H and I are talking about getting new luggage for XMAS in lieu of random gifts. I haven’t bought luggage in a long time. We would need a variety of pieces, both for him and for me. Thoughts and recommendations?
I like both my Swiss Gear and TravelPro luggage.
I like Lipault. It’s made of very strong nylon (water proof) and wheels are very strong/sturdy. I live in city, so I drag my luggage around when I am traveling. There was a time when I was traveling every week and my carried on kept up with me. It is also very light relative to other luggages. I have different sizes and have traveled with them overseas numerous times.
https://www.lipault-usa.com/travel
We love LL Bean rolling duffle bags. We have various sizes. We have traveled heavily with them for almost 20 years and they still look like new. Got free monogramming when we purchased them. They are light and you can really cram a lot of stuff in them. They store flat when not being used. We’ve dragged them over all manner of overseas and US city sidewalks and streets.
I love my victorinox luggage. We’ve also had good experience with Swiss Army which is less expensive. Most important to me is spinner wheels which provide complete flexibility when maneuvering around. We then have carry ons (22") and then I think a 24" and 27". The 27", once filled, can be tough to keep under 50 lb so we’ve gone back and forth about whether we use it.
Depending on your budget and preferred materials, Rimowa if you want a forever lasting piece. Tumi is the going brand for business travelers. Victorinox and travel pro are solid brands but some models are subpar. Costco’s Kirkland brand is of good value, made of Cordura materials and backed with Costco’s satisfaction warranty that I’d recommend.
We have really being enjoying our Briggs&Riley that we got on clearance at Costco. S found it in DC and we were surprised it was in HI too (briefly).
We carry it aboard and H has checked his often. They hold up great and keep looking very attractive. They have a lifetime warranty but so far have not needed any repairs. For awhile, S was regularly flying 100k+ miles/yr with his.
Ours is chocolate brown and S has one that is black. The brown hides dirt while being slightly different from the sea of black. Ours is heavy cordura nylon.
Before this, we had (and D has taken one for her own) Delsey Helium carry aboard 21/22” bags.
We can generally fit everything in our rolling suitcases—one apiece 21/22” plus a small backpack. If we are bringing gifts, that’s another backpack or we squash it in our luggage. Ymmv, of course.
What size: personal item, overhead bin, or checked?
Wheels: 0, 2, 4?
Be careful, some bags advertised as “carry-on size” for overhead bins may be slightly larger than the airlines’ size limits, so that they may not fit in sizers or the actual overhead bins.
So much depends on your durability requirements- frequent travelers compared to the rest of us. You can go very high quality and spend a lot or fairly inexpensive. Places like Target and Walmart do carry some good enough/sturdy enough pieces at lesser costs. Another important feature is the luggage weight- you can carry more if the bag is lighter.
Check out the wheels. Spinner wheels are worth it- this means you can pivot easily, handy for maneuvering. There are differences in types of these wheels- depends on your durability requirements. I settled for non top of the line ones to get less expensive but very lightweight luggage.
“Test drive” the pieces in a store. See how easily they open/close, handle, wheels. When I was looking for a replacement piece I looked at reviews online. Polyester versus nylon, thread counts…materials. Once I did all of that I knew which were good/better/best and used that info when I came across some at Target. I found a really lightweight American Tourister medium-large bag for checking that was very light. There will be tradeoffs in various factors.
btw- H and I still use our nonwheeled carry ons we have had for decades because they have 3 separate sections- great for finding stuff and they expand/contract- can fit under a seat. Not trying to be fashionable, but practical. No longer try to match pieces either.
Check for sales. Do online research for weight, wheels…
Tumi is the “last man standing” in the Bunsen luggage closet. Ours came from the outlet and Nordie Rack.
Yes, there are lots of luggage at Ross, NRack, TJMaxx, overstock, Costco, Macy’s (on sale) and elsewhere. Test a lot of different pieces to get a feel for what might work best for you.
We like 2-wheeled but some prefer spinners. Good luck!
My son and fiancé bought AWAY luggage. It is a young company, built by 2 tech guys. The luggage has built in chargers.
We like lightweight luggage and have been happiest with the Eagle Creek brand. I also own a 26” TravelPro and am. happy with it, it don’t know anything about it’s long term durability.
I also like 2 wheeled suitcases, not spinners.
Tumi fans here, also. The Tumi outlet stores have good deals regularly. Important to consider your specific needs. Smaller planes for flights within Europe may require a slightly smaller carryon, for example. We focus on weight of the bag, durability and function. I like 4 wheel bags where the lid is deep enough to be a fully zip closed separate area, which is good for shoes, toiletry cases and random items. The rest of the case holds packing cubes. Check how bags work with your system.
I have a polycarbonate spinner from Traveler’s Choice in an absolutely obnoxious color that is immediately identifiable coming off the baggage carousel. I travel very frequently for work (2-3 weeks per month) and always check my bag. I am very short and don’t want to deal with overhead storage.
I started out with a harder shell suitcase but it cracked after a year. While this is also hard, it’s flexible enough so I don’t think it will crack.
I looked at more expensive brands, but will be able to replace this multiple times and still spend less. I’ve had it 3 years so far.
For the charger bags, the batteries have to be removed before checking.
D2 is asking for an Away luggage. I have Tumi that are 20 years old, wheels still working and all, but I love Lipault now.
Any suggestions for a large rolling duffle? My S is going abroad next semester and has narrowed down his first choice to a REI rolling duffle that is 34". While I like that one alot, it is pricy and I was hoping we would have a few choices to decide between and stalk for sales this holiday season.
My H (who used to travel frequently) swears by Tumi. I gave my Tumi to youngest D (still in grad school) and bought the Rimwa Salsa luggage. Oldest D who travels for work loves her AWAY bag.
I’ve been using the same Tumi rollerboard for work and personal travel for about 25 years now, and it still looks almost brand new. The handle mechanism was repaired once under warranty a few years ago - I just brought the bag to a Tumi store and they took care of it, no shipping and no charge for anything. Other than that it’s been perfect.
That said, D and W both recently bought other brands for way less money (about 1/4 the cost of an equivalent Tumi piece, thanks Costco and Nordy Rack) and their luggage looks good and is perfectly functional. There’s a lot of great luggage out there and not really much need to go high end unless you want or need to.
I stick with Tumi for work because I’m always hauling my rollerboard around in front of colleagues and customers so it’s a requirement that it looks professional (i.e. not beat up), doesn’t look cheap, and doesn’t break in the middle of a trip (I’ve hauled it for hundreds of blocks on city streets with all the expected bumps and thumps that entails). For personal use I’d probably go with something cheaper, though. Not that it’s really been a choice for the past 25 years - my Tumi is just never going to fall apart or even wear much so I’ve had zero reasons to look at other luggage.
I travel abroad every other month or so. Lipault and Briggs and Riley are my go tos because they are light weight. I would also be a Tumi carrier if my luggage was under scrutiny by co-workers. I have a Travel Pro that I like for car travel, but it is too heavy for foreign carriers who often weigh carry-ons.
I would advise analyzing what you will be using your luggage for. My rollaboards are 21 and 20 inches rather than 20 inches. I have never had the slightly smaller bag challenged, but have seen others required to check-in 22 inchers. Some carriers are also very particular about weight. Having lighter weight bags can help squeak under the max allowed.
@Stuffedquahog, one of mine moved overseas a number of years ago. We shopped for a large rolling duffel thinking that would be the best way to go, but ended up with a large, very lightweight Briggs and Riley suitcase. It was expensive, but has held up through multiple moves since then and looks great.