[msej449]

We were the other way 'round when we did our Canada trip as I was sceptical we could pack everything into two medium (67cm x 46cm x 28cm - 59 Litres) and one carry-on (55x37x22 - 31 L) plus my rucksack and her bag. But it worked well. We were business class so we could have each taken three cases (2 hold, cabin carry-on & bag) but I'm glad we kept it down.

My wife's approach was to say 'Pack the carry-on case jointly, as if we were going for a long Weekend. We can also put our light coats in rather than cart them around the airport. Then if we lose the big cases or they're delayed we can survive for a few days without needing replacements.'

We've had luggage lag behind us a few times and packing the carry-on case this way means there's no pressure if they don't turn up: you can survive for a while until they do, or you have the opportunity to buy replacement stuff. We did have to trolley the carry-on case when airside, but that wasn't a big deal. It also left a bit of space for any purchases airside.

Psychologically, it moves the 'Do we really need this?' arguments to focus on the carry-on case. Once we'd resolved that into the shared 31L, then it somehow made it easier to decide on what else to take in the remaining case we each had. Biggest annoyance was my trainers - these always take up a disproportionate amount of space. I also had a heavy 2Kg DSLR which I opted to put in my rucksack. Glad I did and didn't just take the little camera as some of my best shots were with the DSLR.