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.

Well, we knew that the who "psycho" thing as to what your luggage says about you and what kind of person you are would eventually emerge. Actually, I guess it is really what people want their luggage to say about them to others.

I also have an IT bag that I purchased at TJ Maxx. It is so light and it is purple so I love it.

This is similar to the carryon I have, although this onehas the extra zipper for expanding (which adds weight but flexibility). Under $100 on sale and a 5-year warranty.

https://heysamerica.com/products/frontier-21-carry-on

I guess it is really what people want their luggage to say about them to others.

Whoa! What the heck are you talking about?

Is this what happens when thread are moved out of the Lounge?

Nah, from personal experience, it is bad, I had read a report, and it repeated the same stuff, you often lose things while travelling and especially when I travelled to Asia, my backpack was open at the airport by some dude. I recommend reading some tips on these, or perhaps you should go to a safe country where you dont have to worry about expensive luggage. Besides, expensive luggage is one thing and having luggage that is useful another. I usually prefer buying things in the country where I am going, that way it is easy.

You haven't specified 'expensive' although when I saw the prices for Tumi, I figured that would fit the bill, no pun intended.

I think with packing cubes and other 'accessories' one can make fairly ordinary luggage perform pretty well although good zippers are a must.

And the wheels. I like the skate wheels on my Eddie Bauer, and the soft but pretty rugged fabric exterior. It wasn't very cheap, but I wouldn't call it expensive either.

So my carryon roller board, which I stuffed until it bulged, developed a tear on one of the front compartment zippers, for the laptop padded compartment.

I can close it but I decided to look at similar carryons which fit the International definition and I found some which are lighter than the one I have but supposedly had greater overall capacity -- internal dimensions and calculated liters were greater somehow.

Just went to Macy's with a tape measure and was looking at them. First of all, Macy's has some 50% off signs but the prices are like over double what they are online.

For instance this TravelPro Versapack 19-inch carryon is $195 to $205 at Amazon, depending on the color.


Macy's wants $460.

I checked it out in person though and it feels very light, though it's less than a pound lighter than my current carry on.

I looked at the IT luggage they had which is suppose to fit under the 22 x 14 x 9 international carryon limits. They have two with good reviews, both under $80. Some reviewers complained that they developed tears right away. These are ultra light though, like around 4 pounds while other international carry ons are 7-9 pounds and more.

I wanted to check them out in person though but TJ Maxx and Kohl's only lets you order them from their website. I couldn't tell if local stores carried them. Sounds like these chains, which I've never visited, will let you return to the local stores but they don't stock them. They also didn't have the same models as those on Amazon.

So I splurged and ordered the TravelPro, spending probably $150 more than the IT luggage. Or keeping my current one.

They all seem to ship out of NJ, regardless of which website you choose. And only one color guaranteed delivery in the next few days. Other colors were end of the month or in September, out here to CA. So I chose boring gray, as opposed to more boring black.


Macy's had Tumis and Victorinox and other brands of carryons for $600, 800. I wouldn't be predisposed to spending that much. I checked them out though and they're not organized the way I would prefer, which is an accessible padded laptop compartment outside the main compartment.

In fact the padded outer laptop compartment seems fairly rare. I guess people just throw their laptops in the main compartment, in a padded sleeve. Would be a PITA to get through security that way. OTOH, these days, they're having you take out anything electronic, including cameras and lenses (well they have focus motors I guess?).

So I went with expensive-ish but not truly expensive.

No, don't believe it is, but luggage has changed to being lighter and lighter. I invested quite a bit of money about 25 years for a large Hartmann vertical piece with shelves that was state of the art then, but the wheels were very tiny, and when packed, it was VERY heavy on Metro steps overseas etc. Then took a very large wheeled duffel for a 3 wk trip to Spain and it was so very heavy, swear my left arm got longer pulling it. Since then, have an inexpensive hardshell 24" case which is the MAXIMUM bag I take anywhere for any duration. If absolutely necessary, I add a 21" Lipault to take as carryon, but it's become more about lighter weight clothing -- silks, super light pants, and have a whole 'travel department' in the back of my closet . I decide what to pack depending on what they weigh -- truly. Merino & lightweight down are lifesavers, and still find myself packing 5-8 prs of shoes and coming out under 50 lbs. Luggage scale a necessity!

