<p>We’re a long way from CT, but our AAA (American Automobile Assoc.) sells luggage. They have a good variety of selection and the prices aren’t bad - either member or non-member prices.</p>
<p>I agree with all the posters who mentioned Eagle Creek Hovercraft 22 inch. I bought one when it went on sale at the container store and plan to buy another when it goes on sale again. My daughter and I were able to fit a ton of stuff on our last trip. Check Ebags.com I’ve bought stuff from them before and their delivery is pretty quick and it will be much cheaper than Container Store. </p>
<p>Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Thumper1,</p>
<p>No advice to offer, just a thanks and good luck to your D.</p>
<p>I will probably need some new luggage shortly, so I am following the suggestions here.</p>
<p>I like Eagle Creek also- and I know that Thumpers daughter doesn’t want duffles, but REI is having a sale right now & they have some good travel equipment that is made for rough use.</p>
<p>They also have made Costco luggage lighter since I first bought them years ago & while I am not sure if you can buy through them if they are not in your state, they do have inexpensive shipping and have very well made luggage.</p>
<p>I have to agree with Mini. I usually buy our luggage and duffels at Ross (or Marshalls or TJ Maxx). I have had good luck with all of them, only breaking one outside zipper on an overstuffed bag in probably 15 years of purchases!</p>
<p>When the kids went off to college, we bought extra rolling duffels which flatten out nicer for under their beds and never spent much money. They have held up really nicely.</p>
<p>A note on Eagle Creek: the handle on our 6-year-old Eagle Creek bag recently stopped working. I was surprised to find that it was still under warranty–a lifetime warranty, no questions asked.</p>
<p>A note on the Costco carry-on. While the good news is it is great- very sturdy, lots of compartments and extras (including a sturdy quart bag for liquids and a snap-on place for it) it is just a smidge too big to fit in some overhead compartments. My H, who travels a lot, finally got tired of having to gate check it or help the flight attendants squish it into the overhead and slam it closed so we returned it a few weeks ago and ordered the Ricardo that someone on cc recommended (it was on sale for about $72). DH left for another trip today-- so I’ll ask him how the bag fit in the overhead.</p>
<p>Too bad your dd nixed rolling duffles. My ds used a very VERY light, durable duffle with built in wheels. It collapsed into a small size and fits into a softsided case (that you use to pack some of the clothes and then use it for the luggage when empty). HE cut it very close on the weight limits, so the fact that it weighed only 2# really came in handy! Let me know if she changes her mind. I’ll find the link.</p>
<p>OK…after a lot of shopping around, DD bought two 25 inch High Sierra rolling suitcases…each one weighs…ready…tada…7 pounds and 3 ounces. They were far and away the lightest weight bags we found. High Sierra also makes a light weight rolling duffle, but it was quite large and DD is not very big. The two 25 inch bags are a nice size…good zippers and good handles and wheels. We got them on sale at Macys and used our 10% passport too. They were $125 each. The bags at Kohls on sale were $119 and weighed a LOT more (we were able to compare as they had them at Macys too). Neither of us liked the Travelpro bags at all. She got a nice cinnamon orange color.</p>
<p>The second choice was a Delsey hard sided but VERY light weight suitcase…about the same price. But the Delsey didn’t look like it would pack as easily. </p>
<p>Anyway…thank you for all the suggestions. High Sierra was not on our radar screen but oh…that 7.3 pound weight was just the best we saw.</p>
<p>thumper1 - I just wanted to say best of luck to your D. My neighbor’s D is in her second year with the Peace Corps in Rwanda and it has been a wonderful experience for her.</p>
<p>thumper, so glad that you and your D found the right luggage. Best of luck to your DD!!!</p>
<p>dmd, did you need to register your Eagle Creek luggage when you purchased it, for the warranty to cover your luggage?</p>
