The single biggest problem with Briggs&Riley, at least the last time I checked, is that they use rivets instead of screws to assemble their bags.
The strongest warranty in the world doesn't help much if your bag breaks outside the U.S.; you will have to go to a local repair shop or trash the bag if you want to make it home. Luggage held together with screws can be repaired by local repair shops all over the world; with rivets, who knows.
Having had top-of-the-line bags which needed repair in locales as diverse as Stockholm and Tokyo, I am not going to ever take a B&R bag on a long trip. Too bad, as I very much like everything else about their design.