<p>I am luggage aficionado as I fly 100K to 300K miles per year. I’ve got experience with most brands (Tumi, ebags, TravelPro, Briggs & Riley, Kirkland (the Costco brand which is pretty high quality), High Sierra, Ricardo, Andiamo, …). I hate checking bags and want exactly the right bag for the job. My wife thinks I have a luggage collection.</p>
<p>We have a nylon coated XL duffel from Mountain Equipment Sports (MEC) which is the REI of Canada. This is perfect for carrying stuff to and from school. It is excellent but over the years it has developed a hole (probably because I have checked it many times with lots of backpacking gear in it including spring-loaded walking sticks). We have a High Sierra rolling duffel that is pretty good, but for ShawSon, who is 6’4" 210 lbs, I’m planning on buying a Kelty Base Camp XL or XXL duffel to go back and forth to college. It will carry clean clothes to college and toxic ones back as the parental washing machine is apparently the only one that works. If you use [Google</a> Product Search](<a href=“http://www.froogle.com%5DGoogle”>http://www.froogle.com), you can find excellent prices ($40 for the XL). I’m not worried about wheels for a big strong kid and it can be collapsed into nothing, which cannot be said for the wheeled duffels. For ShawDaughter, she’ll take the wheeled one when she goes to school.</p>
<p>SDiegomom…our kiddo is across the country. We got the CHEAPEST large suitcases we could find…CHEAP. They need to make TWO trips…one was made when we took her out there as a freshman. The other will be made when she comes home this summer after graduation. She NEVER uses the large suitcases at all otherwise. They are extra storage under her bed. We DID, however, spend a lot of money on a very good carryon bag. That one gets the use…and in this day and age, it will continue to get the use.</p>
<p>Those two large suitcases…well…after she flies home, they will either go in our attic (to store the excess stuff) or they will go in the garbage.</p>
<p>Just FYI…we are flying out there with four rolling duffles to bring stuff back with us. OUR stuff will be in nice carry on luggage. The rolling duffles will be for her to pack some of her stuff in so we can bring it here.</p>
<p>So it looks like rolling duffels are winners. I’m on a budget of $150 or less (luggage is one of my graduate gifts) and I need good luggage. I’m flying from MD to CA as well as study abroad. I’d like something that will last several years. However, I’d like several pieces - at least two larger pieces (I already have a carry on) and preferably more. Do they sell wheeled duffel luggage (or just duffel luggage) in sets? What’s a good deal?</p>
<p>The Travelpro outlet store is near me. Four times a year they have tremendous warehouse sale. I got the newest model large rolling duffel for $65, and matching carry on for $35 or 40.</p>
<p>See where the outlet stores are near you, and when they have sales. It will be worth your while to make a few phone calls.</p>
<p>PS–the bags I got came with full warranties. I would have paid less if gotten samples or returned items.</p>
<p>Also check out ebags.com. It’s my favortite place to find ANY kind of bag. I have bought luggage, handbags, wallets, and backpacks from them. I just checked the website, and they are having a 15% off sale which ends today.</p>
<p>We got the large LLBean rolling duffle. It meets all the latest luggage dimensions (it fit when she went abroad last month), and folds flat under a bed, lofted or not, when empty. She swears by it.</p>
<p>I also got her a rolling backpack type of carryon so that when she travels alone, she doesn’t have to juggle a rolling duffle and a rolling carryon, but can just slip her carryon over her shoulders. She loves it! And it’s convenient for overnight trips as well.</p>
<p>Take a look at Eagle Creek. Like FauxNom said - you lose pounds with rolling luggage. </p>
<p>Eagle Creek is lightweight and has a lifetime warranty. Luggage has gone to Asia, from East to West coasts of the United States about a dozen times plus a trip to Europe. Eagle Creek luggage still looks brand new! </p>
<p>Take a look at the on line reviews - that is what sold me. Eagle Creek has a sale on their luggage about once a year and sometimes you can find a special code for 10% off throughout the year on some websites.</p>
<p>Tried the cheap luggage for the first year or so - just did not hold up at all. Zipper pulls fell off, luggage fabric was ripped, luggage was heavy, etc. If your student plans to study abroad and/or travels by air Eagle Creek is the way to go. I continue to be amazed by how much one can actually fit in the Eagle Creek bags.</p>
<p>My college sophomore daughter discovered that hockey bags are a terrific and cost effective choice. Some come with wheels, not all. Very strong, lightweight. Designed for harsh treatment. Just make sure to measure the length. Keep it under 30 inches. Some would be oversize for airline travel. They worked perfectly and all folded up into almost nothing to store. And they are so easy to spot in the baggage area.</p>
