Expensive luggage worth it?
 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/is-exp...gage-worth-it/

I've had some expensive suitcases and they get thrashed if you check them in.

Now I got something which is light and under $100 for my checkin.

Might be willing to spend more for carryon if it's light yet sturdy and had the right combination of compartments, for instance an outlet laptop slot that could be locked away.

I have Rimowa that I use only on trains in Europe or on flights in biz class on Singapore Airlines. For flights to/from the US, 10-year old soft sided Samsonite. It looks beat up but that means I don’t worry what PHL baggage handlers will do with it.

You check in the bag for Singapore Airlines flights or only use for cabin luggage?

$100 wow, I have a range of bags depending on what I'm doing. My cycle paniers were £30 the pair. They are not waterproof but I line them with 2p plastic black bin liners. My fancy bags came as part of a 5 bag set (giant to tiny) which cost £21 for all five, on one the strapping failed so I repaired it. When traveling for "business" (this early retirement thing is such a laugh) I have a wheeled thing that can take a laptop and changes for 2 nights which I picked up for £25 a few years back which I share with Mrs B as she also has to travel on occassions.

I see no reason to rise above these prices

Check in and carryon. Note: I got my Rimowa back in 2011 in Dresden before their ridiculous price hikes. I would not buy it at the prices today.

I usually carry Briggs and Riley or Tumi or Samsonite. ALL of them have been damaged to some greater of lesser extent whenever I have checked them. These days I never check anything unless it is totally unavoidable and that said would probably buy something less expensive whenever I need something new

I like Lipault bags for light weight, durability amd functionality. It is what I consider low to mid range in cost and available in many colors and a few patterns and I have three different 21” models. But I also have a Steamline bag, and a full set of Victorinox. I finally retired a beautiful set of Hartman leather luggage that was just too heavy. And I have several different overnight type bags of different makes in every material from leather to vinyl coated cotton to quilted cotton. My dirty little secret is that I choose luggage for a trip based first on the type of travel, then on what I will be wearing. I coordinate the bags to my wardrobe. No black, easy to lose bags for kswl. All my bags have cost considerably more than $100 and to me they are worth the cost. I rarely check bags but when I do they are usually fine. I would think that cheap, poorly made bags are more vulnerable to the dangers of baggage handling than the more expensive, better quality ones.

Moved to Travel Tips

We use IT luggage which is cheap and light. We always check our bags and IT holds up very well and comes in lots of colors that are easy to spot on the carousel. It’s also very expandable, the zippers work well . For us, it’s perfect.

The recommendation came from suze, and it was a winner for us!

Ditto, I paid like $60 or $80 for a 28-inch eBags. Mainly chose it for being light.

That lasted about a year or two and I forget what fell apart, either a zipper or a caster. I contacted them and they replaced it with a more sturdy model which I now have.

It held up about as well as a Tumi that I used to have.

I covet a Rimowa bag all the time but have lipault and have been happy. I have a Longchamp tote that I use for quick trips. It can actually unzip and become a big bag.

Our oldest IT bags are good as new after 7 years.

I dont' care at all about having expensive luggage or what it looks like. My luggage lasts forever and forever, I have one piece that is probably 30 years old. And I buy cheap luggage, stuff at Target, etc. I don't think I've ever paid more than $60 for a piece of luggage in my life. I think I've gotten some at Kohl's or TJMaxx, etc. I do have an IT 24 incher that is very lightweight and it was the only color in stock when I needed it for a trip, so I bought it but it's a weird fabric that does tend to get some black marks on it (it's not rough fabric, kind of smooth polyester stuff). It's ok other than that, so I just deal with it. I prefer my other bags that are more darker canvas type fabric and they don't show problems. I have had one zipper on the front compartment lose it's pulltab on a Delsey I had, but I just put a big paperclip in that for a puller.

I've had one bag I really liked which did lose a caster in transit once. That's due to the newer style of bags with wheels that go any direction, so they stick out a lot. I did pay to have that wheel replaced as it was practically new and I really liked it. It hasn't happened again and I've owned that bag at least 10 years.

I get zero utility from having expensive luggage since it's just a box more or less to move stuff in and cheap stuff lasts forever. no, cheap bags do not generally have problems from baggage handling. As I said, it's just a box more or less, there aren't a lot of problems to occur.

"Expensive luggage worth it?" - In my experience, yes it is.

Like Christina I usually just go to TJMaxx or Marshall's if what I already have isn't going to work.

The favorite style is the polycarbonate clamshell. Nearly everone makes them. A small Heys with a scratch-resistant diamond finish has held up for over a dozen years including the famous tossing off the top of the Landcruiser incident in Bolivia. The lock and zippers are the weak points. Wheels still attached and functional. I also have a convertible duffel/ backpack by UnderArmour that I really like for my carryon. Most trips I can get by with just those two bags.

The bag I like the most is too small for my hiking poles and tripod, so if those are going then there's a somewhat larger fabric bag that I check. I don't particularly like the design of the fabric bags that are basically one large compartment.

Tumi is nice but not worth the $$$ to me.

My two favorites:

https://www.marmot.com/equipment/bac...169802942.html

https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product...WCO42_550.html

We have two of the Osprey bags and one of the Marmot. I like that they're pretty light, durable, and have two wheels instead of the rollers. We take public transportation a lot in cities, and they roll well on the streets and over curbs and are easy to lift.

Sometime in the '80's I had a bag shredded by Lufthansa. As the remains came down the carousel a Lufthansa representative was waiting with a cart. She loaded the clothing and took me to a room full of luggage and said I could take my pick. They were all no brand and pretty much the same so I picked one and used it for 30 years, while other expensive pieces had to be replaced due to wear and tear.

I've given up on expensive luggage

Since I never check (except when gate checking is required on some very small regional jets) my bags aren't usually abused by the airlines/ramp workers. So honestly 'quality' doesn't matter that much to me. As long as the wheels are sturdy enough for dashing through airports/train stations I'm good. I do pay a lot of attention to the interior set up - the fewer dividers, snap out bags, gizmos the better.

But I love luggage and have a lot of pieces - some high end, some bargain basement. As long as the features are what I want I mostly go for the look- I know its 'shallow' but I want pretty or at least unusual. :)

I just spent spent some time researching and shopping for new luggage as our 15-year old set of softside Samsonite was just too heavy.

Last month, I purchased two medium and carry one hard shell Briggs and Riley bags for my husband and I. They were more than I wanted to spend but I love them! Love the size, how they expand and the lifetime warranty.

Ever since I found IT that works. I have just two, I don't use at the same time. One 24" one 26" both from TJ Maxx at super reasonable prices. I can't justify weight in an empty suitcase for the kind of travel I do (tropical vacation stay in one spot for 10days to a few weeks). Sure if some other brand came up there that was light, interesting, different caught my eye I might snag it. I will never travel with a black suitcase again :-) and I'm not married to mine. The idea of expensive last forever kind of luggage is not my style, psychologically or as far as a purchase. I'm sure I've never spent more than about $60 on any suitcase ever.