Macross

Most hard-sided bags without zips need those luggage straps. We had a huge Delsey bag we used when my husband would have to take several types of uniforms to Germany. No packing light then.

yestravel

Macross - what do you mean by "Most hard-sided bags without zips"?

starrs

I've never used luggage straps but I did have a popped zipper with clothes fallig out on the baggage carousel at Logan one time. Delta gave me a new suitcase. I had asked for a box. That suitcase was a replacement suitcase that Delta sent me after I reported a crunched wheel in Hawaii. That was in the midst of weekly travel for 9 years. Three suitcases = 2 free from Delta to replace the first one I bought.

If you want a "name" suitcase for status, go for it. But IME the no name suitcases and the $10 Roma carryon that lasted for years have convinced me that I (personally) don't need to spend a lot on a suitcase. YMMV

yestravel

"If you want a "name" suitcase for status, go for it. But IME the no-name suitcases and the $10 Roma carryon that lasted for years have convinced me that I (personally) don't need to spend a lot on a suitcase. YMMV"
I like to buy the inexpensive bags because I am always looking for the latest, the lightest, easiest to carry If I spent a lot of $$ I wouldn't want to get a new one.

Macross

latches, no zips.

ninasdream

I have Travelpro, recommended by a coworker who was formerly an air steward and said that was what they all used. I purchased a set of 3 in 2000, and mostly use the 21" as carryon. They still look about the same as when I bought them. The zipper pull tab came off the larger one, otherwise intact. Black- I rely on something bright wrapped around the handle & a neon luggage strap. Whoah, I just looked at their website. I think I paid $200 for all 3. I wonder if it's the 20 years, or a lot of improvements I don't have.
suze love your luggage tag description. Brilliant!
Newark airport lost my 26" on departure for a cruise(even though all info was inside luggage as well as on tags). On the flight home, a frequent flyer seated next to me recommended Tumi. He came from a very high income town, but I went to a luggage store in the mall, and asked for "bulletproof" nylon. I meant ballistic! I thought, I'll never get a good price now and left.
I never bothered to replace it; only for cruises have I wanted all the cute clothes and shoes, and I'm not going to spend time buying toiletries and sunscreen once I get there, so had to check the bag.
I hope I get to decide whether to check it on the next trip, when we can travel safely again.

suze

Thanks ninasdream- I do love a colorful suitcase. And looks crazy enough I can't imagine anyone else would want it or believe it to be valueable. Tumi, Travelpro, any of the fancy brands mentioned here, are all too heavy for my needs (even if they weren't silly expensive for my budget).

I've always said if someone can come up with a sturdy suitcase that weighs only a few ounces, then I'd pay a lot for it!

schmerl

I'm with you on that suze. That's why I love my IT bag although it's not really what I"d call sturdy.

suze

No, I agree, the IT bags are not sturdy. And they don't last forever. Was only trying to say if I'm going to spend $1000 on luggage, it better not weigh 12 pounds -haha.

yestravel

I want a carry on under 6 or close to it. Its interesting to hear comments on IT luggage. I have looked at it and came close to buying it.

bandarq

have several pieces of Rimowa and love it but it is expensive. My daughter recently bought a piece from Away and is very happy with it

Sassafrass

https://www.overstock.com/Luggage-Ba...egation-region

I like Olympia luggage a lot. Have had several pieces and DH always seem to take them over, so this time I bought matching under seat totes, less than 4 pounds. They have some nice carry-ons too. If you like pockets and dividers, they are great for that.

ninasdream

looks nice! I am leary of using outside pockets, but I like the looks of all the inside ones and compartments.
Now, if you don't mind my asking, how do you find you use this? Is it your only carry on (besides handbag)? What else are you usually packing? I usually travel with a 21" that I carry on. But overhead bin guidelines are getting stricter and stricter. Appreciate you sharing your experience as my travel had been on hold until just before COVID.

suze

yestravel - The IT carry-on styles are between 3.5 to 6.0 pounds (~21")

yestravel

maybe when we can travel again i will get an IT carry on. Thanks

suze

Yah... I thought I was repurposing my best canvas carry-on tote as a new gym bag... but right now I sadly need neither haha.

Sassafrass

We bought these around Christmas, anticipating several trips this year, so sadly, have not used them yet. We almost always check luggage. We fear losing it though and like having meds, a change of clothes, I-pads, etc. with us, so we always do some kind of carry on. We had totes that attached to luggage, but once luggage is checked, we are left carrying it around. I hated that, so after a couple of trips carrying a bag on and off the plane, I looked for something that could attach to luggage, but still had wheels for pulling around in the airport, was big enough for our needs, but light enough to lift and smaller than most carry-ons because we don’t need it. In regular luggage, I use packing cubes so prefer one big compartment. For a carry-on, I like pockets so I can get to things easily, not have to dig through stuff.

