FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Two Wheel vs. Four Wheel Spinners - Specifically Tumi
Old May 28, 2012, 1:23 am
  #8  
tfar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Berlin and Buggenhagen, Germany
Posts: 3,509
If I am not mistaken your main concern is to be able to maneuver it easily around small distances when standing in a queue. Believe me, the downsides of a spinner are not worth that little upside. In other words, just put up with maneuvering a little less easily while standing in a queue and take all the advantages of a 2-wheel roller including better stability and better durability.

Imagine, if one of your 4 wheels breaks, the rolling function is close to unusable. If one of your 2 wheels breaks you can still drag it. It won't be smooth but you won't have to carry it.

The wheels also take up quite a bit of space. That means that if you still want a compact bag that fits in the overhead alright, you sacrifice on interior volume. While if you still want decent interior volume, the outer size gets so big that the overhead will be even more of a problem. Something's gotta give.

As I said in my first post, the spinner is useful on a big heavy suitcase on even surfaces. That's where it shines. On a small, light suitcase meant to operate on a variety of surfaces and to be reliable, a 2-wheel roller is clearly the better choice, if you ask me.

Now, if you were ready to pay close to $700 for a Rimowa Topas Cabin spinner ($1000 if bought in the US) in the 20" format, I am quite sure you'd be thrilled by its performance and looks, but you might have to give up some interior volume and some practicality because the Topas don't have any exterior pockets.

Till
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