cool luggage?
 

I am sick of my black ratty luggage and one can never locate it in the turnstyle...shopped on line and still found most to be unfashionately boring...even up towards 500 a piece...need large roller ...keeping some of the black..whats up with that?.

Do you really WANT "cool" or something that lASTS?

http://ca.samsonite.com/webapp/ca/se...1&langId=1

Eurenvy:

I was envious of those Japanese tourists that "walked" their luggage through the airport. After much research, I bought the Samsonite Spinner in 28" and roll-on (*a 26" is also available. I HIGHLY recommend the line. Comes in grey & black and I have seen in bright red also.

I bought at a Toronto luggage store CAD$190 for the large and CAD$150 for the roll-on.

regards Ger

Luggage. I am still learning. I was in Seattle, Cincinnati, Newark and Boston last month. Local travellers all seemed to be wheeling cabin sized luggage. Tourists like myself were struggling with non-wheeled cabin luggage and trolleys full of checked baggage. Smart Americans!

Luggage ID. Tie a flag to luggage, it may only need be a white handkerchief. Use textile paint and add a stripe or circle to sides of your bags. I have a Patagonia bag that is orange. Color withstanding Air France sent it to Bombay instead of Warszawa. It has also been to Finland.

Luggage: Note the bags that the air crew use. Ask them about luggage and such.

Agree about the airline folk--daughter is FA. Their original luggage is about $250/22" expandable. Just replaced hers at Costco with a "lookalike" for $90--a really nice piece of durable luggage. People getting 26-28" luggage really need to pare down and make sure that the 28" will even meet airline standards for size and weight when fully packed. We LOVE our 22-24" expandable pieces--pack in the 22" and bring home souvenirs by expanding it.

What you "need" is the red Tumi luggage! Tumi styling, tumi durability- and tumi price.

Euroenvy, there is more and more to choose from now in colorful luggage. You can even get everything from bright solid colors such as blue, orange, red or patterns or stripes and even black with huge, brightly colored polka dots. When everyone else starts buying colored luggage, I will be able to quickly spot my black, sturdy luggage (which I love) while all the people with polka dots are trying to decide which bag is theirs.

Hi,
When we went to Italy recently we took our BLACK bags with wheels, but we tied a small red ribbon to the handles. We were told that our luggage would probably not make it to Naples on our flight. But after we landed in Naples and I was looking out the window of the plane, I saw 3 bags with the red ribbons tied on the handles being put on the luggage cart. There the bags were waiting for us and easy to spot, even from the plane window.

We were strolling through London's Burlington Arcades yesterday and saw one pricey store selling candy pink luggage and luggage with a black and white cow pattern. Drew lots of window shoppers--whether anyone buys the stuff is a mystery.
I recently bought new inexpensive luggage (a 5 piece Pierre Cardin set at Penney's for $125 total). In 2001 I had bought a teal green top of the line set from Atlantic that is already showing signs of wear. I figure I'd rather replace something cheap in a couple of years than something expensive. However, I think the Victorinox line (as in Swiss army knives) puts out some very high quality, medium priced luggage. I like the way their luggage is designed to tilt back just a bit on its wheels, so it doesn't fall over when fully packed (as my cheap luggage does invariably).

I miss the old Dakota line, the "price value" line from Tumi. Really nice, well made stuff that cost about 40% less than Tumi. Unfortunately, I only bought one piece before they decided it was a little bit too reasonably priced (i.e., they lost money on making it), and discontinued the line. Too bad, I think they were stylish and would have lasted the distance--the piece I bought a few years ago is still going strong.
For travel when I'm not flying (i.e., taking the train or driving), I have a couple of pieces from Mulberry, a splurge purchase in 2002. They look great. But I won't subject them to the "tough love" of airline baggage handlers.

Never buy very expensive luggage that will go in the hold of an aircraft, not only will it get scuffed, dropped, rained upon, etcetera. Furthermore, LV monogrammed luggage always goes missing, be anonymous and don't buy large designer luggage - I never do.

However, treat yourself to cabin pieces that are from Prada in black nylon, very durable, subtle, and smart.

I really don't think that just becasue it cost more it is always better. I have bought sampsonite, London Fog and Jordache. The sampsonite looked beaten up really quickly, London Fog - roller stand broke off first time I used it, Jordache (cheap) is holding up as well as any. I had it so packed on last trip to London I am surprised it didn't burst open. The pullman has rollers and a strap and is easily navigated... The only problem is that you have to be careful of not going over the max weight because of size. I also tie a ribbon on my luggage so that it is easlily spotted. When you thnk about how they will be thrown around it really makes no since in spending too much for checked luggage.

Cool? I don't know, but we have a pair of these - 22", one in black and one in slate blue as shown but they have larger in the same line. We do the ribbon thing too for when we check them. Small tartan plaid cloth ribbons.

http://us.samsonite.com/us/images/si...ccc301fe33.jpg

They're a few years old now and holding up pretty well despite dragging them around the world and checking them as needed.

