Travel guides
Buying travel gear is mostly a series of small decisions that are hard to reverse once you are at the airport: whether a case will pass as cabin baggage, whether compression cubes are worth the extra zip, whether an anti-theft bag is genuinely more secure or just marketed that way. These guides work through those decisions using the specifications the manufacturers publish and the rules the airlines publish, so you can decide before you buy rather than at the gate.
We are a retailer, not a manufacturer or an airline. Where a guide and an airline or maker disagree, they are right and we will correct the page.
Start with the rules, then the bag
Most carry-on disappointment comes from buying the bag first. Australian cabin limits vary by airline, by cabin, and most sharply by aircraft: the same booking can put you on a jet with a generous allowance one way and a regional turboprop with half of it on the way home.
- Carry-on size and weight limits for Australian airlines — what Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Rex each publish, what changes on 2 February 2027, and what gets measured.
Choosing a bag
Once you know your limit, the choice is about how you pack and how you move. A hard shell protects and keeps its shape; a soft bag flexes into overhead space and often weighs less. A clamshell case needs twice its footprint to open; a top-opening case needs only its own.
- How to choose carry-on luggage — the carry-on range compared side by side: construction, opening style, wheels, laptop access and security.
Browse the range: luggage and suitcases, carry-on luggage, hard-shell cases and soft-shell bags.
Packing what you have chosen
Packing organisation is the cheapest way to make a smaller bag work. Compression cubes squeeze air out of soft clothing; regular cubes keep categories apart so you are not unpacking the whole case to find socks. Neither helps much with dense items like jeans.
- Packing cubes: compression or regular — what each type does, the sizes available, and which clothing actually compresses.
Browse the range: packing organisation, packing cubes, compression cubes and toiletry bags.
Carrying it safely
Anti-theft is a category with a lot of marketing in it. Some features do a specific job — a locking zip, a slash-resistant panel, an RFID-blocking pocket — and some are decoration. This guide separates them.
- Anti-theft travel bags explained — what RFID pockets, slash-resistant panels and locking zips actually do, and which bags in the range have which.
Browse the range: anti-theft bags, crossbody bags, backpacks and travel accessories.
Getting footwear sizing right
Australia has no single shoe sizing standard, and that is not a detail: men's sizes here usually follow the UK scale while women's sizes are labelled against both UK and US conventions that differ by about two sizes. Ordering online without knowing which one a chart uses is how the wrong size arrives.
- Shoe sizing and fit: a guide for Australian buyers — what an AU size actually means, why UK, US and EU charts never line up, and how to measure your foot in two minutes.
Browse the range: men's shoes, women's shoes and kids' shoes.
Where to start, by trip
| If you are | Read first | Then look at |
|---|---|---|
| Flying domestic with cabin baggage only | Airline carry-on limits | Carry-on luggage |
| Taking a regional or turboprop flight | Airline carry-on limits | Backpacks, soft-shell bags |
| Packing one case for a longer trip | Packing cubes | Packing organisation |
| Travelling through busy cities | Anti-theft bags | Anti-theft range |
| Choosing between hard and soft luggage | Choosing carry-on | Hard shell, soft shell |
Frequently asked questions
How often are these guides updated?
Each guide carries the date its figures were checked. Airline allowances change, and so do product specifications, so we re-check the airline guide against the carriers' own pages rather than leaving numbers to age quietly. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Do the guides only cover products you sell?
The comparison tables cover the range we stock, because those are the products whose specifications we can check and stand behind. The rules and the measuring advice apply to any bag, whoever you buy it from.
Which guide should I read if I only read one?
The airline limits guide. A bag that does not meet your airline's rules is the one mistake that costs money at the gate, and it is the only decision here with a deadline attached.