<p>^Wonder why they call it the Salsa line?</p>
<p>Wanderlust & lipstick is another travel blog geared for women travelers especially to developing countries.</p>
<p>My DD, the constent world traveler, has had a set of the Longchamp carry ons for maybe 4 years. The nice thing is they clean up so well with spray and wash that it still looks great. I think this is high quality at a good price and I love the unique colors-same as their handbags.</p>
<p>Let her decide the brand, color, style and size.
Give her $$.
Don’t inflict your taste on what she wants.
She won’t use it if it isn’t exactly what she needs/wants.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear that your bag was damaged when checked in. We can fix it. </p>
<p>Please call our Customer Service Department at (800) 741-7471 M-F 8:30a-5:00p EDT.</p>
<p>A Customer Service rep should be able to help you.</p>
<p>Paul Lawrence
Travelpro Luggage</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>^^That!!! A brand new TravelPro wheeled computer carryon bag let my frequent traveler H down big time - its zipper fell apart on the security checkpoint conveyor belt spilling the bags contents all over the place. :eek: Talks about aggravation and embarrassment! Needless to say, I marched back to Macy’s and returned the bag. I will never buy another TravelPro bag. H’s Tumi bag, OTOH, survived multiple trips to CA, HI, MA, Europe and Asia.</p>
<p>^^the exact thing happened to us with some American Tourister we “won” at a charity event. Conviniently, “transport damage” is not covered. It went in the trash at our destination and I bought duffle bags to get home! I realize American Tourister is not a luxury brand, but I foolishly expected it to make it through a complete round trip!</p>
<p>We bought 5 Hartmann pieces (Tweed) about 15 years ago, but they only lasted 10 years. We don’t even travel that much. Even though they claim a “lifetime” warranty, you have to pay shipping and then they may say that it’s not a defect, it’s normal wear and tear. Zippers have broken and the leather trim shows stains.</p>
<p>My fasvorite bright green Tumi bag got badly stained with some icky stuff when DH took it on one of his European trips. I scrubbed the bag with soapy water, rinsed - it looked just like new. From that time on, I surface-wash it after every trip. I do not want the airport and road ick in my closet.</p>
<p>Groupon is running an online deal for [Tumi</a> luggage](<a href=“http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-tumi-brief-cases-and-carryons?p=11]Tumi”>http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-tumi-brief-cases-and-carryons?p=11) for the next couple days. Luggage is discounted up to 41% with free shipping.</p>
<p>Ok, we reallllly need a new wheeled carryon in our house. I gave DS the best one for college in case he needs to do a lot of walking. (Best case - fun in Boston on the way to Logan. Worst case… walking 2 miles from railroad station to dorm.) We used the other two this week, and one is a real clunker. My D made me switch. </p>
<p>I see choices from 5-suitcases-for-$99 (too cheap) thru $300+. What’s a good midrange value for occassional travelers? I was tempted by a $100ish bag at AAA, I think Samsonite.</p>
<p>I gave my son a carryon from Costco and he’s been using it for the past 5 years and still in perfect shape. He travels every 5 weeks or so.</p>
<p>Costco also offers the best guarantee, if it breaks, return it for a full refund.</p>
<p>The Tumi bag I got several years ago is a bit awkward to pack. It divides down the middle and you pack stuff equally in each half, and in hotels you have to keep both sides open all the way so it takes up a lot of room (if you dont unpack it entirely). So I don’t use it much, even though its quite durable. The Costco bag that my husband had was solid and durable, but just a smidge too big even though it claimed to be a carry-on size (I think it might have been 22" instead of 21") and he had occasional trouble fitting it into the overhead bin. This was a hassle, especially when he was travellling weekly for work. Reviews said it was redesigned, but it was stil too big [Costco</a> - Redesigned bag, excellent value customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings](<a href=“http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11523933/kirkland-signature-kirkland-signature-carry-on-luggage-reviews/reviews.htm?page=2]Costco”>http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11523933/kirkland-signature-kirkland-signature-carry-on-luggage-reviews/reviews.htm?page=2) We returned the bag.</p>
