renterwo

My boss will provide me with new luggage bags for 2016 because I travel quite often (around 30 trips/year, avg 5 nights per trip, around 60 flights per year) and already invested huge amounts myself for luggage (Rimowa Salsa, Samsonite Cube lite).

At this moment I already narrowed the list down to 2 brands: Tumi (Tegra-Lite) and Briggs&Riley (Torcq).

This is what I've found so far:
Checked luggage: Tumi Tegra-Lite Extended Trip Black Graphite OR B&R Torcq large spinner
Carry-on: Tumi Tegra-Lite International carry-on black graphite OR B&R Torcq International carry-on spinner
Backpack: Tumi Alpha 2 business t-pass class brief pack OR B&R @work large clamshell backpack

I don't mind scratching the cases (will happen eventually anyway), but they need to be tough and light. Already have bad experiences with Rimowa and Samsonite (dented corners, broken zippers/locks).

Can anyone give some ideas or other brands to keep in mind?

Thanks.

fishinbuddy

I would like to hear what others think but here is my opinion:
I started with Travel Pro luggage, it worked ok, had some hassle with a warranty claim, seems that a baggage handler overseas took offense to my American Flag inspired luggage tag and ripped every zipper pull off as well at some other damage. They were not keen on covering active destruction. But they did eventually. So in the mean time I bought some Briggs and Riley pieces. I got their baseline roller-board and expandable shoulder bag. Love em! My trips were usually longer 2-3 weeks in Europe for work was not uncommon, so I packed a bit more. Recently I have had to switch it up. I am traveling with 2-3 days gone at most. So I decided to research Tumi (My wife has their luggage because it looks nicer than B&R.) Just as I am researching Tumi, Amazon sends a special for Travel Pro, and seemed like a great value. We got a Crew 10 21" spinner, and a Magna 22" rollerboard, in basic black. Loved the spinner concept so much we decided to send the rollerboard back and get another spinner or look at tumi again. So went to the Tumi store, and they had a sale in the Tegra and Tegra-lite because they were retiring colors. The orange looked good to me, but still 450 for the tegra carry-on.
I found out that since I have good status with the airline I normally fly with I would probably not need to stick with international carry-on sizes. But no guarantee. However, if you do fly internationally consider it.
Anyway, as we are trying to decide on the Tumi and looking at the Tumi LIte versions which are stripped down and a bit lighter. Amazon sends an new offer, Travel Pro again, Magna 2 21" spinners for 250. Seemed like a great deal and I decided to go with that to save the 200, but if I had the money I would rather go with Tumi, and was told that the Graphite color resisted scratches the best.
Now, hard sided or soft, I like the idea of hard sided, seems like they would slip in and out easier, and probably a bit lighter. But the new fabrics are great, and I like the extra outside zippered pockets the softsided had. I have a backpack for my computer so nothing breakable in my suitcase to warrant hardsided. I had a warranty issue with my Briggs and Riley, no questions replaced it. So they would be my first choice but I really do not like the versions they had. Just me but yep they handle well just not quite ...as likable, especially when I tested against a Travel Pro side by side seems to be similar and since the $ is double feel the value falls to Travel Pro.

Mellonc

there is a third option:

http://zerohalliburton.com/collectio...inner-luggage/

mspreh

many, many bad experiences with Torq

I have 2 co-workers that have spent more on shipping their Torq bags in because they can't be repaired locally, than what they spent on the bags originally.

Nothing like being on a 1 week trip with 5 stops in Italy and your wheel falls off when you are going through customs upon arrival in Italy.....

Duke892

Don'y buy hardsided as is. Briggs and Riley Baseline is a much better line to buy from. Soft sided ballistic nylon with a fantastic expansion. You can get a 19" carry on all the way up to a 28" check bag, with an option for either 2 or 4 wheels. Most common repair on a spinner is a wheel, I prefer 2 wheels.

I doubt shipping cost more than a 500-600$ bag, honestly. Repair kits can be sent globally.

I have the B and R BRX Excursion backpack, I have had it 5 years. I have used it for everything (fun fact: it comfortably holds 12 cans of beer) and it fits under the seat in front on 737's.

mbece

You may want to also consider Eagle Creek just focus on a line with the No Matter What warranty. Ijust had an Eagle Creek Tarmac 20in wide body repaired for free and back less than four days than when I dropped it at FedEX (the malfunction was 100% my fault as someone tilted my bag with my 25 lbs kettlebell on top of it which crushed the handle and make it hard to slide out).

