with a railpass. They were working in London for the year and missed some treats from the US. They asked me to bring: red and purple licorice, sunflower seeds,candies etc. Just a bunch of crap that they missed. I had a 30 lb bag filled with their crap that they missed so much from home! This was my first European trip and I overpacked so much! I had 3 bags to carry alone and to run with thru airporst and train stations until I met with them. Never again!

I packed a 21" suitcase.. so proud of being light.
My mom and dad each brought 4 suitcases. So much for packing light.

Ron, I've still got tears in my eyes from your post. Your wife is a woman after my own heart. Men just don't get that we NEED all those shoes and purses. Reminds me of a trip my hubby and I took to Italy. It was six weeks including carnival in Venice so one suitcase had only costumes. We each had a large suitcase (pre- wheel days), each had a carry on plus a camera bag and I had a purse. It was ghastly as we traveled by train on occasion and I have vivid memories of one of us getting off with the carry ons and cameras and the other heaving bags out the train window. When we finally got to Rome we went to the airport and shipped two bags home. We bought one of those carts to haul bags but the stairs got to us and we finally left the poor battered thing in a doorway.

Tw years ago my daughter and granddaughter and I went to Paris for two weeks. Even with all of us having carry on's and 24 or 26 inch suitcases three of us had to buy another suitcase to get all the stuff home. We are going back in six weeks swearing not to do it again but it is sale time so what can I say,

I won't even go into the nightmare of going to live in Mexico and how much junk we took including food or the time we lived in Spain and had to buy a gigantic suitcase to get all the great things home.

My husband always told me i could take as much as I wanted so long as i could carry it. It has cut down on somethings but wheels on suitcases do make it so much easy to carry extra shoes, purses and lord only knows books.

The most I ever packed was on my homeward leg of my first trip to Korea. I had multiple volleyballs, sleeping bags, a chess set, tailored suits, some art and a brass day bed that I can recall off the top of my head. Fortunately, I was on a military aircraft and I knew the crew so there was no problem bringing it all home.

I used to not worry so much about packing light until our luggage got lost on way to Berlin one year. We had to buy new clothes (and a suitcase to put it in). My husband and I shared the suitcase, and we made it for a week with 2 pairs of pants, a pair of shorts, 4 shirts, and 2 pairs of shoes each (we were doing some hiking). Oh, and I picked up a rainjacket, too.

Since I'm travel-obsessed, almost all of the clothes I buy are bought because they're easy to travel with, meaning they're lightweight and will dry overnight when I wash them out in the sink.

And now that we're traveling with kids, we definitely pack light. We've got enough to negotiate with kids, strollers, and car seats.