What would be easier on the body / easier to carry?

[hulugu]

If a rolling bag is not your thing that's fine, but the tradeoffs against a backpack that you listed don't make a whole lot of sense to me.

I understand, I'm just stating why I personally don't like them.

Heavy - yes, my bag can be quite heavy, especially if I'm working remotely instead of in the office and I'm carrying extra stuff with me. But that's why I roll it as much as possible and carry it as little as possible.

Compared to a regular canvas bag, when you do pick it up there's a lot more weight because of the frame, handle, and wheels. Sure, you're not carrying it often, but when have to, rolling bags suck.

Slow - It moves at the exact same speed I do, just like a backpack.

I find that rolling bags tend to tip over and are hard to manage in a crowd versus something in my hands or on my shoulder. Also, wheels are worthless in uneven terrain.

Breakable - I can't speak for every bag, but mine is canvas, just like a backpack. I'm not sure how I would break it, to be honest; in any event, I don't see it as being any more breakable than a backpack. And I've never broken anything inside it, since I've never dropped it (being that it's already on the ground).

The little plastic wheels break, handle wears out. A good canvas bag is practically immortal in comparison.

In any event, I was addressing the comment that a rolling bag is not suitable for everyday life because they're dangerous in large cities.

In your situation the rolling bag makes sense, but New York and Dallas are totally different cities. Dangerous is the wrong word, I think, but I could see problems in New York, Washington, Tokyo with rolling bags that wouldn't be apparent in day-to-day Dallas.

I traveled a lot and I noticed that people with rolling bags were always nursing the things along. In one instance—which may have put me against rolling bags forever—a group I was traveling with had to catch a train, so I picked up my bag and because one of the girls couldn't keep up, I snatched up her rolling bag and ran for the train.

The phrase, "Go damnit!" became an inside joke because of this. There was even a T-shirt.