Article index
All 125 articles on Suitcase Theory, by section.
Packing
Section page →- The one-bag rule is a constraint, not an achievementAug 11, 2026
- Carry-on electronics: the rules that vary and the ones that do notJul 16, 2026
- Why the bag weighs more on the way homeJul 3, 2026
- Compression works on air, not on objectsJun 27, 2026
- Wheels or straps: the ground decides the bagJun 24, 2026
- Toiletries are the heaviest thing most people decantJun 22, 2026
- What a personal item actually measuresJun 18, 2026
- Packing for two climates without doubling the bagJun 16, 2026
- The spare-of-everything instinct, and where it is rightJun 10, 2026
- Shoes are the volume problem, and there are three answersJun 8, 2026
- What to carry when the checked bag might not arriveJun 4, 2026
- Adapters, voltage and the plug problem nobody solves onceJun 2, 2026
- Bikes, instruments and luggage that will not foldMay 29, 2026
- Rolling versus folding is the wrong argumentDec 1, 2025
- Fabric decides how little you can carryNov 25, 2025
- Zips, seams and the four places a bag actually failsNov 23, 2025
- Medication crosses borders under its own rulesNov 18, 2025
- Cables and chargers are a category, not an afterthoughtNov 16, 2025
- Why the same bag weighs differently at every deskNov 13, 2025
- Leave the bag one-fifth empty, and know what forNov 8, 2025
- A packing list is a subtraction exerciseNov 5, 2025
Airports & Flying
Section page →- Liquids rules exist because of one specific 2006 plotAug 9, 2026
- Connection times: what the minimum actually assumesAug 5, 2026
- A seat map tells you more than where you sitMay 24, 2026
- Boarding groups are a loading algorithm, not a status ladderMay 22, 2026
- Overbooking is a statistical bet, and you can be the payoutMay 18, 2026
- Delay rights depend on where you took offMay 16, 2026
- Fast track, priority and lounges: what each actually buysMay 12, 2026
- Turbulence is a comfort problem before it is a safety oneMay 9, 2026
- Why the aircraft is late when the sky is clearMay 5, 2026
- What happens to a bag between the desk and the holdMay 3, 2026
- Cabin air, pressure and why you land feeling worseApr 27, 2026
- Immigration questions have a purpose, and short answers workApr 25, 2026
- Same-day changes and standby: flexibility you may already ownApr 22, 2026
- What the security scanner is actually looking atNov 3, 2025
- Gate changes are about stands, not about youOct 31, 2025
- Checking a bag is a time calculation, not a comfort oneOct 27, 2025
- Self-service bag drop moves the failure pointOct 23, 2025
- Why walking distances inside terminals keep growingOct 19, 2025
- Flying with a cold, an injury or a recent procedureOct 15, 2025
- The last departure of the day carries all the riskOct 14, 2025
- Codeshares put the ticket and the aircraft in different handsOct 9, 2025
Trains & Ground
Section page →- Overnight trains are accommodation, and should be priced that wayJul 31, 2026
- Rail passes are usually the wrong answer, and sometimes the right oneJul 12, 2026
- Rail fares are set by three different systems at onceApr 17, 2026
- Split ticketing works because fares are not priced by distanceApr 15, 2026
- When a coach beats the train, and when it never doesApr 12, 2026
- Ferries run on tides, weather and the vehicle deckApr 7, 2026
- Car hire abroad: the charges that appear at the deskApr 4, 2026
- City transport passes are often worse than single faresApr 2, 2026
- Airport transfers fail in predictable waysMar 28, 2026
- Left luggage is the cheapest way to buy back a dayMar 26, 2026
- Land borders are a different queue from an airportMar 23, 2026
- Bike, scooter and moped hire has one expensive clauseMar 18, 2026
- Seat reservations are a separate product from the ticketOct 6, 2025
- Where you stand on the platform decides the next twenty minutesOct 3, 2025
- Trains have no luggage system, and that is deliberateSep 30, 2025
- Rail connections fail differently from air connectionsSep 27, 2025
- Night buses are cheap because they charge you in sleepSep 22, 2025
- Driving abroad: the rules that change at the borderSep 18, 2025
- Taxis and apps: the fare you agree before you moveSep 16, 2025
- Timetables change twice a year and your plan does not knowSep 12, 2025