I noticed that they have a line of "hybrids" now, half softside with hard shell edges, that look pretty interesting and saw they come in red.

I always buy Atlantic luggage because we are lucky enough to have a shipping center in our town and they have a factory store.
They have a line that is very lightweight. That is what I am going for next. It received good reviews on packinglight.net.
Luggage is so beat up in baggage, that I try to buy inexpensive stuff and change it out frequently.

I sure agree with so many of the postors here about not spending a lot of money on luggage.

I have an expensive 26inch that I never want to use again. Want to buy a 22inch. And the lightest weight possible. And a color other than black for obvious reasons.

My 26inch is more or less ruined thanks to some rough handling by baggage people on my flight to Portland OR. I was upset about it but after reading so many Fodorites suggesting 22inch is better I am almost glad the airlines somewhat damaged my luggage. Now I do not have to feel guilty replacing it!

Go to Tuesday Morning, if you have one nearby, also TJMaxx, Marshall's, or Ross. They have plenty of very nice name-brand luggage deeply discounted, and they very often have the more unusual colours/patterns, because those don't sell as well as black at luggage and department stores. A large pullman should set you back just around $100 at any of these stores.

I'm very fond of Olympia myself; really well-designed.

I must tell you I never have the right luggage for the trip I'm about to take. But a couple of years ago I had a friend who had bought in Sweden some samsonite ultra lite 700 series. Couldn't find it state side (was told it was not made for not US sale)so contacted Paris department store and was about to buy it from them till I was in TJ Maxx and there it was. I love it. Even when loaded I can carry it up metro stairs in Paris. I agree and I don't travel with a 24 or larger either. Have learned how to pack different and use the new bags that suck air out of your clothes before you pack. Good luck

Second the Atlantic recommendation--and buy it at Tuesday Morning or on dept. store sales.

These recommendations are fantastic. I do have a Ross and a Marshalls right near me but not a Tuesday Morning. Will start checking after the holidays.
Good to know what other travelers have been happy with.

Happy travels everyone.

I also agree with the recommendation for the Atlantic luggage. I have a set of the lightweight and I love it. However, a word of warning, I purchased my set in red to avoid the problem of searching among a sea of black luggage. I quickly learned why black luggage is so widely used as my red luggage was filthy after the first flight. Black marks and smudges all over the luggage that simply will not come off. I figure I have to take only two or three more trips and the airlines will have converted my red luggage into black luggage. If I had to do it over again I would simply stick with the black to cover up the dirt and continue to tie a piece of colored cloth to the handle for easy identification.

jdraper, that is interesting. Never thought about red (or any color) getting black marks but sure makes sense. My daughter has a rather tapersty floral print (black backgroud) on her luggage which has made several trips. Maybe that is a better way to go although haven't seen any like that in the past few years.

So perhaps black with the red tie (which mine has) is still the way to go than. Thanks for the heads up.

LoveItaly - I didn't consider the dirt factor myself but it seemed obvious when I retrieved my checked bags after the very first flight. I would think that the tapestry bag would hide the dirt as well as black luggage would so perhaps that is the way to go in the future if I want to avoid black. I don't believe it was offered for the Alantic luggage and I was more interested in the luggage being lightweight and easy to pack than color. Perhaps they will offer it in the future. J

Color is the last thing I look for in luggage. Lightness, strength, and good design (expandibility is a great feature; small enough to carry on, if necessary, but bigger to accomodate the loot) are far more important.

My wife sewed brightly colored cloth (she's dayglo pink; I'm a garish green) around every handle on our bags, and it makes it easy to spot them anywhere. Marking every handle is important; if you mark but one, invariably that one will end up on the bottom.

My husband has some Timberland luggage which has turned out fabulos. It is soft but very durable, takes amazing amounts of stuff and is a khaki/military green type colour which hides dirt really well. I bought burgundy Samsonite soft tops recently to be able to spot them on the conveyor belt easily and yet durable.

For a lot of good recommendations for buying luggage and a chance to compare prices, check out www.packinglight.com

When I purchased this set at ebags.com, there were actually 4 pieces in the set. It looks like they revamped it, but you can buy an additional suitcase separately to get a 4 piece set.

http://www.ebags.com/international_t...4001%202003610

It comes in black, red or silver, and although you have the protection of hardside luggage, it is much lighter in weight than it looks.

BC

my black is Atlantic and most of it did hold up well..however now is is getting frayed and a few small holes... the biggest problem was with the largest bag which has nothing but the wire showing on the edges now. why is that only on the large bag?? anyway all have wheels...i went to Tuesday morning and found some ralph Lauren with leather trim ...now how would you use it without them ruining it? ...Need the large size 26-28... going to the 4-seasons Madrid next...

Anyone have experience with Mandarin Duck luggage? It's sold in Paris and Brussels (and elsewhere, I presume, but I haven't seen it) and it looks stylish, but have no idea how well it will hold up.

Look at the new Exploration line from Eagle Creek. It's great, it's sturdy, it's cool. It has an attached backpack.

<b>http://www.eaglecreek.com/</b>