I like Briggs and Riley’s guarantee. I have taken in bags twice and both times they have been repaired free of charge…
I have a place near by that handles suitcase repair, and they also handle the shipping costs if necessary.
It’s easier to me and H if we pack what we can fit in the 21-22" rolling bag and then the rest in a light carry one and leave the rest behind. We’re very “anti-over-packing” around here, as it just weighs us down for the whole trip. My kids and we have rarely used anything larger than the 21-22" rolling bag (we don’t even own such a bag and have to borrow one when needed).
For a 22" (carry on size) bag, some people prefer a non-wheeled backpack (with hip and chest straps). The bag has more room inside (but be careful not to overpack past applicable weight limits), weighs less (does not consume as much of the weight limit by itself), and squishes a bit to fit into overhead bins that are just slightly too small. A backpack is easier to manage if there are stairs or non-smooth surfaces to cross.
Probably because the added risk of injury to airline staff when baggage is heavy is a significant expense.
There is a great and real risk to both the baggage handlers AND the luggage itself that it will break and the airline will be blamed. They REALLY don’t want to hassle with big, bulky, heavy pieces, especially day in and day out.
MAB222, I’m sorry to hear you had problems with a bag from eBags. I learned about eBags from an old CC thread on luggage and have had nothing but wonderful experiences buying from them. I think the difference is that I’ve bought several of their own brand TLS Mother Lode bags which carry a lifetime guarantee. For other brands, they cover defects for 60 days and then you are at the mercy of the manufacturer’s warranty.
This is a 25" rolling duffel that I use a lot and absolutely love:
http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-junior-25-wheeled-duffel/125548?productid=1325229
I have tested their warranty and customer service and I couldn’t be more pleased. A wheel on my 29" duffel was damaged after checking the bag. I called them and they immediately sent out a set of replacement wheels and instructions for switching them out. I messed something up and rendered the bag irreparable.
I hit a wrong key while I was typing! I messed up the wheels royally and the bag could no longer be repaired. They offered to send me a brand new bag right away. I couldn’t be more pleased.
They are offering some really good deals right now and ebates is giving 10% back.
I travel a ton, and find two pieces of luggage really critical. (Both purchased from Macy’s or their precursor, btw.) I have a hardsided Samsonite spinner with pretty small wheelsthat fits United Airlines’ carry-on guidelines. United rarely enforces their limits, but they are among the strictest by definition, and other airlines I’ve been on that do enforce (Air Canada, SAS - both this year) - it was good to know that it’d fit. Then I have a bigger Delsey, also a spinner, also hard-sided. I sometimes travel with electronics or bring back adult beverages 
- so the hard-sided stuff is a must. Both are extremely light. I intentionally expect them to get banged up a bit - adds character. Both travel well across cobblestones, etc., too. The Samsonite works for 2-4 day trips when it’s my S and me both; anything longer, or my weeklong work trips, I take the Delsey.
My indispensable bag is a little Haglofs, though. It fits under the seat on a plane, has padded straps to use as a day pack, but also a handle to carry it like a briefcase. I can put enough in there for a 2-night trip, along with my laptop. I swear it somehow holds more on the inside than it possibly looks like it should. Great products, but hard to find in the US. I’ll probably pick one up for my S before he goes to college next fall, though.
" I sometimes travel with electronics or bring back adult beverages - so the hard-sided stuff is a must. "
Nope. Not a “must” at all. All you need is a soft bag, some clothes (dirty is fine!), and a sturdy cardboard box. How do you think wineries ship their wines? In hard-sided suitcases? Another issue - anyone who checks in their electronics trusts the TSA and Menzies too much.
BTW, OP also said - storage space is a concern, so I do not think a hard-sided suitcase is what will fit the needs.
I am a frequent traveler for work, and I swear by Briggs & Riley. They can be pricey, but a great investment due to lifetime warranty. My carry on bag has a suiter in it. Perfect for the business traveler and really holds a lot because the handle is on the outside of the bag, providing maximum space inside.
Yes, S was the one who first bought and introduced us to Briggs and Riley when he was flying 3 weeks/month. We love the 21/22" wheeled case with garment bag section and S, H and I each have one which each of us got from Costco at an amazing $139 years ago. H always checks his bag and S always carries his on; I check it on the way home. All are in perfect shape after cumulative 100,000s of miles travel.
