Wheeled Luggage
 

My son borrowed and wrecked my very nice wheeled 26" upright that had been a great buy (less than $100) at a Samsonite outlet store. Now that I'm shopping for a new one, I see luggage brands I've never noticed before - and they seem as sturdy as Samsonite for about half the price. Some suggestions, please, on the best wheeled uprights for under $150.

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Try asking this on the Europe forum. There are always lots of discussions about the best luggage.

I love my Kipling (carry on) and Pathfinder (check in) luggage.
I got 2 pieces of the Pathfinder for 1/3 retail at a big Marshall's at Grapevine Mills and the other at the Marshall's at Pentagon City. The selection seems to be better at the really big Marshall's stores in areas where there is a lot of tourist traffic.
Kipling is moderate in cost and really durable... cute too.
I buy almost all of my extensive collection (20+ pieces) at Empire Luggage on Broadway in NYC. They have the best selection I have ever seen.
I have also bought some great Kipling items on eBay.

At the risk of sounding like an advice columnist, I must ask why you are shopping for the replacement luggage. Shouldn't your son assume the responsibility for replacing it?

The Europe forum discusses this in detail. I am amazed at how well a very cheap ($20) Rome rollon from Wal-Mart has lasted and an inexpensive set from Target. I've used these to roll heavy items in and out of exhibits for work and they are still going strong. My "fancy" roll-on is an expensive one with bells and whistles from LL Bean.

I've found rolling duffles don't roll very well. Next time I shop for wheeled luggage I'd take it for a test drive in the store with some stuff in it to see how well it rolls.

I was told, and I believe it, that the bulk of the less expensive luggage is all made somewhere in Asia and is mainly made by a couple of companies but labeled and marketed under many different names. There will be few differences in the many names of cheaper luggage you find.

The important thing is to check it out. I have seen a lot of rolling luggage that is hard to roll because the wheels are too small or too close together, making it always wanting to tip, particularly on non-level surfaces. Bigger wheels that are placed near the outer edges of the suitcase will work best.

I've also noticed that some luggage, including very expensive stuff like Tumi often has such small wheels so embedded into the suitcase, that if you try to roll it on cobblestones, or unpaved uneven surfaces, the case itself scrapes along. I suppose if you have good luggage you aren't supposed to be taking it off the beaten path?

Whatever you buy, make sure it has a warranty. Five years minimum.

I like ballastic nylon with super heavy zippers and very sold sturdy wheels.

I have found the best place to buy quality luggage at a good price is TJ Maxx or Tuesday Morning.

I just bought my husband a hard sided carryon pullman that was regularly $175 and clearanced at TJMaxx for $58. Can't remember the maker. Devel or something?

My American Tourister died after about 5 years, then I had a cheap WalMart bag that lasted about 3 months.

I bit the bullet and paid the price ($199) for an LLBean 22" roller bag (They've got other sizes). Why? the guarantee:

http://www.llbean.com/customerServic...guarantee.html

Zipper breaks, they replace the bag. Don't like the wheels? They give you your money back. Doesn't last as long as the $50.00 knock off? They'll give you a new one.

It could be the last bag you ever buy.

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...p;guideId=5928

I have mixed feelings about expensive vs. cheap luggage. For $199, mentioned above, you can buy four or five cheaper bags. I tend to get tired of things anyway.

We had two guaranteed Orvis rolling duffles. The repaired them twice, but that didn't help the idea that once the wheels came off the second week of a five month trip in Europe. If it had been cheap, I'd have thrown it away and bought a new one, rather than dragging it all over Europe until I got home to get it repaired. Now they sit in the closet, as I decided I wanted something new anyway.

Now I have a $500 plus Hartman rolling duffle. It's great, but frankly I could be just as happy with some of the very cheap versions instead, and replace it every year or so. Also I'd worry less about it getting broken into at airports or hotels -- it's very recognizable as expensive luggage.

Check your local Costco if you're a member. They sell 2 sizes of wheeled luggage under their Kirkland brand which are very well constructed, rugged and durable. I've had one for years. I carry it side by side with my Tumi and can hardly tell the difference. They aren't super cheap (around $89 for the smaller 22 inch size) but are better quality than a comparably priced piece from a department or luggage store.

Ditto the Tuesday Morning, TJMAxx suggestion. I've been buying luggage at these places and I'm very happy with the results and wear. My kids are growing, so as I needed larger luggage I would pick up pieces at discount. Business travelers will, perhaps, be looking for matching stylish pieces.

If you opt for a rolling duffle, in addition to the wheel suggestions, be sure the bottom is reinforced with metal braces for the length of the bag.

I think the expensive luggage is a target for theives and agree with Patrick. I never disliked luggage as much as I did my Tumi. I had 2 pieces stolen, luggage tags stolen, broken zippers, etc.

I now have the Patagonia Freightliner Weekender and Freightliner Max. Love, love, love. Them. The wheels are roller blade wheels and I carry 2 replacement wheels with me on long trips (just in case). They are really durable and roll nicely. I had a problem with the large one where the leather on one edge was ripping (airport handling) and Patagonia replaced the entire, one year old bag, without question.

