I’m a newbie to Flyer Talk. I have been lurking around for a while and I find the discussions on FlyerTalk interesting and intense. I recently changed my carry-on Luggage from Samsonite 22” to Briggs & Riley 20”. The discussions on Flyer Talk, specially the reviews and comments by tfar, Gadgetfreak, aktchi and others played a major role in my decision.

Now that I have done 2 – (3 day) Europe trips with my BR I thought I could best contribute to this forum by sharing my views.

Here’s my story:

I walked in at work post holidays, earlier this year, to news that more travel awaited me this quarter and this time to Europe. Even as I wondered how best to explain this to the missus, I realized I needed new luggage.

I owned a Samsonite 22” (that had served me 3 years, 50,000 miles and innumerable Amtrak and Road trips). However, the last few times I had traveled with my Samsonite 22” carry-on had been nothing short of traumatic. I was asked to check in my bag and even if I managed to convince my way through to the aircraft, I faced some embarrassing moments trying to fit the bag in the overhead bin. From whatever I had read and heard, European standards for carry-on baggage were even stingier than American.

I knew this time I had to go for something smaller and classier. After debating between a 20” and an 18”, I settled for the former as the latter seemed a little too compact for international travel. After reading through the discussions on Flyer Talk I zeroed in on Briggs and Riley Baseline 20” Expandable Wide Body, Tumi Alpha Continental 20” Carry-on and Victorinox Mobilizer NXT 4.0 20” Wheeled Carry-on. I went to the local store to see the 3 bags in person.

Here’s why I preferred BR over the other 2:

Packing Comfort

Briggs and Riley Baseline 20” Expandable Wide Body: The first thing that struck me about the bag was what they call the “Outsider handle system.” The telescopic handle is provided on the bag’s exterior leaving a flat packing surface inside to keep clothes wrinkle-free. The bag also comes with multiple pockets – a mesh pocket for toiletries, a lid pocket for delicates or tees, an outsider pocket for quick access items, and a SpeedThru pocket.



Tumi Alpha Continental 20” Carry-on: The interior of this bag had one big main compartment, while two flat zippered pockets were provided on the exterior. From my experience, I know there is only so much you can put in the exterior pockets. I felt the bag offered a little less than Briggs and Riley in terms of organization.

Victorinox Mobilizer NXT 4.0 20” Wheeled Carry-on: This one did have one mesh pocket that could be used for storing multiple things like tees or sleepwear. It also had two front pockets for quick access items and travel documents. The bag looked ordinary at best. Plus, their garment securing panels didn’t compare favorably to the panels provided by Tumi and Briggs & Riley.

Garment Sleeve

Briggs and Riley: The bag had a tri-fold built-in garment sleeve that looked good enough to hold at least two suits. I knew this feature would come in handy since the “one carry-on per traveler” rule means I cannot carry a separate garment cover to hold my suits. The garment panel was foam-centered to prevent wrinkling – another thumbs up for Briggs and Riley!



Tumi: This bag came with a removable garment sleeve and a zippered tie pocket. I didn’t care much about the garment sleeve being detachable, but the zippered pocket looked like a nice add-on.

Victorinox: I was pretty surprised that the Victorinox carry-on did not have a garment sleeve. By now, I had started expecting this feature from every bag as a matter of right.

Expandability

Briggs and Riley: The Briggs and Riley bag could be expanded by 2.5” for 24% extra space. I am a light traveler, but I would still like to have the option of some extra packing capacity if needed.



Tumi: The main compartment of the Tumi Continental could also be expanded for up to 2.5” of extra packing capacity.

Victorinox: Since I found expansion system to be a standard feature in most 20” carry-on suitcases, I felt almost let down that the feature was absent in this bag.

Warranty

Briggs and Riley: This is where Briggs and Riley win the race. Their “Simple as that” lifetime warranty (http://www.briggs-riley.com/simple-a...time-warranty/) is simply the best in the industry. It covers repair of all damage – including the damage caused by airlines – for life.

Tumi: I was aware of Tumi’s withdrawal of their lifetime warranty. I just wasn’t sure what they had replaced it with. I was shocked to find out that it was a five-year warranty (http://intl.tumi.com/about/warranty-detail/) with coverage for airline damage only in the first year.

Victorinox: They offered what they call “Carry with Confidence” guarantee (http://www.swissarmy.com/CustomerSer...istration.aspx) on this bag, which covers functional repairs for damage caused by airlines among other things. They offer lifetime warranty on certain collections like Tallux.

Price

Briggs and Riley: $369.00

Tumi: $595.00

Victorinox: $369.99 (After 30% discount)


Value for Money

Briggs and Riley: A resounding yes – with features like wrinkle-free packing, built-in garment sleeve, SmartLink system to attach one or more bags to another rolling bag, zippered expansion system, a ballistic nylon exterior, and a lifetime warranty, I had nothing to complain about.

Tumi: Unsure - I wasn’t sure what I would be paying extra for if I bought Tumi. Briggs and Riley certainly had more features, offered a lot more in terms of organization and packing comfort, and definitely outscored it in terms of warranty.

Victorinox: Not really – even after a 30 percent discount, this bag was too pricey for what it offered.