Travel Products - Rimowa Topas, holes under corner guards?

I just purchased a Rimowa Limbo (29") and I am very happy with it. 6 flights in Europe in 3 weeks, and only some dents on the corner guards, and the body of the luggage still looks new. Almost no scratches. Beautiful product and engineering.

Now, I would like to buy the Topas alu luggage (also 29"). I would like this piece because I need a sealed luggage against rain, etc. When I look at the Rimowa brochure and other info on the internet, it seems like that at the corners where the metal caps/guards are placed, there are actually cutouts underneath. ie. the corners are not solid aluminum but are holes, and they are capped by the metal corner guards. Is that true? if that is the case, can rain water, etc. get through these corners where the guards are not technically sealed to the corners?

Thanks.

My wife and I have 4 pieces of various Topas alu products, and a large XXL Rimowa Silver Integral alu suitcase.

Having flown in and out of Europe for many years, and more importantly Manaus, in the Amazon basin, and Fortaleza, on the coast, we have never experienced leaks inside. Even watching our luggage being unloaded by hand, and carted unprotected into the baggage claim area, in torrential tropical rain. Our contents which have included stereo equipment, an expresso maker, and even a flatscreen TV and DVD player were all accounted for safe and dry.

The alu cases perform well against heat, and also dust. There is a rubber or silicone gasket around the inside edge of ours which would account for that protective layer, much like a giant O-ring. My only caution is to keep that gasket clean at all time with a hand wipe after each trip, and check that both halves of the case align properly. I have never observed any infiltration near, or around the corner guard caps.

Other than the fact that the cases aren't certified as submarines, you should be fine !

Swissaire, thanks for the quick response. Appreciate that. I am actually thinking about bringing some nice chocolates to Thailand to my client, and will test that wtih a Rimowa aluminum case and will report the experience.

One more question, and I am not sure if you have experience on this also - other than the beauty factor ( the look), are there any technical/practical advantages on the Topas titanium over the regular silver color Topas?

I am inclined to spend the extra to get the Topas titanium, but I think after much use, with all the dents and scratches, this beauty factor will disappear very quickly, making the regular Topas a more practical investment.

I wish someone would be kind enough to post a photo of a "very seasoned" Topas vs a photo of a "very seasoned" Topas titanium.

Thanks.

Ocean;

I am not sure where you are flying from but if it is North America I might suggest hand-carrying the gift chocolates, and wrap them after your arrival.

If you are fortunate enough to purchase a Rimowa Titanium case ( envy, envy, envy), or the LH Private Jet version, I think you would enjoy using it for many years.

The finish quality appears better especially with the interior than compared to the Topas, but to each his/her own. You will have good protection of your items, and the contents protection is the primary consideration to us.

Not much to show but if you click on EXTRAS above, to PHOTOS, and then my Rimowa photos, you can see a Topas carry-on, " seasoned " since 1994. This case has been unexpectedly gate checked 4x that I recall, but primarily used as carry-on to an from Europe-North America-South America.

TAM gate checked it once to Manaus-Belem-Fortaleza, but was kind enough to place a large FRAGIL sticker all over the front of the case. Although much appreciated, it took one hour to clean it off and remove it. But there were no scratches.

Swissaire: To me the better interior of the Topas titanium are better fabric, and a suiter with shoe/laundry bags. Other than that, it is pretty much the same as the regular Topas. Or am I missing something.

I spent a few days search thru many comments on this site about Topas or Topas Titanium, and I found most ownerships were topas, not the titanium. I guess most buyers are not that willing to pay the premium for the better look. But to be honest, I think the titanium is truely beautiful. I just don't know after, say, 10 trips (bag checked), will it still be so beautiful. And that is why I want to find out more reasons to justify the $500 or so premium.

Thanks again for all your insights.

Ocean

Leather trim is another feature.

The cases last a very long time, so the purchase is a good investment.

thanks. BTW, any tips to get stickers (more the left over glue) off aluminum? Ocean

ALU and removing stickers and airline decals, and a few other tips.

The custom here in Europe is to add and leave stickers on luggage, including car sports carriers, and not remove them. Sort of a travel book of your travels or sport adventures. They also hide dents to a degree. There is even a market in old stickies here for hotels long gone, and past airlines and cruise ships that vanished long ago. But if you wish to have the clean, " living in the catalogue look," I can suggest the following:

1. Soak the sticker with a wet sponge for an hour or so. I placed a large wet soapy boat sponge (non abrasive type) on the equally large TAM paper sticker, let it sit, and did some other work for an hour. After that a little of the sticker began to lift, so I rubbed the remainder off with the sponge. Only rubbing via hand and forearm power.

As the rest of the case has also been cleaned, I give a cloth a light spray of stainless steel oil (3M ?) apply it to the outside of the case, and wiped everything clean, and well air dried, before storing.

2. Regarding polycarbonate material cases, I was shown an American product called Goof-Off in a Rimowa store for cleaning the luggage cases. I bought some of the same and it does work for scuffs, and light marks and scratches on polycarbonate.

However a word of caution ( !!! ), as there appears to be different formulations of the product under the same name. Another FT member has reported that his case marked or dulled when using that product. I would test it on the bottom of the case near the wheels first, before liberally applying it on the case to clean it. I would do that with any cleaning product, for that matter.

Interior:
Light soapy sponge on fabric. Let it dry well. Light spray of Isopropyl (71% or 91%) or common alcohol to sanitize post-trip ANYWHERE YOU TRAVEL TODAY, or as needed. This includes the excellent slippery Rimowa zip shirt or clothing bags which I use to organize items.