I have a wheeled 22" from JC Pennys and a wheeled 24" expandable from Marshalls (discount outlet) both were purchased for >$50 and have lasted years.

Bridging this thread with the duct tape one: I have about a 1' bit of duct tape (Duck tape, ok?) along one seam of a larger 26" checkable bag because it got tossed and some of the trim pulled away from the fabric. Now that's all I ever check (when I check baggage) because it looks so sad and seedy and is very very obvious at the baggage carousel. In fact, the inside works perfectly well and has the best array of straps and pockets -- not too many of either.

Warning re: expensive bags -- they tend to have all kinds of "packing aid" boards and shelves and snaps and folders and nets inside, which just take up weight and room. I liked the dimensions, color, and heaviness of the zipper of one such (American Tourister?) but had to cut out a lot of the interior nonsense to make it functional.

I have many cheap bags from places like target. I like the carry on 22 inch size. The kids roll them all over the airport banging them around. We check the larger sized bags and they get all banged up also. I buy cheap and I buy every so often. Like Patrick says, you get tired of the same bag and if it's cheap in the trash it goes!

On the issue of luggage, when I needed a new 26 or 28 incher, I went to a department store that was having a luggage sale. I bought the cheapest thing available that was big and rolled. It has lasted longer than my Samsonite.

I decided that spending money on a high priced suitcase was not worth it. The airlines are going to tear it up anyhow.
Toughness is not proportional to price.

When this piece of luggage goes, I buy from Bean because they do back their products. I got a Bean Goretex jacket. It started leaking. I got a new one at no extra cost. I still have it and use it.

On the responsibility issue, I well before the end of my teaching career that this is the baby boomer age.

Parents now come to the university with their adult children and fuss at the professor for flunking their little darlings. I had more than one nasty incident with irate parents. In one case the guy went all the way to the associate dean, who told the guy what I had been telling him. The student failed the course. He was one of 5% who did.

Parents also get ticked off because the prof has no idea which one of 300 students their little darling is.

I have had both parents come into my office and demand to know their student's grades. I told them I could not reveal that information. They hit the ceiling. I said "Your child is an adult. The Buckley Amendment protects the right to privacy for adults."

Moreover, I told them, your son has all his old tests and homework papers. What he made on those papers is his business. If he wants to tell you, fine. But I am not revealing that information without his written consent.

Also Boomer Parents take their 18 year old children to school like my mother took me on the first day of the first grade. Some of them even go to class with them!

They even want to decide the child's major for them before the child has taken his or her first major course.

Some universities have provisions for the parents to spend the night in the dorms so they can see what it is like.

Orientation these days at some universities is more for the parents than it is for the kids.

If I had asked my dad to go talk to one of my college professors because I had done poorly in a course, he would have exploded at me! And if he had gone to a class with me, I would have fallen over in a heap.

But today's fashion statement is to cling, hover, and mother. Perhaps guilt comes in because mom worked and did not see her children grow up. Now she wants to sleep in the dorm room with them.

I think the parents should go the whole nine yards. Before fussing at the prof, they should also go out and get drunk with their little darlings on Thursday night or the night before a big test. (The traditional drinking binge night at some schools is Thursday. It serves as a warm-up for Friday and Saturday.)

Then, after drinking, mom and/or dad should go back to the dorm room or apartment in an equally drunken state and have fun watching what goes on after their little darlings "go to bed."

Some of these students get more sex in a semester than their parents probably had in their whole lives!!

I hate to sound cynical, but that is the way it is these days. Mom and Dad come and clean up the mess!

Yikes, Bob! Are these parents the 'soccer moms' who's kids have grown older?
My daughter is a 18yr old (almost 19) junior college freshman, living at home. I do keep close tabs on her but I have had nothing to do with her college selections, grades, etc. She knows she owes it to me to pass and not waste my money or her time. She does not date or even 'go out'. She works 40+ hours a week and takes a full course load every semester.
No time for foolin' around.
As long as she respects me, I will respect her.
Please tell me I am not the only 'traditional' parent...?

We have found that our Kirland bags from Costco have gotten us through Egypt, Africa, Europe many times, Galapagos, Hawaii many times , around the USA and local California trips and no wheels have fallen off and only a couple zipper pulls were lost along with the padlocks, probably due to the automated luggage systems, not thieves because the pull also disappeared and nothing was cut. Our hardsided Samsonite bag was trashed by Alaska Air a few years ago en route to an Alaska cruise...OUCH!! We now secure all our check in bags with those little plastic strip latches like the ones to secure electric wiring to each other...the name??? If security wants to check the bag, go ahead and cut! For longer trips we use both padlocks and the plastic strips and say to security.."go ahead and cut if you want to!" (we carry extras in the bags) (The only hang-up is you can't carry scissors on board, due to the nasty folks who brought us 9/11, so we need to have the porters at hotel check-in cut the little plastic cables. small price to pay for security.)Then the airport security folks mark the bag with their very secret marker pen color and since we are very boring looking folks, nothing is ever cut!And the x-ray confirms our very boring contents!
Our son has used his Ricardo bags for over 10 years and they still hang in there. Cheap is good if it is well built!