They switched out the complete handle system. Other than some scuffs, the bag looks great and has seen over 400k miles in two years.

mspreh

My co-worker was with on a trip to Italy. We flew into Rome, her Torq bag (1st trip with it) had 2 of the wheels come off along with the recessed bumper areas. gapping holes in the bag, the bag was no longer structurally sound. It cost her more than 150 Euros (when the exchange was 1.4 to 1, so more than $210 USD) to ship the bag to the then European repair center, and she had to buy another (cheap bag) to get her through the trip. After 5 weeks without the bag, they informed her it had been repaired, charged her for the shipping from (I believe Austria back to the U.S.) more than $200 via DHL.

On the very next trip, 2 top bumpers came off along with 2 wheels, one that had before and one that hadn't. She shipped the bag in again because the local facility couldn't fix it, and very quickly was well over the $500 she paid for the bag.

In Fact B&R doesn't offer a repair kit for any of the Torq Line products, and they never have. Makes me think you don't really work in Luggage Repair like you claimed in a different post.

It's fine to be emotionally tied to a product. B&R makes some decent stuff, but too many people confuse a warranty for making it a great product. If B&R had the Torq Line in good working order they wouldn't be working on the 3rd revision due to Quality Issues in 2-1/2 years since the product line came out.

This thread was about the Torq Line which has been the biggest problem child for B&R in the last 2-1/2 years. The QC on the Sympatico line is actually better, and it's a cheaper bag from B&R. They released this line 6 months ago in fear they may have a structural integrity issue with Torq and may be better off scrapping the whole line. And yet again, I will say they don't offer repair kits for the Torq Line, nor the Sympatico products. If something does go wrong you will most likely have to send the bag in for repair.

Your Backpack as 0 correlation to what the Torq line is about other than the Brand that has the bag made (at a different factory, with no common materials).

azepine00

I dont see a lot of negative reviews of torq - is it possible your sister got a defective bag?
I had a wheel fall off polycarb tumi carryon mid trip in china but it was after rather extensive use. I threw the bag away...
I have no strong brand preference but tumi and rimowa are such a stereotype (especially in asia) that i'd rather have smth less common.

mspreh

B&R is actually on the 3rd rework of the Torq line in 2-1/2 years due to quality issues. Yes defective bags, defective in design.

azepine00

So basically if it breaks they will send a new updated version...

Again reviews overall seem good...

mspreh

Actually a lot of negative reviews on lots of sites. A quick search talks about broken bags, and how you can't roll it on 2 wheels, or it drags on the side of the bag because of the poor design. Forced to roll it on all 4. Also complaints about it not fitting in sizers at LHR if you read the european reviews.

Also they aren't sending you a new one, they make you send the bag in, then they replace the bumper, wheel, handle, etc. and send it back to you. The local repair centers have not been able to repair these.

Got to love that warranty though! (my co-workers sure do) 2 spent more in shipping now on Torq's than what they paid for the bag. The female I posted about before, just had her bag fail for the 3rd time. She is throwing it away, rather than pay to send it into B&R again. I guess she should have bought it local instead of buying it through ebags, as some people say the local shop will pay for the shipping if it breaks.

Skink

I guess I've been lucky and haven't had to gate check my Torq that many times and haven't had any problems. I prefer rolling it on 4 wheels (sometimes with a briefcase bag on top of it), but when walking up a hill I will roll it on 2 wheels. I'll have to try a few different ways next time and see if I can replicate this problem some people seem to be reporting of not being able to roll it on 2 wheels.

mspreh

The majority of the problems stem from the larger bags, not the carry on size. The Torq 26" is what failed multiple times for two of my co-workers. Structural stability is much easier to maintain on smaller dimensions, such as the carry on size. Additionally carry on bags are subject to much gentler handling, thus much less likely to show and issue because the number or wheel hits the luggage carrousel at an angle that makes fail easily. Knowing what I know about bag manufacturing the longer a dimension gets the harder it is to maintain the stability. We make some framed gear bags, we can't use the same frame material we use in the 25 and 26" bags in the 34" nor can we use those in the 40". The material cost for the frame costs 7 times as much per inch for what we use in our 40" frames as the material we use in our 25 and 26". Just to provide the same stability, we rate all of these bags for up to 100lbs of load.

tedya

B&R Baseline (2 wheeled) FTW. I hate 4-wheeled luggage. I'm die-hard 2 wheeled B&R. In regards to backpacks, I do not like the Tumi nor the B&R and I own both. My main complaint is the fit on your back. Tumi and B&R should not be making backpacks. They are all made for small/skinny people. I am a normal sized guy and neither fit me well. Forget about putting it on if you are wearing a coat. I use the Tumi Pinkney brief and use the add-a-bag strap on my B&R. If you really want a backpack and don't have to be seen with a Tumi on your back, get one from a company that knows how to make backpacks. My recommendations: Osprey Porter 46 or 30, TNF Router or Resistor. Those feel great on the back. Don't get me wrong. I love Tumi and B&R but they don't know how to make a backpack.