Rimowa vs. Zero Halliburto
Jul 14, 2016, 4:46 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SAT
Programs: AA EXP/MM
Posts: 82
Rimowa vs. Zero Halliburto
I've searched and searched, and I just can't seem to find anywhere that this has been discussed. I'm looking at hard-sided carry-ons, and the ZH and Rimowa seem to be in a class of there own. There is quite a bit of info out there on Rimowas, but very little info on ZH. I'm quite fond of the Salsa Deluxe and Limbo lines from Rimowa. The Classic Polycarbonate line from ZH looks quite similar to the Limbo.
Does anyone have any real-world experience with both of these lines? I'm curious about overall quality and perception of honoring of warranties as well as any other tidbits that might not be obvious from online specs or first glances.
Thanks!
Does anyone have any real-world experience with both of these lines? I'm curious about overall quality and perception of honoring of warranties as well as any other tidbits that might not be obvious from online specs or first glances.
Thanks!
Jul 15, 2016, 5:32 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Usually travelling
Programs: BA, SQ, VS, Lifetime Diamond Club Appreciator, Mucci
Posts: 488
All luggage gets destroyed in my experience, no matter how good (or expensive) it is. I don't get bothered about it anymore.
Rimowa
Salsa Limbo - Beautiful case but seems to keep getting dropped on its corner, bending the frame and putting everything slightly out of alignment (still closes). Been fixed once by Rimowa for free. Has happened a second time so will be going back to them shortly.
Salsa - Also a beautiful design. Had one of these crack on the corner. Not showstoppingly bad and the carrier which broke it did replace it. Second one has been fine for a few years now. Got quite a few of this model in the family and not had any other problems.
Zero Halliburton
Got an old metal sided ZH (pre TSA lock days). Has been through the wars and required some fixes over it's time. Again hard frame can get knocked out of alignment.
Bought a few of the first polycarbs they made (can't recall the model name). Lovely interior layout and design, far better than the Rimowa. The large (29") one of these got a large crack in the top side on a flight and scrapped (carrier stumped up the full cost). The others (27" and 24") are still in use today.
ZH support in the UK is practically non existent, otherwise I'd but more of them over Rimowa. Internal layout/design is far more important that external looks.
Hope this helps.
Rimowa
Salsa Limbo - Beautiful case but seems to keep getting dropped on its corner, bending the frame and putting everything slightly out of alignment (still closes). Been fixed once by Rimowa for free. Has happened a second time so will be going back to them shortly.
Salsa - Also a beautiful design. Had one of these crack on the corner. Not showstoppingly bad and the carrier which broke it did replace it. Second one has been fine for a few years now. Got quite a few of this model in the family and not had any other problems.
Zero Halliburton
Got an old metal sided ZH (pre TSA lock days). Has been through the wars and required some fixes over it's time. Again hard frame can get knocked out of alignment.
Bought a few of the first polycarbs they made (can't recall the model name). Lovely interior layout and design, far better than the Rimowa. The large (29") one of these got a large crack in the top side on a flight and scrapped (carrier stumped up the full cost). The others (27" and 24") are still in use today.
ZH support in the UK is practically non existent, otherwise I'd but more of them over Rimowa. Internal layout/design is far more important that external looks.
Hope this helps.
Sep 25, 2016, 8:28 am
#3
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 2
My experience with both is that Rimowa is far superior to Zero Halliburton
We travel a lot both domestically and internationally for business and personal. In 2010 we bought 4 bags at one time--2 from Zero Halliburton, 2 from Rimowa, all 4-wheel polycarb. We bought these bags based on reviews here and elsewhere from people who travel as much as we do. A major factor in buying the Zero Halliburton was the Lifetime Warranty that came with the bags (at the time), and all of the discussions of the Warranty being honored hassle free.
