I love my Swiss Gear backpack ( except it has so many pockets I lose things). I also love my Travel pro carry on ( though it doesn’t always carryon). We’ve been using Travelpro for more than 20 years and have gotten handles and things replaced free of charge over the years. For us, it’s buying good stuff and just keeping it. Really depends on how often you travel and what you bring.
We bought AWAY for ds for his June graduation. Hasn’t had it long enough for me to know about durability, but he seems to like it. I bought the domestic sized carryon and a soft-sided bag that slides down onto the pull handle of the carryon.
We need something durable - our luggage always seems to take a beating. H’s large suitcase had the handle mechanism damaged, so now it won’t pull out. One of the wheels has come off. I would like to get a large suitcase for each of us - has to roll, of course, and not be too heavy. H also needs a new carry-on size bag. I may continue with the one I found at an estate sale, lol. Possibly something intermediate, as well. And I need a new toiletry bag, since mine has had every kind of thing spilled in and on it. I would love something in color or otherwise easily identifiable among the sea of black and dark green.
I’m a fan of getting the absolute lightest luggage available.
IT brand – often sold at Marshalls – fits the bill. The may not be a “name brand,” and sometimes don’t have the best color selection (and I’ve never found – or looked for – matching pieces), but they are ultra light.
I’m also a fan of getting bright, unusual colors or patterns (think fuchsia or similar colors) that are easy to distinguish from everyone else’s black and navy pieces.
Maybe look on ebags
Oldfort, I think AWAY is the current favorite of the 30’s.my son’s fiancé Frankel’s all the time for work
That said, I live nearby the TravelPro store. They use to have 2 major sales a year, bringing in luggage from all over. I would be in line by 7:30 am. I’d go straight to the man in charge with my list for my family and my cousins. One year, I had to make several trips home, with all the bags. Sadly, they stopped the warehouse sales.
The IT brand mentioned above by LoveTheBard is also sold at ebags.com, and it’s currently on sale:
https://www.ebags.com/brand/it-luggage?lastSearchTerm=it+luggage&pl=hdr_srch_as_l1
“Any suggestions for a large rolling duffle?”
We have an Eagle Creek one that stands on its own. I woukd never get a rolling duffle that doesn’t stand. It makes travel sooo much easier.
Count me in as another fan of AWAY luggage. I have the Larger CarryOn, which fits a ton of stuff. I love the removable charger as well. I also bought one for my daughter who is a sophomore in college on the opposite coast. The company has a great collaborations for interesting limited edition colors.
I love the Away because it has a special straps that lets you compress stuff. Very helpful!
I’m looking for a carry-on bag, and one thing that’s very annoying is how the bag size is listed. Manufacturers need to list the exterior dimension including the wheels and handle in the product description. I can’t tell you how many 21" bags I’ve clicked on only to read in the fine print they are actually 23".
Just be sure it’s easy to remove built in chargers. They have to be removed if bag is gate checked so I assume also if checked. Love spinners and bought a cheap one at Marshall’s that is 19” to be sure it fits in all overheads but have had it gate checked in all the flights I’ve been on (not many btw)
I travel nationally and internationally frequently. The one personal item is a small backpack from REI (lightest weight), and the carry-on is a lightest weight spinner from a local store sale. The American tourister 2 wheel (inexpensive) I had lasted 10 years. I will see how long the new one lasts. I’m not sure the more expensive carry-on or check-in is worth it as the element of machine/human error and roughing is just unpredictable.
The Ebags TLS Mother Lode Weekender Convertible is only $69 today. I’ve never seen it that cheap. It’s a backpack that replaces a wheeled carry-on. My spouse and son each had one for a 2 week trip to Spain. It’s the only bag they took and worked beautifully. It fits nicely on trains and buses along with the European airlines that have smaller bag requirements. https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-tls-weekender-convertible/143101
Wow, @chercheur, lots of positive (tho some negative) reviews. If we were in the market for a backpack for travel, this would definitely be a contender.
It’s a great bag, @HImom, but more for strong, young people who will be on the go a lot. I just got this one for myself in blue for $79 https://www.ebags.com/product/travelpro/max-lite-4-international-expandable-carry-on-spinner/311982?productid=10417664&lastsearchterm=maxlite+4+international+expandable+carry-on+spinner
Some random thoughts: My D has an Away bag and it got damaged the first use (dent and scratch). We then learned that the way to deal with this is AT THE AIRPORT right when you get the luggage. . Once you leave, you don’t have many options for restitution. Tough lesson.
As for the LL Bean large rolling duffels…I was researching this a while back and many people had problems with the larger ones being overweight too easily. So take that into consideration!
@chercheur I’ve been looking at luggage today and that one came up in my feed later. Looks like a great bag! My DS and I used backpacks for a trip for the first time last month, a 1 day trip to Chicago. It was really nice not having to check, drag or store our bags. The downside was the everything-crushing-down-to-the-bottom problem that this bag would solve. I don’t really need a travel backpack but that is hard to resist!!!
I sent the link for the backpack to S and D and a niece. H and I like more leisurely travel. 
@TS0104 They used packing cubes, and everything stayed in place. There is a smaller version of the same bag that might be better for ladies with a small frame: https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/tls-mother-lode-weekender-convertible-junior/241465?productid=10395044
Wow, I just went on ebags and spent $500+ on TravelPro pieces! I appreciate all the recommendations. I would be overwhelmed trying to go out and shop for this stuff.