I want to pick your brains as to what I should do here. I’m going through my instructions for my upcoming trip to Japan, and the tour guide suggests a piece of luggage that holds 70 to 90 liters and a daypack that holds 35 to 50 liters.

Now this is the deal—I took a suitcase with about 110 liters of space to Japan last October and I SWORE up and down that I would not take a large suitcase again, that I’d slender down to a carry-on (even if I checked it). It was a right royal pain in the ass to haul that thing around Japan, up and down stairs, on and off buses, trolleys, shinkansens, a speed catamaran—holy crap I so do not EVER want to do that again in my life.

A 110 liter suitcase is about 29 inches high. I’m definitely not taking that.

Here’s the sizes of the other two suitcases:
A 73 liter suitcase is about 26 inches high x 10.75 inches deep x 17.5 inches wide.
A 40 liter suitcase is about 21 inches high x 9 inches deep x 14 inches wide.

And yes, that is a SIGNIFICANT volume difference.

Should I go with my initial and continuing gut feeling and get a 21 inch carry on that I intend to check in, based on my previous experience and my expectation that I would have to pack very light? Or go with the larger one, which is actually a “medium” size?

Also, if anyone has suggestions as for a good brand, I’m all ears. I’ve read so many reviews and even more expensive pieces of luggage have ZIPPER ISSUES. *sigh*