My 7 year old Target suitcase died the first day of a 2 week trip to Europe and it took alot of duct tape and a whole lot of praying to make it the whole 2 weeks. I am now in the market for a replacement.

I went to the local Magellens store and looked at the Eagle Creek Tarmac 25". It is around 275.00. Eagle Creek guarantees their product for life no matter what.

Costco has their own brand which is around 130.00. I think they have a fairly agressive warranty.

I am not on a budget, but I am thrifty and want to make the best decision. The Costco price is very appealing, the Eagle Creek has the better warranty, so I think it's a better value, but not sure.

I know the luggage issue has had a lenghly thread in the past, but I cannot find it.

Opinions??

If you have one of these stores in your area, check out their inventory first:

Marshall's
TJ Maxx
Ross Stores
Kohl's

I recently bought a 24" Claiborne Avenue X Spinner Suitcase at TJ
Maxx for our trip to Europe we took in September. Paid $59.99. Saw the same suitcase on eBags for $80 + tax and shipping.

I also bought a 20" CalPac suitcase for $39.99 at Marshall's that I absolutely love.

So check out your local discount stores before spending $275.

One brand I would urge you to steer clear of is American Tourister. My friend bought a bag and used it for the first time in France with me a few months ago. The wheel fell off 3 days into the trip.

Anyway, you might want to check out the prices at this well-known NYC discounter. They are reliable and have been around for decades:



http://www.altmanluggage.com/ShopSite/

I would buy lightweight luggage for ease of travel and to help meet the new airline restrictions.

I recently purchased a new, lightweight suitcase for a 2 week trip to Italy. I bought the 21" Rick Steve's roll-aboard and was very pleased with it. I checked my bag and it held up well, even with a couple of bottles of wine tucked inside on the return trip.

I really like the size and how lightweight this bag is. Even though I checked the bag, it was easy to handle on the train, etc.

I would look at www.ebags.com or www.1800.luggage.com for reviews of luggage products.

We are HARD on our luggage and we travel a good deal sohave generally stuck with Eagle Creek and Briggs & Riley products due to durability.

However, there are many who have been very satisfied with other products but I stilldon;t think it hurts to look at reviews from a wide variety of people before buying.

Hopefully, you'll never HAVE TO USE any luggage warranty ever.

Research, Patogonia!

We have aggressively used our Rick Steves backpacks for about eight years now - they look just the same as when we got them. Lightweight, easy to carry, durable...

They have been through a lot!

Another vote for the Rick Steve's bag. I bought a couple of the 21" rollaboards for our trip to France this summer. We were very pleased with them. I asked my DH if he wanted one and he said no, but wouldn't you know it he keeps using mine for business trips, lol! I did see it onsale at the rei outlet online for $85. And REI guarantees everything.

With the new weight restrictions I have beem focused on lightweight options. My Briggs and Riley is to heavy and now retired. I've opted for a large soft duffle that has wheels built in .... in fact I bought it at a bargain luggage store in Paris and it will be making it's 8th long haul on Friday .... at 39 EU it has been a good deal!

We like Delsey because you can get some lightweight bags, and you can get a good deal buying them off the net.
Costco makes great bags at a good price and a lifetime warranty.

I have never paid more than $50 for a roller (TJ Maxx, JC Pennys, Marshalls) and have never had a suitcase fall apart on me yet.

after schlepping our luggage all over Italy, I vowed that my next luggage will be a spinner design. Those travelers who easily rolled their luggage next to them instead of behind them made it look like a snap.

I don't know brands, but I think they're definitely worth checking into.

if you can't fix it with gaffa
(duck tape), you have not used enough!

My favourite bags are samsonite

I recommend Delsey-its quite durable and price fairly reasonable-you wont go wrong.

Here's another vote for the spinner design, it has improved my travel life immensely, I bought a Samsonite "ultralight" with spinner wheels in a 20" size, and I loved it so much I ended up buying the larger 24" size also.

I am curious as to what you mean by a spinner design in luggage ? I assume you are meaning the wheels .
I need to purchase luggage before our family trip ,beginning in July and I have seen many positive comments about Rick Steves luggage.
I want a light weight roller bag, hopefully I can make do with a 21"?

Sierratradingpost.com has a large selection and often spectacular prices. You need to keep an eye on their prices because they fluctuate. For example, 2 weeks ago, I bought a Victorinox 26" wheeled duffel for $105 and today it is $139 - still an excellent buy. They also have prices on Briggs and Riley that are far lower than I have found elsewhere.

Briggs and Riley rarely discounts anything...if you can get their stuff at a discount, especially their newer lightweight models, go for it.

Ebags.com has dimensions and weights for common luggage brands/models. Worth checking out since there can be considerable differences between one Samsonite model and another, for instance. And, I have found that a lot of brands that say "30% lighter" etc., are still heavier than what you'd want to haul around. For instance, anything heavier than 9 lbs EMPTY on a suitcase up to 24" is more than I would want. My 20" is under 7 lbs.