Hi missypie,

We have had everything over the years from Tumi to your regular luggage. My most recent favorite was purchased because we needed a second 22" for our trip to Italy. I was at REI looking for day packs when I found my new favorite piece of luggage. It is fantastic. Something about the pocket sizes and design that impress me more than any piece I have owned. It is more lightweight than our Tumis, but very sturdy and maneuverable. It is the best I have owned and I got it on sale for around $100.

I have never "loved" any piece until now, but in keeping with your question, I do now "love" my REI luggage.

:) Tiff

Ok, so what is good as a carry on-Air France-with wheels?

Another Victorinox Werks Traveler fan. Lightweight and holds up great. I use a 22" roller and can pack much more into it than I expected. I advise looking online for it because online prices seem to be much lower than those at, say, Macy's.

I'll put in a vote for the Air Boss from Red Oxx (www.redoxx.com). Excellent construction, carry on size and can swallow quite a load if necessary. The best I've found in 20+ years of travel

Important fact for Briggs and Riley - wheel and handle mechanism is OUTSIDE the bag, not inside like many other products. What about damage from airline handling? No problem. Guaranteed by B & R.

I have a set of Roncato luggage in Barbie pink and I absolutely adore it. I always know where my bag is, and because it is a hard case, I never over stuff, nor do I have to worry about breakage inside.

Roncato luggage is just perfect for travelers. Especially the hard stuff.

I have Ricardo luggage. Bought it at a department store and I love it. Also have seen it online. It's not real expensive and it's survived 3 trips to Europe and many trips around the US.

I have Ricardo also, I got it at Costo six years ago, three piece set. It has survived several airplane trips well. A piece of one zipper handle has broken off.

But really anything is a step up over what I put up with in college, traveling to and from school over breaks.

I had asked for suitcases with wheels, and my non-traveling family bought me two big suitcases with little tiny wheels and a leather strap you took out from a side pouch and clipped to a metal loop. Pulling two of those so that one or the other didn't fall over sideways was a real art form.

I have a Ricardo too and I have lost count of how many airline trips it has been on..but the funny thing is one of the zipper handles on mine broke off too.

This piece of luggage is the 29 inch and I need a smaller size. Am trying to figure out if a 22 inch would be big enough for say a three week trip. I do keep packing less and less.

If I see a smaller piece of luggage by Ricardo I will buy it as I have been very pleased with the one I have had for years. I do want a color other than black though.

I have a great Eaglecreek backpack which I bought 6 years ago. The recent model which comes closest is this one:

http://www.eaglecreek.com/10053.html

The good thing is that the big compartiment opens completely with a zipper, so you don't have to stuff everything in from the top, and it has a zip off daypack included.

Be it Delsey, Victorinox, or the other brands now making light luggage, one thing I can contest to is that once you have tried them you will never go back to regular luggage. While packing for our last trip, my mother grabbed my 22" Delsey by accident instead of her 22" Samsonite (same color). When she realized her error and grabbed her suitcase and noticed the difference in the weight, she begged me to let her use my suitcase. I had to use my 25" for that trip.

After that trip, I am now permanently missing a 22" piece from my set.

I was trying to check on the weights for the Victorinox Werks luggage and can't find it anywhere. Ebags ususally lists weights on all the luggage they sell but omits it on their stuff it seems. I hate the claim "30% lighter than....' but then you aren't given the actual weight! any info from V W fans? lynda

Hi lyndash,

There are some weights on ebags for the Werks Traveler cases, but not for all of them. So just for comparison, I jotted these down. These are all for the 21" - 22" rolling cases

Werks Traveler -- 9.10
Delsey Helium -- 8.10
Samsonite Aspire -- 8.3
Travelpro Platinum -- 10.6
Briggs & Riley Baseline Superlite -- 12

Just for comparison.

Remember, too, that Victorinox also has a lifetime warrenty.

Good luck!

s

Thanks for the reply. I've got a piece of Aspire Lite from Samsonite on order from ebags so eventually I'll chime in with an opinion on it. lynda

I bought a 22 inch and it's very light. I paid $25 for it at a Christmas shop ten years ago and it's gone on at least one Europe trip a year and still looks great. The wheels and all. My carry on is a leather overnight Longchamp.

My Hartmann luggage was a very big splurge for me but I absolutely love it. When I saw the Wings Collection, I just knew I had to have. I buy myself a piece every other year. I travel internationally and domestically several times a year so I wanted something I knew I could depend on. Each and every time I travel I am always amazed that when I pull my clothes out of the luggage they are in the same condition (no wrinkles) as they were before they went in. I actually found a great company out in California that makes custom made covers at a reasonable price to protect the beautiful material that is used in the Wings Collection.
Well worth saving up for!!

Hi missypie,

I have had a set of Briggs and Riley Luggage for a few years. It's a bit expensive, but well worth it! It is garunteed for a life time against anything even if the airlines damages it. I have had mine repaired at least 3-4 times due to the airlines. And the company has fixed it like new for no cost. I was told by the luggage store I go to to get it repaired. That Briggs and Riley are the only company that does that. You can look them up on line. They have all sorts of bags.

Good Luck,
PrincessDee

P.S. Hope this helped.

I love my 7-yr-old Ricardo 22" expandable. I like the overall design, especially the hanging section. In addition, I have two matching totes, one which fits over the handle of the 22" and the other can be carried on a clip that comes with the luggage. This luggage has made 14 international flights and several domestic trips with no damage whatsoever. I travel a month with the 22" and one tote.

We were giving our American Tourister
luggage it's last rites. Looked for the Delsey
lite line but came up empty as it
appeared to be a hot commodity at this particular time.

Anyway, we tried the Rick Steves 21" wheeled carry-on, the attraction was it's weight only being 7-1/4 lbs,
the 2500 cubic inches along with the 2" expandable.

Now, We each only use that 21" and a 14" boarding
tote from LLBean.

The exception is for a cruise when we check a 26" rolling suiter and use an 18" rolling carry-on. The 18" is great with having to give up your bag the night before.

We absolutely love our
RS & Bean luggage!
They're light and do their job
well.

I have acquired a lot of different luggage and sizes but I found a good condition hard sided Samsonite luggage at the GoodWill store, which is small and holds enough items plus I carry a small carry on. The suite case didn't have any keys and the luggage stores said that I couldn't get one but my neighbor had one and loaned me his key to copy which worked in my case plus he had the instructions as to how you change the code for the suite case. I have a strap that fits around my suite case and can be unlocked by the TSA security if necessary. I really like the hard sided case. The handle and the wheels are really important and this has both that are excellent. I am sold on wheels and wouldn't use a bag without one. Hope that this helps.