Flight and baggage clarification

You have that correct about Lufthansa, and I can offer that my wife and I traveling a handful of trips via Lufthansa with Rick Steves convertibles on our backs have never been asked to weigh or measure them.

Yes, they don't seem to even care, but on occasion they have checked folks with wheeled baggage for the weight limit. I saw it happen at the gate once, and read about it happening to a few travellers at check-in on the Lufthansa forum on flyertalk.com. However, you might be surprised how little 18 pounds is - we ended up deciding to pay for one bag.

I am concerned about the weight. 18lbs doesn’t sound like much. I found a backpack I’m probably going to purchase that’s more lightweight than my normal hiking pack since I’ll need every ounce for my stuff.

Correct.

They sometimes weigh the carry on to enforce the 18 lb limit. I don’t think they ever weigh the underseat bag, unless maybe it seems ridiculous. So you can put anything heavy that will fit in there, so it won’t count against your 18lbs. For example, my liquids bag and bag with hairbrush and face wipes, are both kind of heavy so I keep those in my underseat tote bag even though I don’t usually use them on the plane.

If you're wearing the backpack, the chances are slim that a gate agent will ask you to take it off.
I sometimes take a backpack suitcase instead of a rolling bag, and I'm right at 20 lbs.

You would be surprised how much you can do with 18 pounds if you are reasonable. We do this on 2 bags for two weeks, and no personal items. A heavy jacket can be arm-draped and then stashed somewhere, but we have been traveling fall and spring, so winter clothing has not been an issue. We plan a laundry break midway, We each carry a second pair of shoes, which are the biggest issue since thye weigh a bit and cannot be compressed. I admit we are not clothes-horses, and we have no special needs equipment.

I purchased a luggage scale to be sure. I have had my bag weighed and subsequently checked on Lufthansa, so it does happen--if this is for the return flight, it is less of a hassle. I advise checking on the way back anyway if you have a connection.

It seems the consequences are not so bad anyway, at least on Lufthansa. The guy I saw get nabbed at the gate just had to gate-check his wheelie and didn't have to pay extra.

In addition to the 8 kg (17.6#) weight limit, your carry-on is limited in size to 55 x 40 x 23 cm/ 21 x 15 x 9 inches.

This spring, my wife and I flew to Zurich to visit friends and did a jaunt to Naples for a week.
The flight to Naples had a limit lower than the 18# you mention (I forget the weight limit.)
After we packed the bags we weighed them on our friend's scale and found we had room (weight) to spare.

My backpack is within the size range (per Amazon; I just ordered one that’s lightweight, and it hasn’t arrived yet), and I’m usually pretty good at fitting a lot into a small bag, so it’s mostly the weight that concerns me, butI’ve been following the advice here and digging through my closet for lightweight, comfortable, weather appropriate clothing. I ordered a pair of allbirds. Hopefully they’ll fit and I can start wearing them now and they’ll be lightweight. They can be the shoes I pack. I think I’ve found the personal item bag I want. It’s lightweight as well and has plenty of pockets to keep me organized.

Ideally I’ll have room and weight to spare so I can bring home souvenirs. What’s the best way to bring home items purchased if I can’t carry them on because of weight and/or not having enough space in my bag? I won’t have another piece of luggage that I could put stuff in to check. Nicer shops might ship things, but I doubt that’s an option everywhere.

I often check my bag on the way home--which helps if you have a tight connection but also will alllow you to go over the weight limit--but it really depends on what you plan on buying.