You know they make suitcases with a built-in scale these days.

I don't know how people can handle 50 lb. luggage?? There's no way I could deal with that on my own. My max. is 25-30 lbs. total weight packed (suitcase under 5 lbs empty) and that is for staying in a single location. For a moving around multiple cities trip, I'd make sure it was even less.

Been thinking about getting a Rimowa as a carry on but check in trips, the Samsonite soft luggage is definitely reliable. Been using ours for 6 years. We also had a Rimowa checkin luggage but it got trashed during our trip from PHL to Guam. We used a luggage cover, but it still didn't work so it might be more practical to get an expensive carryon luggage.

I never buy expensive luggage. I mostly care about the weight empty. And the fancy name brands are super heavy.

Luggage brand signaling:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/what-...ays-about-you/

A lot of others have said the same, but I'll throw another vote out for Samsonite luggage. It's pretty sturdy and durable in my experience.

There is a good Black Friday sale on Briggs and Riley. Not all styles.

It took every corpuscle of energy in my body to heft our pair of pregnant hogs suitcases up onto the TGV storage rack last month.
We snagged the final 2 spots.
And we always try to book seats right next to that rack and the WC.
Noticed yesterday that our local Staples stationary/tech shop now offers some suitcases for sale.

Bill Maher recently rightly observed, "Why the fuck did it take sooo long for someone to think of inventing wheels-added-to-that-heavy-case?!"

I am done. the old man and the huff and puff

I alway look at the listed weight of the suitcases when I shop.

There's more variation in weight between brands or model at the same or similar size than one would suspect.

I agree. For me the weight empty is the most important thing. Many (most? all?) the expensive, high-end bags are heavy! I don't need 10 pounds before I've even put anything in the bag -lol!

My picks are light-weight, less expensive suitcases that I buy one at a time and am happy to replace every few years.

At which points on your trips are you all finding that you have to carry heavy luggage?

I know that's necessary if you are taking a train, but if you are flying point to point, and staying in hotels, , where does the carrying for long distances come in?

For me, it's a taxi to the airport...short trek to check-in counter. Very rarely, pay extortionate fee in US airport to rent cart.

Flight...on rare occasions when help is needed, flight attendant or kind fellow passenger helps lift carry-on into overhead compartment.

Arrive at destination airport; retrieve carry on, with help if necessary.

Retrieve checked luggage at carrousel (if in fact, it shows up); use free cart (many/most airports outside US) to bring bag(s) to taxi rank

Arrive at hotel, taxi driver takes bag(s) out of trunk and inside hotel.
Staff takes luggage to room.

As it happens, I watched Hard Knocks on HBO, which shows behind the scenes at NFL teams.

They show them boarding a charter plane to fly them for their next road game.

One NFL player complains about having to lift his carry-on sized suitcase up the stairs to board the plane -- apparently these charters aren't parked at regular airport terminals with jetways.

These carry on suitcases are at most 20 pounds, unless they stuff it with gold bars or something? A big NFL player, who is used to training with huge weights, complaining about lifting a suitcase up maybe 20 steps to board a charter where every seat has plenty of leg space, if they're not all lie flat seats.

SCRB,
Much as I love me some football, it never ceases to amaze me when members of the 1% or near-1% complain about such trivial matters such as your above scenario.
As for the topic, Mrs Z just today ordered one of those wheeled carrying carts with a strap. That, to make our airporting easier. We used the wheelchair option for our most recent trip but have both recovered from those injuries.

I am done. the whining NFL millionaire