Thanks again. I think I like the clean look and would like to remove stickers from the alu luggage. When I purchased my Limbo I also got the Rimowa "lotion" for PC and it seems to work well to polish scratches and remove stickers from the Rimowa PC. I also applied the same lotion to Hartmann PC4 but there is almost no effect. So the PC from the two brands are probably different.

BTW, I have Hartmann PC4 (also beautiful, wheels are very smooth, but the weak point is the zipper, not even as good as the Travelpros), B&R baseline, and at least 10 Travelpro Platinum and Crew pieces. I think I will switch entirely to Rimowa, by buying one or two pieces at a time. After getting a Topas or Topas titanium, I probably will get a Topas business case.

Ocean

It is late here, but probably others would appreciate you expanding if you wouldn't mind on what Rimowa Lotion is, the ingredients, and how it works, pros and cons. I've never used it.

Good excuse for another decafe Nespresso while I wait.

I am on the road right now, and I have the lotion, which is in a tube, (like a toothpaste), at home. It is a white color tube, white color paste, with the Rimowa logo on it. The seller told me to use it to "repair" scratches on the PC surface, and it seems to work. I will write down the name and descriptions and share on this site after I returned home on this Saturday.

It is late here, but probably others would appreciate you expanding if you wouldn't mind on what Rimowa Lotion is, the ingredients, and how it works, pros and cons. I've never used it.

Good excuse for another decafe Nespresso while I wait.

This is the stuff;

http://www.leder-buchler.de/Rimowa/rimowa-reisegepaeck/zubehoer/rimowa-polish-repair-paste.html

And do double-check the goof-off website - one of their products is acetone-based and one is water-based, I think ou want the one labelled "heavy-duty"

Morning;

Thank you NeverFirst for the link. I'll wait for ocean to return and also hear that description.

I just checked the label on the bottle of Goof-Off I have and it is water based.

Swissaire:

While I am waiting to return home and then provide more info on the "lotion", I have a question about the different versions of alu Rimowa. I saw on the internet that there are also gold color Topas with red interior (see link below). And you mentioned that one can get leather trim Topas Titanium. But when I shop around, I could only see the Titanium models with the plastic handles. I guess both the gold color ones and the leather handle types are one-of-a-kind models that are not for sales all the time. ie. I won't be able to buy one.

http://www.mingkochung.com/2009/09/05/rimowa%E7%99%BB%E6%A9%9F%E7%AE%B1/

Ocean

Ocean;

As one of the other FT members pointed out on another of your threads, the gold, titanium, and "stealth" black finish is just that. A colour finish applied to the aluminum surface.

I first saw the gold finish Topas in Frankfurt in 1996, followed a decade later by the Titanium, and now by the stealthy black model. These special cases appear to be introduced periodically through the years. I understand that there are also special versions exclusive to the Asian markets.

The finish is very common to metalwork manufacturing, but has to be applied very carefully. I have some ball-bearing drawer slides from Germany that have a brass finish applied as part of the plating dip, final process. They look as good as they did when I bought the items many years ago, but the unique finish diminished the price, which is why I bought them. Please note that this is not the same as Iridite or a military finish coating.

I do not recall ever seeing a gold case with a red interior, which must certainly be as unique as the market group it was intended for. Somewhat akin to Swarovski crystals beaded onto Römer wine glasses.

I was hoping that perhaps there are more variations of these alu Rimowa (gold, etc.) in Germany, then I can take a trip to Munich to get a more unique one.

Reporting back -

The lotion that I got for my Rimowa Limbo repair is Rimowa "polish and repair paste", ohne Wachs/without wax. 75 ml, D-50829. I have just used it again. It removed the dark deposit (scratches) and re-expose the original shinny polycarbonate below, as if nothing had happened. But for the pure scratches where there were no color changes, it seems to diminish the scratch intensities but the scratch lines remained.

Ingredients - abrasives and suspending agent.

I tried to read thru the fine prints to determine if this is water based or not, but it did not say.

Hope these help. Overall pretty happy with the paste and the beautiful Limbo.

Ocean

Another quick question about Topas and its variations - would the Topas Titanium or Topas Stealth shows the scratches more than the silver Topas? ie. Just wondering if the gold color or the dark color will make the unavoidable scratches more pronounce?

Thanks,

Ocean

Another quick question about Topas and its variations - would the Topas Titanium or Topas Stealth shows the scratches more than the silver Topas? ie. Just wondering if the gold color or the dark color will make the unavoidable scratches more pronounce?

Thanks,

Ocean

Yes.

The colouring is only a surface finishing, but given the majority of scratches the Topas cases usually receive, I do not think they would be noticed by most people.

My wife and I have had a compliment now and then ( " Nice case " par example ) from FA crews, which surprised us given what we think is the well used, " road map " condition of our Topas luggage.

Ocean, again thank you for your reply regarding the Rimowa case lotion. Sounds as the lotions' wax effect on light scratches does a good job on the Limbo, Salsa, and other polycarbonate cases.

No problem.

I am convinced to get the titanium now. Will get one in the next 30-60 days. 29" and will check it in.
Hope that it wont attract much attention. I actually don't really mind except I do not want extra attention from US custom or other countries' custom people to want to stop me and open up my case thinking that I did not declare anything expensive. I am on the road almost every week and take many trips to Europe and Asia, and almost never got asked to open my case. Hope the good looking Topas Titanium won't change this "tradition".

Ocean