<p>I read reviews here on cc about carry-on luggage and have gotten several pieces of Ricardo of Beverly Hills bags. In fact, I wish I’d seen this thread yesterday as I just bought one for my DS who will be doing some travellling for work. We have the Capistrano (DH’s bag), the Huntington Lite (my bag) and Venice Lite (just bought for my DS), all in 21 inch. My DH says the Capistrano has been great but he wishes it had the expandable option (which the others do). The other pieces are new. I purposely bought mine in purple becasue aI was tired of having a black bag that looks lie everyone elses. The one I bought my DS is black/grey two tone. </p>
<p>If you tend to pack more than you need (as is my tendency) be sure to get the 21", not the 20". Many carryons with the 4 spinner wheels lose an inch in cargo space to the wheels. I didnt want that so chose the luggage with 2 wheels in the back.</p>
<p>Thanks for these ideas. May be giving D my suitcase as hers is finally being relegated to my non-profit since isn’t holding up as well as hoped. Will go to Costco tomorrow & see which suitcase seems most suitable. May try a Tumi–if you attach a colorful foam handle and ribbons, it might be OK to distinguish from other people’s luggage.</p>
<p>Can’t quite decide what size piece I really want/can handle well. Have always used carry-on size, but sometimes it would be nice to have a slightly larger piece. Hope Costco has some nice pieces as it does have a great return policy–may check out Ross afterwards. Macy’s says they offload whatever doesn’t sell at their store to Ross; have bought several pieces there and they have lasted well until now. (probably about 10-15 years).</p>
<p>Hard to trade off between convenience of wheels with the weight and bulge they create and space they steal from luggage.</p>
<p>I would tend to agree that it’s best to give the young adult $$$ and help her (if she requests) choose an appropriate piece of luggage. Our S who has to travel 5+ hours plane ride each way 2 round trips/month has ONLY used carry on luggage with wheels all his life. He will NOT check anything and manages to fit everything into his carry on pieces. Many do NOT want to check any luggage.</p>
<p>HImom-
Unless costco has redesigned their kirkland carry on- do NOT buy it. Its a great bag, but a smidge too big. Many a time my DH had to help the flight attendant close the storage compartment to avoid having to gate check the bag. Costco has other luggage. Check it out. Or check out TJ Maxx for good luggage deals. I got one of my carry ons at Stein Mart with a discount coupon and on Black Friday. Paid about 1/2 of what it should have cost!</p>
<p>Costco’s flier shows a sale on a carry on hardside Ricardo carry-on bag. It doesnt say if its a 17" or a 21" though</p>
<p>Echo the Eagle Creek suggestion–and the best accessories are their “Pack it Cubes” They have several sizes, and their shirt package is amazing. I can get 5-6 folded shirts/blouses/pullovers into one and they stay in great shape and take up very little luggage space. I use these “cubes” for lingerie and other accessories too and I once used a carry-on size bag (one with a backpack that zips off the front) for a 10-day trip. When the whole bag gets to thick for under the seat of the airplane, I zip off the backpack and put it sideways next to the suitcase under the seat, so I don’t have to worry about the overhead bins AND it only looks like one bag when going checking in. I love this brand.</p>
<p>Yes, in the past 4 cross US flights we were on, we noticed that the overhead bins seem to have shrunken as peoples bags seem to have grown and there were a lot of them that had to be shoehorned into the the overhead compartments.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on the Kirkland suitcase. Will have to learn how & what to pack from S who does a wonderful job & has forever of getting his possessions to fit neatly into a compact package. It may partly be that he just doesn’t get as cold as I do and doesn’t need as many layers. 
Will shop around at Costco & Ross. Unfortunately, no TJ Maxx in our state–maybe it will come with Marshall’s (that chain also left).</p>
<p>I guess I also have to decide if it will be checked or carry on piece. Hmmm–lots to think about today!</p>
<p>Eagle Creek packing cubes and flat shirt packers are great. HIMom, that could be a great practical gift to your son if he travels a lot. DH flies at least two RT a month and says that he often does not even need to touch-iron the shirts that were packed into the shirt folders, because they come out wrinkle-free.</p>
<p>Which size pack-it folder is best? Are there cheaper generic brands or is it best to stick with Eagle Creek? Have heard great things about these folders from others as well.</p>