Zero Halliburton: One ZH bag was carry-on size (21" 4-Wheel Expandable Polycarbonate Zeroller), and was used a lot; the other ZH was very large (30"), so we did not use it much. Pros for both: lightweight, interior configuration was good, expandable. Cons: the zipper pulls broke often, and had to be replaced often (even on the larger bag, which we have used only about 5 times). The handle on the smaller bag broke off (didn't come off--the plastic actually broke), and had to be replaced. The built in locks stopped working. The wheels were fine, but not as good as the Rimowa wheels. The smaller bag was silver in color, which I would not choose again, as it showed lots of scuff marks from the airlines. The black was fine in this regard. Here is the problem: in 2014, the polycarb case separated from the fabric girdle that connected it to the zipper and the other half of the bag. I took it to the local repair shop that was listed on the Zero website which was about 4 blocks from my apartment in NYC. This repair place has a stellar reputation and has been written up in numerous magazines for their ability to restore and repair almost any bag, and are known for their care of vintage designer bags. The owner said that this was a "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag," could not be repaired, and I would have to contact ZH to have the bag replaced under warranty. (as an aside, this place is no longer listed on the ZH website). When I contacted Zero Halliburton, they looked at the pictures (attached here) and said that their engineers thought it could be repaired, and I needed to send it (at my expense) to a repair place in Washington state. Their new flagship store is also about 5 blocks from my apartment, and they said that I could not take it there to be evaluated or shipped. I sent it (for $40), and waited for a response from ZH. Nothing. Wrote to them. Nothing. Finally, I called the repair place in Washington to find out the status. They said the same thing as the place in Manhattan, that the bag was "unrepairable," and that they had communicated this to ZH months before I called. However, when I followed up with Zero Halliburton, their response was as follows:
"My in house Engineer was out of the country and just returned to the office yesterday.
I spoke with him and two other repair engineers and because the case is separated from the shell the case cannot be repaired.
We would like to offer you a discount (50% off full retail) on another case. The warranty would not cover this case as it is an older case and the warranty doesn’t cover normal wear of the case.
If you would like to take advantage of the 50% off please advise me what case so I can process for you."
This is how Zero Halliburton honors their "Lifetime Warranty" which came with my bag (see photos for the tag that came with my bag). I notice now that they now only offer a "Limited Warranty," and clearly, they have figured out that it makes more sense for them to classify everything, including a "unrepairable" "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag" as "normal wear."
For this reason, I do not recommend doing business with Zero Halliburton. This is completely lacking in integrity, at best. What a dishonor to their founder. This was once a great American company, and since being bought, have gone downhill.
Rimowa:
Pros: lightweight. superior wheels. solid construction and engineering (I can wheel two heavy bags across an airport using one finger).
Cons: not expandable. Interior fittings are odd to me with a framed flap that covers each side, but does not seal or zipper around, so loose items can stick out when flipping over to close.
The warranty was not lifetime, but was for 3 or 5 years.
On the other hand--despite the fact that the warranty for my two Rimowa bags was not as great as the Zero Halliburton, when both Rimowa bags cracked on the same trip (I had to tape and strap them back together!), I contacted them via twitter. They gave me a number to call. I called it, they asked me to take them to a local repair shop to evaluate. I did, and a few days later they contacted me and said that the bags were not repairable, and they needed my address because they were sending me replacement bags. Done. Easy. This experience could not have been easier.
As a result of these two experiences, I will always choose Rimowa bags from now on, and will recommend them to anyone and everyone who asks.
Zero Halliburton: One ZH bag was carry-on size (21" 4-Wheel Expandable Polycarbonate Zeroller), and was used a lot; the other ZH was very large (30"), so we did not use it much. Pros for both: lightweight, interior configuration was good, expandable. Cons: the zipper pulls broke often, and had to be replaced often (even on the larger bag, which we have used only about 5 times). The handle on the smaller bag broke off (didn't come off--the plastic actually broke), and had to be replaced. The built in locks stopped working. The wheels were fine, but not as good as the Rimowa wheels. The smaller bag was silver in color, which I would not choose again, as it showed lots of scuff marks from the airlines. The black was fine in this regard. Here is the problem: in 2014, the polycarb case separated from the fabric girdle that connected it to the zipper and the other half of the bag. I took it to the local repair shop that was listed on the Zero website which was about 4 blocks from my apartment in NYC. This repair place has a stellar reputation and has been written up in numerous magazines for their ability to restore and repair almost any bag, and are known for their care of vintage designer bags. The owner said that this was a "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag," could not be repaired, and I would have to contact ZH to have the bag replaced under warranty. (as an aside, this place is no longer listed on the ZH website). When I contacted Zero Halliburton, they looked at the pictures (attached here) and said that their engineers thought it could be repaired, and I needed to send it (at my expense) to a repair place in Washington state. Their new flagship store is also about 5 blocks from my apartment, and they said that I could not take it there to be evaluated or shipped. I sent it (for $40), and waited for a response from ZH. Nothing. Wrote to them. Nothing. Finally, I called the repair place in Washington to find out the status. They said the same thing as the place in Manhattan, that the bag was "unrepairable," and that they had communicated this to ZH months before I called. However, when I followed up with Zero Halliburton, their response was as follows:
"My in house Engineer was out of the country and just returned to the office yesterday.
I spoke with him and two other repair engineers and because the case is separated from the shell the case cannot be repaired.