<p>For suitcases of all types that can withstand wear and tear, I’d take a look at the Tumi line. It’s pricey, but it wears well and lasts forever. My H is a heavy-duty business traveler and has a Tumi bag that he’s been using since 1992. It still in great shape.</p>
<p>I signed up for a Fedex account because we sold some college textbooks on Amazon; Amazon sellers are given a small discount on Fedex ground charges.</p>
<p>We love Fedex ground, and are using it to ship stuff to and from school much less expensively than paying luggage costs charged by most of the airlines. Also, the boxes don’t weigh nearly as much as a rolling suitcase does. We get tracking, D gets and email when the package arrives, and she just goes downstairs and picks it up. Typically it takes just 2 business days for a package to go from our house to D’s school more than 800 miles away. I print the shipping labels on plain paper from my printer, slip it into the plastic sleeve Fedex provides, and drop it at any Fedex or Kinko’s location without having to wait in line. It has turned out to be much cheaper than what we were paying to ship via the postal service or UPS, and everybody seems happier to not have to wait for luggage to show up at the airport.</p>
<p>We shipped some of my D’s stuff to Texas when she was moving into her dorm. Fedex ground had very good rates and it was easy to track stuff online.</p>
<p>We found the ebags motherlode junior a really good size for our college kids to lug things back and forth (example-Spring or Winter break). It really holds a lot, and even when fully packed doesn’t get over 50 lbs – I understand the full-sized motherlode is too easy to overpack to >50 lbs (unless you’re packing light stuff like bedding). It’s also sturdy and easy to manuver through airports. We have about 5 of them in different colors.</p>
<p>The FedEx idea is great - but be certain it gets delivered to a secure location rather than left sitting outside a dorm room. At my student’s school FedEx and UPS leave packages outside the student’s dorm room and there have been a rash of thefts of these packages since Fall semester.</p>
<p>And here’s a tip if you want to avoid lost luggage…</p>
<p>I read about a guy who packs a STARTER pistol in his luggage. He has to inform TSA, which treats it like a gun (I guess b/c it’s realistic and makes noise?) so they keep track of his suitcase like crazy. He’s been doing this since 2001 and hasn’t lost the suitcase yet.</p>
<p>We’ve got Momof3 beat as our family owns 9 ebags Mother Lode duffel bags. She is right that the original 29" size when fully loaded tends to creep up toward 70 lbs. The Junior is just right for almost any trip (we have 5 of those). The Mini is a carry-on and I don’t use one unless I’m just going with a small bag as I don’t like to roll two duffels at once. Our family has lived and traveled overseas for many years and we’ve tried almost every shape and brand of suitcase. The Mother Lode is by far the best we’ve ever owned. I only wish they’d give me a commission as I recommend it so often!</p>
<p>That’s stupid. Here, all deliveries go to a central location and are then distributed through the mail center. When a student gets a package, a note is put into their mailbox that they take to the front desk to pick up the package. All of our residence halls are secure; supposed to require a key to get into the building…</p>
<p>“That’s stupid. Here, all deliveries go to a central location and are then distributed through the mail center. When a student gets a package, a note is put into their mailbox that they take to the front desk to pick up the package. All of our residence halls are secure; supposed to require a key to get into the building…”</p>
<p>I agree, it is stupid. But that is the way it is done at my student’s university. Now, if I mail a package through the United States Post Office they are notified via email and pick it up at the post office where their mailbox is. But if it is sent via UPS or FedEx (whose drivers do have their own access cards for the dorms) the packages are left outside the student’s dorm room.</p>
<p>All of the dorms are supposed to be secure - the dorms are key card access only through the student ID card.</p>
<p>Agree with singersmom – Eagle Creek makes great bags. Just ordered one online (carry-on,wheeled) for S. It’s worth shopping around online – I got it for 20+% off retail price. </p>
<p>Have also gotten good deals at LL Bean. Last spring, for her semester abroad in 4 countries, D used a LL Bean rolling wide-mouth duffel. It was the best combination of size, quality, price, and (low) weight. When she got back home, the carry handle was starting to tear off. LL Bean sent a brand new bag, no questions asked.</p>