Suitcase vs backpack

The big decision of whether to choose a suitcase or a backpack for your trip to South East Asia. The term ‘backpacking’ would imply that a backpack is required, however this is really not the case.

We were heavily influenced by TikTok when it came to choosing our luggage. So many people seemed to be saying a backpack was the right choice. I can now say I strongly disagree with this.

The backpacks we chose were the Osprey 65L Aether (male version) and Osprey 65L Aura (female version). We also had a 25L Eurohike Nova day pack each (the day pack was perfect, highly recommend).

As you can tell travelling light was never going to happen. We were never going to be the travellers who only take a 40L backpack and somehow cram everything they need in it.

As backpacks go the Osprey Aura and Aether are probably the best we could find for what we needed.

The pros of these backpacks were they opened like a suitcase and from the top, they had a separate compartment at the top, and are adjustable depending on your size.

The cons were they were a huge pain in the arse to pack and to carry around.

I think that it would have been much easier to pack all of our stuff into a suitcase. Packing the backpacks was like playing Tetris. You have to really think about the shape of things and where they will fit. With a suitcase there would bemuch less thought required.

A suitcase would also be easier to transport around. Having 16kg on your back and probably another 5kg on your front in 35 degree heat is not pleasant. We found ourselves cursing the backpacks and looking longingly at everyone who had a suitcase.

I have seen TikToks where people have travelled to an island and the boat hasn’t got close enough to the shore so they have had to walk through the sea to get to land. In this instance a backpack might better than a suitcase, but this hasn’t happened to us so far. There are also always people on hand to help with your luggage in these situations so a suitcase would be fine.

My overall advice is just get a suitcase and make your life easier. I would not wish the pain of packing the backpacks on anyone.