<p>I agree that when luggage is on sale at Macy’s and you are a Macy’s credit card holder, you can’t go wrong. We had to run up to Macy’s before our daughter left for study abroad in 2008 because we realized our suitcases had incorrect dimensions. She studied abroad in Vienna and Austrian Air was a codeshare with United and they had just changed their luggage requirements. We knew to check because of problem our older daughter had on British Air which required almost everyone checking in to purchase (cash only) a medium size British Air duffle which is actually a nice bag that we’ve made very good use of since then.</p>
<p>We actually do not have a Macys charge (and NO we don’t want one). BUT there was a 10% off passport in the Sunday paper. That is what we used. That and the sale on the luggage made it somewhat affordable. </p>
<p>Sure, we could have gotten a $30 or $40 suitcase at one of our odd lot stores, but they weighed upward of 10 pounds. When you have a total of 80 including the bags, every ounce counts.</p>
<p>She has a 40 pound per bag limit. And her carryon is also limited to 40 pounds. Luckily she doesn’t have to pay for checking the bags. She will have to pay between here and Philly but was told to hang on to the receipt and will be reimbursed. Two checked bags on US Air…at least $50.</p>
<p>Thumper - This article from Budget Travel may be of interest to you if you haven’t already bought something - [6</a> Money-Saving Bags - Budget Travel](<a href=“http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2010/09/08/AR2010090807278.html?wpisrc=newsletter]6”>http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/article/2010/09/08/AR2010090807278.html?wpisrc=newsletter)</p>
<p>Congratulations, on the assignment and finding the right suitcase. Now all you need to do is pack.</p>
<p>I’ve been looking for luggage, and found this thread very useful. I happened to see that REI is closing out several Eagle Creek Hovercraft pieces, as well as some Swiss Army and High Sierra, lines that have been mentioned here:</p>
<p>[Luggage</a> at REI-OUTLET.com](<a href=“http://www.rei.com/outlet/category/22000469]Luggage”>http://www.rei.com/outlet/category/22000469)</p>
<p>Best to your daughter, Thumper. Glad you found the right luggage and will be taking notes from this thread for my family. Keep us posted.</p>
<p>Gosh…I had to go back and read what I wrote!! The High Sierra luggage made the trip to Rwanda just fine. We had two suitcases and each weighed 38 pounds…with a 40 pound limit. Her internal frame backpack which was her carryon weighed about the same. The suitcases and backpack made the trip with no problems…thank goodness. The light weight of the suitcases made it possible to pack everything she wanted to take. If they had weighed more, this would have been an issue.</p>
<p>She has been at her Peace Corps site teaching biology since January. So far…so good!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on the REI closeout, NYMomof2. I have the wheeled carry-on and the 25" hovercraft and wanted to get the 20". Great price, will be ordering tonight.</p>
<p>I’m a huge fan of eBags duffels but if she really wants a suitcase, I’d recommend that you also buy a couple of really sturdy straps for them. The best ones don’t have plastic buckles but rather metal rings at the end that you stick the strap through and then double back and cinch. I have lived and traveled abroad and been saved several times by the strap when the suitcase breaks. If I were her, I’d be taking a somewhat larger backpack and a rolling duffel (the Motherlode or Motherlode Junior). I know that’s not what you want but for anyone else doing research, my kids have started using the eBags Convertible which is a great little suitcase that changes into a backpack. It is small but capacious and works brilliantly for a weekend trip with only carry-on luggage.</p>
<p>puzzled? Are you talking to me? If so, my kid is long gone. She made the decision that ONE large duffle, and a carryon were going to be difficult to manage herself. PLUS the 40 pound limit she had was for each bag…and she also had a total “inches” amount for BOTH bags. She would not have been able to put 40 pounds IN a smaller carryon size bag…and she could NOT put more than that in a large duffle. Two 26 inch suitcases worked…and each could hold 40 pounds.</p>
<p>I guess…folks also need to know the size AND weight limits for the type of travel they are going to be doing.</p>