Hi @BunsenBurner - Well, while it can be done with soft-sided luggage, I’ve had considerably better luck bringing back fragile items in hard-sided luggage. My first purchase of it was directed by my employer, during a brief period when security regulations made us travel with our laptops checked (we could take our hard drives out and handcarry them, though). It’s still what’s highly recommended if we’re possibly going to have to check any gadgets, laptops, etc. (And yes, security and IP are always a big risk, but there are times its unavoidable. Getting Global Entry has made a little bit of that easier, though, at least when I’m flying from some destinations.)
I traveled around Europe in college with a Gregory backpack, into which i put all sorts of liquids, and they survived for the duration of the trip. But on a trip this week, I brought back mugs, fairly fragile chocolates, a couple of intricate metal ornaments, and a few small electronics that I’d needed to take. I used cardboard to set up the suitcase a bit like a wine box, in fact - and everything flew through marvelously. NO way I’d have done that with my soft-sided bag. (It also weighs about 1.5lbs more, and sometimes that’s an issue, so I rarely use it.) So far, knock on… whatever lightweight durable plastic the things is - it’s made it over 250K miles, and nothing’s been broken or stolen. (Yet.)
My S seems to have picked up my habits. He did have to buy a big suitcase for a school trip a couple years back, and he chose a similar bag to mine. No suit feature, probably to protect him against having to wear a suit.
I fly with one or two laptops all the time, and even in the days post 9/11, I was never ever turned around and asked to check them in. Your company’s policy makes zero sense. Checking in laptops will not help with importation restrictions or bans imposed by some countries, BTW. Some countries specifically require that all computers brought in need to be able to power up and boot - I have been asked to turn all my electronics on.
Here is a tip on how to pack fragiles: wrap your item in ample amount of undies or crumple newspaper. Put the thing into a cardboard box just big enough to fit it. Throw the box into a soft sided suitcase or duffel on the top of some clothes, throw in a few more clothes… your items will arrive in perfect shape. The trick is to make sure the item is packed very snugly inside the box with zero rattling. FedEx boxes work great for wine, BTW. Each box fits 2 bottles.
Anyway, you are missing the most important point - OP needs something that does not require a lot of storage space. I have yet to see a collapsible hard-sided luggage.
My sister has this one and it’s great. Mentioned by a previous poster. They have sales all the time so you shouldn’t have to pay full price
http:// www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-junior-25-wheeled-duffel/125548?productid=10150070
My husband has this one. Spendy but you can sometimes find in on sale at REI. The advantage is that the bag itself is extremely light so you are less likely to go overweight.
http:// www.ebags.com/product/osprey/sojourn-25/241344?productid=10208804
I travel with carry-on only. There is a brand called Cabin Max (it’s British and complies with EU maximum dimensions) that has various configurations, including dedicated laptop pockets. They are also very lightweight (but lack structure accordingly) and can fit a phenomenal amount. I can load mine up to 35+ lbs if I’m not careful. You can find them through Amazon.
When my kid did her post Peace Corps six week trip, she used an internal frame backpack that conformed to carryon size limits. It was purchased at EMS. She did not want to check this. She had no trouble fitting her needed belongings in this backpack. She also had a 24 inch suitcase which she did check. That had all of her non-essential items in it…plus souvenirs she was bringing home.
But the point is…she would have easily been able to travel with just that internal frame backpack.
bunsen mentioned trusting the TSA earlier, and it reminded me of my son’s trip last summer. He packed 1400 U.S. dollars in the top of his suitcase. Fortunately they made it home, but I flipped out when I heard that. Wants rushing down to check, and it was all there. Does that count as a minor miracle? Sorry… Carry on.
Thanks, PG. Santa is bringing us new luggage for Christmas, and this was the biggest question in my mind. Two-wheel it is!
Good choice, LasMa!
Yes, so far, we’ve resisted switching to spinners and are managing fine with our two-wheelers. We do generally carry them luggage the short aisles to our seats and otherwise the 2 wheels have worked admirably for us
A somewhat related topic: I vaguely remember that if you bring certain amount of money (not sure what the threshold is) into the US, you are required to report it to the custums. Otherwise, there is a grave consequence if you do not report it and you get caught. I am not sure why the customs has the need to do this.
I think the amount is $10K, but it has never been an amount I or loved ones have dealt with.