We would like to offer you a discount (50% off full retail) on another case. The warranty would not cover this case as it is an older case and the warranty doesn’t cover normal wear of the case.
If you would like to take advantage of the 50% off please advise me what case so I can process for you."
This is how Zero Halliburton honors their "Lifetime Warranty" which came with my bag (see photos for the tag that came with my bag). I notice now that they now only offer a "Limited Warranty," and clearly, they have figured out that it makes more sense for them to classify everything, including a "unrepairable" "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag" as "normal wear."
For this reason, I do not recommend doing business with Zero Halliburton. This is completely lacking in integrity, at best. What a dishonor to their founder. This was once a great American company, and since being bought, have gone downhill.
Rimowa:
Pros: lightweight. superior wheels. solid construction and engineering (I can wheel two heavy bags across an airport using one finger).
Cons: not expandable. Interior fittings are odd to me with a framed flap that covers each side, but does not seal or zipper around, so loose items can stick out when flipping over to close.
The warranty was not lifetime, but was for 3 or 5 years.
On the other hand--despite the fact that the warranty for my two Rimowa bags was not as great as the Zero Halliburton, when both Rimowa bags cracked on the same trip (I had to tape and strap them back together!), I contacted them via twitter. They gave me a number to call. I called it, they asked me to take them to a local repair shop to evaluate. I did, and a few days later they contacted me and said that the bags were not repairable, and they needed my address because they were sending me replacement bags. Done. Easy. This experience could not have been easier.
As a result of these two experiences, I will always choose Rimowa bags from now on, and will recommend them to anyone and everyone who asks.
Oct 5, 2016, 9:05 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: DL: Plat
Posts: 3
We travel a lot both domestically and internationally for business and personal. In 2010 we bought 4 bags at one time--2 from Zero Halliburton, 2 from Rimowa, all 4-wheel polycarb. We bought these bags based on reviews here and elsewhere from people who travel as much as we do. A major factor in buying the Zero Halliburton was the Lifetime Warranty that came with the bags (at the time), and all of the discussions of the Warranty being honored hassle free.
Zero Halliburton: One ZH bag was carry-on size (21" 4-Wheel Expandable Polycarbonate Zeroller), and was used a lot; the other ZH was very large (30"), so we did not use it much. Pros for both: lightweight, interior configuration was good, expandable. Cons: the zipper pulls broke often, and had to be replaced often (even on the larger bag, which we have used only about 5 times). The handle on the smaller bag broke off (didn't come off--the plastic actually broke), and had to be replaced. The built in locks stopped working. The wheels were fine, but not as good as the Rimowa wheels. The smaller bag was silver in color, which I would not choose again, as it showed lots of scuff marks from the airlines. The black was fine in this regard. Here is the problem: in 2014, the polycarb case separated from the fabric girdle that connected it to the zipper and the other half of the bag. I took it to the local repair shop that was listed on the Zero website which was about 4 blocks from my apartment in NYC. This repair place has a stellar reputation and has been written up in numerous magazines for their ability to restore and repair almost any bag, and are known for their care of vintage designer bags. The owner said that this was a "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag," could not be repaired, and I would have to contact ZH to have the bag replaced under warranty. (as an aside, this place is no longer listed on the ZH website). When I contacted Zero Halliburton, they looked at the pictures (attached here) and said that their engineers thought it could be repaired, and I needed to send it (at my expense) to a repair place in Washington state. Their new flagship store is also about 5 blocks from my apartment, and they said that I could not take it there to be evaluated or shipped. I sent it (for $40), and waited for a response from ZH. Nothing. Wrote to them. Nothing. Finally, I called the repair place in Washington to find out the status. They said the same thing as the place in Manhattan, that the bag was "unrepairable," and that they had communicated this to ZH months before I called. However, when I followed up with Zero Halliburton, their response was as follows:
"My in house Engineer was out of the country and just returned to the office yesterday.
I spoke with him and two other repair engineers and because the case is separated from the shell the case cannot be repaired.
We would like to offer you a discount (50% off full retail) on another case. The warranty would not cover this case as it is an older case and the warranty doesn’t cover normal wear of the case.
If you would like to take advantage of the 50% off please advise me what case so I can process for you."
This is how Zero Halliburton honors their "Lifetime Warranty" which came with my bag (see photos for the tag that came with my bag). I notice now that they now only offer a "Limited Warranty," and clearly, they have figured out that it makes more sense for them to classify everything, including a "unrepairable" "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag" as "normal wear."