What I expect with these is tickets, Misc papers, Note book (yes, I still use one), pens, etc. in small front zip pocket. Drinks, snacks, tissues, Tylenol, cough drops, in one side pocket. I-pad in front larger pocket, jacket and umbrella in other side pocket. Meds, clothes, extra shoes, inside. Basically, it holds everything we need after luggage is checked and in an emergency, fits just about any space, can be pulled or attached to luggage. I found ours at Tuesday Morning on sale for $39.99. Ours is the Olympia Lansing, wheeled, under the seat carry-on/RT 8200 series, 15”w x 14” h x 8” deep and weighs 4.7 lbs. This would do for a weekend or overnight, but not big enough for me to be my only luggage on a trip. Hope this helps.

Stormspark

Here are few things I learned.

Wheels - Look for sturdy wheels that have solid shafts attaching them to the body. Four way pivoting wheels, aka spinners, allow you to leave your bag upright, and wheel it down the aisle of the plane. Hard to do with only two wheels in back. Some manufacturers have moved to rollerblade style wheels, and not those flimsy casters.

Handle - Look for one that is long enough, and has more than one adjustable length stop. If the handle frame isn't inside the bag, you are giving up some internal packing space. Also look at the fit and finish inside the bag around the collapsed handle.

Pockets - Those hard sided bags look really great, but it can be very handy to have external pockets that let you quickly find items you will use during the trip.

Size - there are different regulations for carry on size between US and international flights. Best to double check that before dropping your money into a bag.

How do they open? Clamshell style where the zipper is in the middle of the bag requires more space when it's open because the clothes are packed into both halves of the bag. Top opening style you just unzip the flap, and can get to everything only needs half the table space to get to the contents.

Finally, the best brands I found in the shop were Tumi (VERY expensive and stylish) Briggs & Riley (really well built, has a unique compression ratchet that lets you overstuff the bag, zip it, and then smash it so it meets regs) Travelpro (Flight crew luggage, but highly discounted to them for promotional purposes) and Victorinox (best value overall, has most of the top end features but lower price point.)

khunwilko

Surely weight is only important if you are packing right up to the last gram in your allowance? It isn't the case you are carrying, it is the contents. .ir total weight.
When you compare a light and heavy piece the difference as percentage of total weight isn't that great a kg or so?. Most airlines allow 20 to 35 kg as standard checkin weight. The next problem you face is internal flights who tend to only permit the lower weights....but again that's down to your own items, not the bag itself.
The thing that would concern me about ultra light luggage also would be its strength and resilience

As for brands...I may be out of date but all my main luggage is Samsonite. I have used one large case since 1998. It is faultless. My computer bag has been in constant daily use since 2007 and shows no sign of wear.

The one thing you can't have is any breakage, i e. shell or hinge failure and I wouldn't know of any other brand that is equally bullet proof.

I don't like the idea of fabric luggage as I get the impression (perhaps wrongly) that it could be cut open or ripped on an edge of something during handling.
This year in April, I flew Bkk to UK with excess luggage and began to look for a new case, largely through boredom rather than any real need. In the end common sense prevailed...I saved the cost and filled the old Samsonite case to 30 kg with no problems at all.
This case has flown UK to Oz return about 7 times, several more trips Oz to Thailand (3or 4 per year) in between and several Thailand to UK in the last 15 years.
it has done camping trips into the tropical jungles and road trips around S E. Asia and Europe, it's frequently been overweight.
The wheels still work perfectly the handles are perfect, the locks still work including the combo, the only damage is the plastic name holder cover that fell off a few years back.
It's black... when I first bought it, you could see it coming on the conveyor belt from miles off... then to my consternation on one occasion I nearly picked up the wrong case ... it was the same model and color as mine.... as time progressed, it became more and more common to see similar cases coming along the carousel. Now I'm happy to say they are less commoner at least conspicuous as newer luggage seems to get more colourful and bizarre every time i fly. Let's just hope this new flimsy stuff survives the ravages of time and baggage handlers as well as my old Samsonite .

https://youtu.be/vz_Sxh4526w

PS - watch out for luggage straps . They may actually make it more likely your luggage or contents get damaged....they snag during handling and require extra throwing about by the handlers, they can come off and take the handles along with them. They form pressure spots on the casing. Your luggage needs to slide as easily as possible to survive unscathed.

Traveler_Nick

Most of the time I'm carry on only. A light weight bag makes that possible.

Many of the European airlines allow a carry on and a smaller personal item. Between the two I can pack quite a bit of stuff for a longer trip but only if the carry on is light.