- Regional trains are a different product from intercity onesSep 10, 2025
Booking & Money
Section page →- Card fees abroad: the three charges nobody separatesJul 29, 2026
- What travel insurance actually declines, and whyJul 25, 2026
- Airline pricing is buckets of inventory, not a rising curveMar 16, 2026
- The best time to book is a distribution, not a dateMar 12, 2026
- Fare classes decide what happens when plans changeMar 8, 2026
- Unbundled fares are a pricing strategy you can auditMar 4, 2026
- Why the same flight costs different amounts in different countriesMar 2, 2026
- Refunds, vouchers and the difference between themFeb 26, 2026
- Chargebacks are a backstop with rules and deadlinesFeb 24, 2026
- Booking through an intermediary adds a party to every problemFeb 18, 2026
- Airline miles are a currency whose issuer sets the rateFeb 15, 2026
- Travel budgets fail on the fixed costs, not the daily spendFeb 12, 2026
- Duty free is a tax rule, not a discountSep 6, 2025
- The cover you already hold and did not buySep 3, 2025
- Two one-ways are not always two one-waysAug 31, 2025
- Seat fees are priced by scarcity, not by legroomAug 25, 2025
- Group bookings break the moment one person changesAug 24, 2025
- Error fares, mistake pricing and what happens nextAug 19, 2025
- The name on the ticket has to match, and the fix is rarely freeAug 15, 2025
- Carry two payment methods on two different networksAug 13, 2025
- Holds, deposits and money that is neither spent nor availableAug 8, 2025
Where You Sleep
Section page →- How to judge a hotel from the listing without staying in itJul 23, 2026
- Hostels, guesthouses and the middle nobody booksJul 9, 2026
- Check-in times exist because of housekeeping, not policyFeb 8, 2026
- Non-refundable room rates are an insurance decisionFeb 6, 2026
- Resort fees, city taxes and the price that is not the priceFeb 2, 2026
- Hotels overbook too, and being walked has rulesJan 31, 2026
- Room location inside a hotel is a request worth makingJan 26, 2026
- Short-term rentals move the work onto the guestJan 24, 2026
- What a hotel room safe actually protects againstJan 19, 2026
- Long stays are a different market with different pricesJan 17, 2026
- Aparthotels, serviced flats and the kitchen questionJan 13, 2026
- Sleeping at the airport is a plan, not a failureJan 8, 2026
- Breakfast included is a pricing decision, not a perkJan 7, 2026
- Noise is the variable no property advertisesAug 6, 2025
- Hotel wifi is a shared contended line, not a connectionAug 4, 2025
- Heating and cooling are the two things you cannot fix from bedJul 30, 2025
- Reviews age badly, and the useful ones say whenJul 27, 2025
- Arriving late is when a booking most often breaksJul 22, 2025
- Deposits and damage claims: who decides, and on what evidenceJul 20, 2025
- Cancellation deadlines run on the clock of the propertyJul 16, 2025
- Twin, double and family: the words that shift by countryJul 12, 2025
Travel Routine
Section page →- Jet lag has a direction, and that changes what worksJul 19, 2026
- Doing laundry on the road is a planning decisionJul 6, 2026
- A travel day works better as a routine than as willpowerJan 3, 2026
- Document copies: what to carry and where to keep themDec 29, 2025
- Passport rules that are not the expiry dateDec 28, 2025
- Entry requirements change, and nobody tells youDec 23, 2025
- Phone data abroad: roaming, eSIMs and local SIMs comparedDec 19, 2025
- Working from the road is a bandwidth and time-zone problemDec 18, 2025
- The admin that accumulates while you are awayDec 12, 2025
- Eating on the move without losing the afternoonDec 10, 2025
- Exercise on the road survives only if it is smallDec 7, 2025
- Coming home is the leg nobody plansDec 3, 2025
- Sleeping in transit is scheduling, not talentJul 11, 2025
- Feet fail first on a travel day, and it is predictableJul 6, 2025
- Getting ill abroad: the decisions before the doctorJul 2, 2025
- The trip lives on the phone, so back it up before you goJul 1, 2025
- Losing a phone abroad is an account problem firstJun 25, 2025
- Travelling with someone else needs a rule, not goodwillJun 23, 2025
- Personal safety on the road is mostly routineJun 20, 2025
- Vaccinations and medical prep run on lead timesJun 16, 2025