pillguy

Hello everyone,

I will shortly be starting my stent at consulting travel again (have done the road warrior gig in the past) and would love some advice. I have been searching and reviewing excellent posts by so many users on the forums, much appreciated.

I will be traveling to Chicago on Sunday night, returning home Thursday afternoon. Direct flights on United/Continental.

I would like to go without checking bags, and prefer to carry 2 laptops (one 17 inch), 1 suit, 4 changes of clothes, sleepwear, 2 sets of gym clothes, 1 pair of gym shoes.
As a result I am looking for a large executive briefcase (no rollers, probably nylon type) and a 20 inch rollerboard. Comments here welcome, but I am really looking for discussion on quality of these 3 brands.

Observations thus far:

BR: good quality, unmatched warranty, good features, reasonably pricey
Tumi: great quality, crappy warranty, good features (arguably best look), very pricey
Travelpro: good quality, poor warranty, decent features, excellent price

I have a travelpro day tripper roller (will hold small laptop and a day of clothes or so), and it is decent enough.

Here are my questions:

1. Nylon quality: is there a major difference in brands? I am pretty inexperienced in this area.
2. zipper and wear quality: any differences?
3. Noticing the warranty on the BR is fantastic, the company is really motivated to make quality products. I am wondering if this really yields a superior product.
4. Travelpro seems considerably cheaper. Has their quality (say Crew 8) gone downhill? Why are they so cheap?
5. Any other quality differences I am missing?

I am willing to pay for quality and long life. Features are more important than price to me.

Thank you all so much for your input.

Braindrain

Everyone looks for different things. Also, make sure you're comparing high-end to high-end. For example, the Travelpro Plat series does have a lifetime warranty that includes damage by airlines.

While there are many B&R fans on this forum, I'm not one of them as I think their internal shell is extremely cheap.

The Tumi Alpha is still a fantastic suitcase although people have lamented quality has gone down with outsourcing to China.

Personally, I think the last good suitcase made by Travelpro was the Plat 5/Crew 6 series as the shell was almost identical to the Tumi Alpha.

Another suitcase to consider is the top-end Victorinox as their shell is excellent and I think their warranty is also all-encompassing.

hillview

Well I have limited experience but we've had the carry on wheeled suitor from B&R for about 4 years and it has several 100k miles on it and it looks new. No issues at all. We've also had a Tumi suitor (no wheels) and the zipper broke; a Tumi wheeled brief case -- lots of loose threads on the bottom of the bag and the handle broke and a Tumi 21" carry on and parts inside have fallen off (odd parts -- screws and things but the bag works fine??). So my husband and I have converted to B&R. I just got the B&R Baseline 21" carryon.

awp91

I can't comment on Tumi as I have not procured one.

I have both B&R and Travelpro. B&R is good quality and fantastic warranty, as some other have said, they are what Travelpro used to be and perhaps even more. The one downside with the carry on B&R is the outsider handles -- this does reduce the amount of packing space versus an internal handles bag. I personally like the flat packing but you may have space issues. Their 20 inch bags still have a suiter compartment. The zippers on the B&R to me are superior to Travelpro.

Travelpro Crew 8 is a decent product, I wouldn't go so far to say that it is "cheap" quality, just not in the same vein as their earlier stuff. With each sequential Crew series, the weight has decreased (most likely due to market demand with more stringent carry on regs), but so has the quality. However, at 40% to 50% of B&Rs price, I think it is still decent. Please note that TP's 20 inch bags for Crew 8 are either widebody or have a "business" organizer in the standard (which sounds like you would not use). Neither have a suiter compartment. You may want to look at their Platinum series, which is supposed to be a step up from Crew (I've never owned one of those so can't comment further or verify).

An alternative you may or may not want to consider is getting a roller briefcase for your 2 computers and a shoulder bag (Red Oxx or Tom Bihn, etc.) that can rest on the briefcase roller. Since you are going for 3 days, you should be able to find a good shoulder bag to easily hold all these items. A few of the benefits are fewer hassles with gate checking (shoulder bags hardly ever are in my experience), and you can use the roller during the week to lug the 2 computers. There are a few threads within the forum on this if you're interested. Best of luck!

pillguy

I have seen a number of posts on the external handle on the BR. Some say it is more difficult to fit in overheads, and the space is a consideration.

I was able to get my hands on the BR Baseline bags today. They are well made, but they do not seem to be as well made as Tumi. Tumi just seems more durable, but without the warranty to back it.

