Carry On Luggage

I've never been enamored of backpacks with wheels. There are many good backpacks to use as carry ons without wheels, but if you're hoping to mostly wheel your bag, I would suggest a spinner or roller carry on. Rollers have 2 wheels and you pull them behind you as you walk. Spinners have 4 wheels and coast along next to you, although you can roll them behind you.

I prefer spinners - they're very easy to maneuver in airports, you can walk faster with a spinner and your arms don't get tired dragging a bag behind you. If I get to cobblestones, I either roll the bag over them or I just pick them up and carry them. My bag, which is a TravelPro Maxlite 5 carry on is only 5.4 lbs and relatively lightweight since I pack light.

There are many other good bags out there. There are also many posts on this forum about bags - one suggestion would be to go to the Packing forum and scroll down to find all the posts there about carry on bags. I'm going to include a couple here that might be helpful, although I'm sure you will get other responses. People here love to talk about their bags. :)

One thing you will find out is that there are some people who love their backpacks, some who love their roller bags and some who love their spinner bags. Everyone is different so the best thing you can do is to go out and test some bags. Go to TJ Maxx or Macy's or Marshalls or someplace else and test out bags. Try spinners and roller bags and backpacks. Then when you buy one, bring it home, pack it up (with a test pack) and take it around the house (not outside if you think you might want to return it) and see what you think.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/which-carry-on-bag-do-you-use
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/favorite-rick-steves-carry-on-spinner-wheeled-bag

There are many many post about all makes and models of luggage on the packing category under tips and trip reports. If you do a search there for carry on luggage you will find a lot more information than you will here in a specific country forum.

Personally I would do either a standard, carry on backpack or a two wheeled, carry on. I find spinners are a pain in the b... The disadvantage to a dual system is that the wheels and handle adds weight so your backpack goes from 18 lbs to 22 in a hurry. In Europe we have traditionally use the backpack carry-on size trying to keep the weight to 20 or a little less. Unfortunately I generally get closer to 24 and wife stays at 18. But recently turned 80 so the wheeled carry-on may be in our future. I like the backpack because it keeps my hands free and can move easily in a crowded area and not worried about dragging something or someone falling over my wheeled luggage.

We all have our favorite carry-ons. I like RS Rolling Carry-On. It’s been to Venice twice. Hint going over bridges: pull going up stairs, push going down will keep you balanced.
RS luggage is on sale, 20% off, through Sunday 4/2. https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/travel-bags

No spinners. Make sure you can pick it up fully packed and hoist it over your head on the plane or on a train, as well as carrying up multiple flights of stairs.

You do realize that Venice is all about arched bridges over the canals as well cobblestoned path ways….

Pack light and go with the RS classic back door bag.

Or if you must have wheels buy luggage with sturdy ones.

As you start your search for the perfect bag (hint -there isn’t one, lol) I recommend starting by looking at the weight of the bag and the dimensions. It’s amazing how much difference there is in bag weights. Same size but some of the 2-wheelers I looked at last Fall ranged in weight from 4.5# to 9+#. The 9-pounders I could reject immediately. I waffled on the ones between 4.5 and 5.5 and settled on the 4.5 for myself. You may wind up with other criteria that would push you to a little higher weight.

Keep notes…I wound up with a spreadsheet. 😏

Doug Dymont might have some comments you can use: https://www.onebag.com/bags.html

One thing to think about (that I didn't think about when I bought my otherwise perfect-for-me carry-on roller bag) --- two posts for the handle might work better for you than one. With two, you can easily fasten a second smaller bag on top of your rolling bag, but with just one the upper bag tends to swing around the handle. My husband, for instance, can put his backpack on top of my double-pole rolling bag, strap it on, and pull both together when necessary.

You have already received some good advice on this forum. I have been to Europe with a backpack and with carry-on roller board luggage, using the roller board luggage, specifically in Venice. Personally, I like the roller board versus the backpack. I don't find it very comfortable carrying a backpack. The only advantage for me is when i take a backpack, I tend to pack lighter.

For roller board, I prefer two wheels. It is more stable and can handle cobblestones better. If you get a spinner, make sure you check out the quality of the wheels. Overall with a roller board piece of luggage, the biggest concern is weight, not only to make the weight limits on your flight over, but the you will need to pick up the luggage and carry it up and down stairs a lot, not just in Venice. There are lightweight options in 20 inch and 21 inch from TravelPro and Rick Steves that I have purchased and like them both. Both of these are the two wheels and have done well over cobblestones (specifically in Venice with all those bridges).

Make sure you look a the luggage restrictions (size and weight on your carrier). We are traveling Lufthansa and they can be strict on the weight.