For this reason, I do not recommend doing business with Zero Halliburton. This is completely lacking in integrity, at best. What a dishonor to their founder. This was once a great American company, and since being bought, have gone downhill.
Rimowa:
Pros: lightweight. superior wheels. solid construction and engineering (I can wheel two heavy bags across an airport using one finger).
Cons: not expandable. Interior fittings are odd to me with a framed flap that covers each side, but does not seal or zipper around, so loose items can stick out when flipping over to close.
The warranty was not lifetime, but was for 3 or 5 years.
On the other hand--despite the fact that the warranty for my two Rimowa bags was not as great as the Zero Halliburton, when both Rimowa bags cracked on the same trip (I had to tape and strap them back together!), I contacted them via twitter. They gave me a number to call. I called it, they asked me to take them to a local repair shop to evaluate. I did, and a few days later they contacted me and said that the bags were not repairable, and they needed my address because they were sending me replacement bags. Done. Easy. This experience could not have been easier.
As a result of these two experiences, I will always choose Rimowa bags from now on, and will recommend them to anyone and everyone who asks.
Zero Halliburton: One ZH bag was carry-on size (21" 4-Wheel Expandable Polycarbonate Zeroller), and was used a lot; the other ZH was very large (30"), so we did not use it much. Pros for both: lightweight, interior configuration was good, expandable. Cons: the zipper pulls broke often, and had to be replaced often (even on the larger bag, which we have used only about 5 times). The handle on the smaller bag broke off (didn't come off--the plastic actually broke), and had to be replaced. The built in locks stopped working. The wheels were fine, but not as good as the Rimowa wheels. The smaller bag was silver in color, which I would not choose again, as it showed lots of scuff marks from the airlines. The black was fine in this regard. Here is the problem: in 2014, the polycarb case separated from the fabric girdle that connected it to the zipper and the other half of the bag. I took it to the local repair shop that was listed on the Zero website which was about 4 blocks from my apartment in NYC. This repair place has a stellar reputation and has been written up in numerous magazines for their ability to restore and repair almost any bag, and are known for their care of vintage designer bags. The owner said that this was a "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag," could not be repaired, and I would have to contact ZH to have the bag replaced under warranty. (as an aside, this place is no longer listed on the ZH website). When I contacted Zero Halliburton, they looked at the pictures (attached here) and said that their engineers thought it could be repaired, and I needed to send it (at my expense) to a repair place in Washington state. Their new flagship store is also about 5 blocks from my apartment, and they said that I could not take it there to be evaluated or shipped. I sent it (for $40), and waited for a response from ZH. Nothing. Wrote to them. Nothing. Finally, I called the repair place in Washington to find out the status. They said the same thing as the place in Manhattan, that the bag was "unrepairable," and that they had communicated this to ZH months before I called. However, when I followed up with Zero Halliburton, their response was as follows:
"My in house Engineer was out of the country and just returned to the office yesterday.
I spoke with him and two other repair engineers and because the case is separated from the shell the case cannot be repaired.
We would like to offer you a discount (50% off full retail) on another case. The warranty would not cover this case as it is an older case and the warranty doesn’t cover normal wear of the case.
If you would like to take advantage of the 50% off please advise me what case so I can process for you."
This is how Zero Halliburton honors their "Lifetime Warranty" which came with my bag (see photos for the tag that came with my bag). I notice now that they now only offer a "Limited Warranty," and clearly, they have figured out that it makes more sense for them to classify everything, including a "unrepairable" "catastrophic failure of the main seal of the bag" as "normal wear."
For this reason, I do not recommend doing business with Zero Halliburton. This is completely lacking in integrity, at best. What a dishonor to their founder. This was once a great American company, and since being bought, have gone downhill.
Rimowa:
Pros: lightweight. superior wheels. solid construction and engineering (I can wheel two heavy bags across an airport using one finger).
Cons: not expandable. Interior fittings are odd to me with a framed flap that covers each side, but does not seal or zipper around, so loose items can stick out when flipping over to close.
The warranty was not lifetime, but was for 3 or 5 years.
On the other hand--despite the fact that the warranty for my two Rimowa bags was not as great as the Zero Halliburton, when both Rimowa bags cracked on the same trip (I had to tape and strap them back together!), I contacted them via twitter. They gave me a number to call. I called it, they asked me to take them to a local repair shop to evaluate. I did, and a few days later they contacted me and said that the bags were not repairable, and they needed my address because they were sending me replacement bags. Done. Easy. This experience could not have been easier.
As a result of these two experiences, I will always choose Rimowa bags from now on, and will recommend them to anyone and everyone who asks.