Tough choices! I need the luggage before Oct 14th. This may come down to whichever I can find on sale. They are both great choices. I am going to stay away from Travelpro for now, thank you all very much for the advice.

palmetto86

I'm a recent Tumi convert, and I couldn't be happier. Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are they are the "douche" bag. Yes, a lot of people have them. That said, I love it. The wheels, the handles, the look, the capacity, the weight are all amazing. I use a Tumi Alpha Continental as my go to carry on. People on FT often say Tumi's warranty has lost value over the years, but that doesn't really bother me. I never check my luggage, so I have a really hard time believing I could do that much damage to my bag. Even after year of probably 20+ gate checks, my bag still looks brand new.

I know there are a ton of people on this forum that will say Briggs and Riley is the best bag ever because of its warranty blah blah blah... but I really hate them. Three reasons:

1) They don't feel as nice as other bags. Even though they have a great warranty, I want a bag I don't ever have to worry about sending away.
2) The handle mechanism is on the outside of the bag. I like having that extra 3/4'' inside that bag where I can slide socks, belts, etc around the the handles.
3) They are the most boring bags on the planet. They remind me of cheap basic black bags that every corporate IT department doled out with "your first laptop" back in 2002. Even the colors that aren't black are boring.

In terms of "bang for buck," I would have voted for Travelpro. It's dirt cheap. I have a 20" TravelPro FlightPro3 that is ancient, and I still love it. I think TravelPro has the best wheels of any luggage. As for style, there isn't much there. I think things have actually gotten worse over time with Travelpro. At least with earlier models, TravelPro was a "plain black bag." Now, the company has tried to be more fashion forward, and their stylings just don't work for me. The "chrome" accents are really bad. Not sure what others think of their current quality, but I see a lot of really ugly TravelPro bags around these days.

aehrens

I'm also looking. My standby has been a Ricardo of Beverly Hills - it is over 1mm (with a lot of domestic). I've had it for almost 15 years, and it is just now starting to fray on the tubing. I'll probably keep it another year or so, I just can't seem to find a new bag that has the quality + space that this bag has.

There is a new line from them "Big Sur" - with some positive reviews on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Ricardo-Beverl...7076598&sr=1-1).

Mine is a 22 (not a 21), and also has two skid strips on the back for when it is dragged over a rough edge. The kick plate on my current one also extends higher up the back.

I haven't seen large kick plates or skid strips on any of the new luggage - I've actually been trolling ebay and craigslist to find something from 3-5 years ago or older.

Let us know what you end up with.

SaigonCyclo

B & R recently changed handle system suppliers. It will be interesting to see if they have quality issues because of this. They are also making some of their bags in Vietnam now as well. Quality from there is generally not an issue. Given the choice of the 3, I'd chose Briggs.

bagobsessive

I don't think most of the B&R fans here go for them because of the warranty - certainly it is good but I want a bag I don't have worry about sending back anyway.

I at least go for B&R because of the quality, durability, LOOKS (which at least in the rolling computer bags I like) and functionality. Some of all this is a matter of personal choice. But you do seem to hear less about wear and tear problems with B&R than with Tumi - maybe because so many more people have Tumi, but maybe not.

dj swin

Long time lurker here:

I have a Tumi Alpha 22" carry-on with fold out garment sleeve that it is my main go-to suitcase. It is tough and sleek and gets the job done. BTW, I removed the garment sleeve and just use the suitcase. I earned it with Marriott Rewards points a few years ago.

A few things I would change about the bag:
The retail price is $595, that's too high.
If full, it has tendency to "lean" forward.
It is almost too big, especially for commuter aircraft.

I also have an older TravelPro 20" that is great. Very lightweight and built like a tank.

BlueCat1105

Tumi is "the douche bag?" What does that mean? I don't know if I want to buy one if this is how they're known.

palmetto86

I was joking around, but in a way, I think it is a somewhat accurate description. In the U.S. at least, there is a common airport stereotype that I classify as the "douche" business traveler.

I'm certainly not the first person on FT to talk about this type of airport specimen. You can spot them waiting an hour before a flight standing in the first class boarding line with Blue-Tooth headsets on, suits w/ no ties, first class ticket proudly displayed in shirt pocket, and oftentimes a Tumi bag.

While I don't think I fall into this category of Tumi bag owners, I do feel like many, many of this "type" carry Tumi bags. The bags are expensive, they do look nice, and tacitly say "look at me," so it's easy to understand why the "douche" business traveler is drawn to the brand.

Braindrain

No, this isn't a widely-shared opinion.

GadgetFreak

Don't forget the copy of "Men's Health" magazine. I still get a chuckle out of that post when I think about it.

AFinny5

Anyone who pays $500 for luggage that does not include a full lifetime warranty = DOUCHE