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Looking for a light carry-on: Why is Rimowa all the rage?

Looking for a light carry-on: Why is Rimowa all the rage?

Old May 7, 2017, 2:51 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: DL/Marriott/Hilton/IHG Gold
Posts: 30
Rimowa Salsa Air - very light

Since I bought Rimowa Salsa Air in Germany, I have not carried any of Tumi, TravelPro, etc.
Rimowa is very light and the wheels work so much better than Tumi.
Best of all, they fit overhead on CRJ200, CRJ700, CRJ900, etc.
I could not fit were very small CRJ100 or ERJ145 planes to date.

The hard carrying case is good for rainy weather or dirty environmental conditions in some places.
I usually have an extra light weight parachute material bag from Muji (I canlt see them on their US website) but they are in store in NYC for those extra papers, ear phone and in-flight comfort items as my personal bag.

And Rimowa Salsa Air carry-on bag, surprisingly, fit more than it looks. I have traveled for a week with Rimowa carry-on only. I do use cubes for separating items and roll vs. fold.
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Old May 8, 2017, 9:12 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Florida
Programs: SPG/Ritz/Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 63
Is the cost of Rimowa, in general, a lot cheaper in Germany than in the US?
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Old May 8, 2017, 3:17 pm
  #18  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Florida
Programs: SPG/Ritz/Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 63
Angry

Originally Posted by SoloExperiment
This is probably the easiest thing you could have figured out by reading this thread or any of the other Rimowa threads on the front page without having to ask the question out of laziness. Yes, it is cheaper.
Wow, I ask an innocent question of the community AFTER READING THE THREAD AND MANY OTHERS and not finding a direct answer only to get flamed by a troll. I guess I could have just ignored you or given a polite thank you for taking the time to give me such an eloquent response, but that would have been lazy of me.
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Old May 20, 2017, 12:21 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Somewhere between N.A. and S.E.A.
Programs: HHonors / UA M+ / TK M&S Elite
Posts: 368
Originally Posted by scottmlew
According to the website, they're 15.7" so I don't see how they could fit in the sizer....
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...forcement.html

The link shows a list of luggage that FTers have proven to fit the United sizer box. The Salsa Air in question is the same size as the rimowa bags listed in the post's wiki as fitting the sizer.

Last edited by TPACjv; May 20, 2017 at 12:27 am
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Old May 21, 2017, 6:38 pm
  #20  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: AA LT PLT (3.6+ MM), UA 1K LT Gold, Hilton LT Diamond, Bonvoy Gold.
Posts: 1,655
I honestly have no idea why the are so popular. I see a fair amount of them and a good portion of them look like crap, due to being banged up and caved in all over the place. Just can't fathom it myself, but them I must be missing something obviously. Having said that, Travelpro and Tumi rollers have served me well for 30 years of travel so each to their own.
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Old May 21, 2017, 11:14 pm
  #21  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Programs: LH FT, AA Plat
Posts: 198
Originally Posted by timfountain
I honestly have no idea why the are so popular. I see a fair amount of them and a good portion of them look like crap, due to being banged up and caved in all over the place. Just can't fathom it myself, but them I must be missing something obviously. Having said that, Travelpro and Tumi rollers have served me well for 30 years of travel so each to their own.
You're missing that they're made of quality materials, are well assembled, and are very durable. And they look great, but that's subjective. The brands you mentioned at times look like something out of Walmart, no offense. Some people are prefer a bag that looks like every other bag, others don't.
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Old Jul 31, 2017, 1:03 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: YYJ
Programs: Air Canada 75K, WestJet Platinum, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 119
Thumbs up Rimowa Salsa Air

I've been using the Rimowa Salsa Air 33L for about 2 years and I would estimate 250 flights. The reasons that I bought it:
  • Fits easily into the overhead bins on regional jets like the CRJ700 and Q400
  • Great multi-wheel rolling
  • Hard case
  • Internal netting

Overall I've been really pleased with it. It is generally my 3-4 day bag which is the majority of my trips. I was a little concerned about having only a single pole handle being beefy enough but it has held up quite well. I use a Tom Bihn Ristretto for computer/personal bag so I don't need the double pole handle to attach my laptop bag.
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Old Aug 1, 2017, 9:44 pm
  #23  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 224
I use primarily Rimowa across all sizes, and only recently bought a B&R carry-on.

When I first chose Rimowa, I chose it mainly for aesthetics (sue me!) - it was pretty, and the various colors meant that I could spot it easily on the conveyor and was less likely to be confused with someone else's bag.

What I did find out, and have come to love, is how light it is, and what a workhorse it is. I've checked my 30-inch across dozens of trips in 5 years, most of them requiring me to sit on the bag in order to close it (that's what shopping in Europe does to you) and the zip has never broken, given way or malfunctioned in any way.

Wheels have also not given me any problems - it's been over water, cobblestone pavements, pebbles, small rocks (with some difficulty, of course) etc and survived. The cabin size also fit into most aircraft - I've only had problems on smaller propellers where I've had to gate check.

The ONE problem I did have (and it's cropped up several times) was with the lock. After some time, the numbers tend to misalign and your preset code doesn't work. E.g. If my code was originally set to 111, after some time, it would become 112 and 111 would render my bag un-openable. Frustrated me to no end, but thankfully, I have a Rimowa store near me and they will open/rejig the lock for you within 15 minutes.

What I would love to see Rimowa do is a nice external pocket for laptops and other need-to-have-at-security-knick-knacks. I know they have a model which has it, but it's fugly and has a tendency to tip over if your laptop is of the heavier variety. This was one of the reasons I switched to B&R, but now I am ready to give up my B&R because the heavy B&R aggravated a back injury when I tried to lift it up.
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Old Aug 9, 2017, 1:12 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 5,662
I didn't know that Rimowa was a luxury brand when I bought my Salsa Air. I just wanted a super light carry-on and I liked the design. It's served me well. I never have to worry about being over-size and on international, as long as I weigh carefully, it works well.
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Old Aug 18, 2017, 7:58 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: UA 1K and PP, AA PPro (3MM, former CK), Marriott Ambassador and LTT, Uber One
Posts: 1,342
Originally Posted by scottmlew
According to the website, they're 15.7" so I don't see how they could fit in the sizer
I had the opportunity to visit a Rimowa store in HNL, and measure the Salsa Air myself. It is NOT 15.7" as stated on the website. It is right at 14", so I would be comfortable carrying it on domestic carriers. I have NO idea where they get the 15.7" shown on the website. There are no handles or other protrusions to account for.

With that said, the interior design is not for me, so I didn't end up buying one

I should also mention that they have 2 of the 2-wheel Aluminum models available, if anyone is still looking for one. Sadly, they are the smaller of the 2 rollaboard sizes.
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Old Aug 20, 2017, 1:32 am
  #26  
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: SYD
Programs: UA Premier Gold (*G), IHG Platinum & Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 1,452
I've used my black Salsa 55CM IATA roller for coming on 5 years now and haven't had any issues until this most recent trip where the TSA lock was forced open by security screeners (and replaced by the Rimowa store in Sydney in about 20 minutes).

The build quality is excellent with the wheels being exceptional. I lift the (fully loaded) bag by the extended telescopic handle frequently and there is still no wobble.

It's been to Barrow, Alaska and survived the -32 degrees Celsius there so am confident it is durable.

And it's lighter than even the non-ballistic nylon rollers from Samsonite, which was my previous bag.
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