inez314

Hi,

I've tried to go through topics but unfortunately I'm not able to find the thing I need. I've watched lot's of reviews online, read tons of data and still I have no clue what to buy.

I'm traveling Mon-Thursday abroad. I need to have a suit, skirt, some business shirts. But I also need to pack stuff for gym & swimming pool. And 2-3 pairs of shoes. And some normal clothes like jeans & tshirt as I really hate the business clothes so as soon as I will reach hotel I'm changing.

I have cheap carry on right now which doesn't fit in small planes.

I would like this bag to have a good pocket in which I could store bags with liquids as I hate opening the whole bag to get it out.

I still have no clue if I should have 2 or 4 wheels as now I have 4 but I almost never use it. But this is a cheap thing so maybe more expensive one with 4 would be nice?

I was thinking about Travelpro crew 8 but it seems to have not enough pockets. Mother LTM 21 looks nice but I'm not sure if suit& shirts will survive (I hate ironing).

And of course the biggest problem is that I live in Europe and it's hard to get most of the brands recommended here.

If someone would be kind enough to help me that would be really really awesome.

tfar

Welcome to FT, Inez!

I think I can help out. I'll try to order my thoughts but this might become a long post so hang in there.

1. As a woman you will probably be able to fit a folded suit jacket even in a 20" case. That gives you a real advantage over a man right there. Also, skirts are easier to pack than long trousers.

2. So you should definitely go for a 20" model. This will be lighter and smaller which means you will be allowed to take it on board more frequently. It will also be lighter for you to carry.

3. I very much encourage you to read the packing masterthread sticky on top of this page. In the video method of how to fold a suit jacket I demonstrate a technique that works just as well for female suit jackets which are taken in at the waist. The usual folding techniques for suit jackets don't work so well for those. But the video technique will do the trick.

4. Get yourself a shirt folder. For a blouse of anything up to European size 42 (female), the Eagle Creek 15" folder should do. It makes packing much more efficient and really helps to get your shirts out with a minimum of wrinkles.

5. Trim down what you take. The best places to start are the gym clothes and the shoes. Decide beforehand whether on this trip you want to hit the gym or you want to swim. This will save you at least 1kg of weight. That's a lot. Also, you should be able to complete a 4 day trip with altogether 3 pairs of shoes. 2 pairs of dress shoes (one worn) and one pair of casual or gym shoes. Ideally you'd wear the gym shoes for traveling because this will give you better footing and the gym shoes also take up more space in the suitcase. So it's better to wear them for traveling.

6. The next thing to address are the cosmetics. First, get a really lightweight bag. I am a huge advocate of simply using a plastic ziplock baggie but many women don't find that stylish enough. Make the bag as light as possible. Very often these are extraneous weight. Second, think about carrying the liquids baggie in your purse. It should fit unless the purse is really small. This way you don't need to open the main bag. Furthermore, I have made the experience, that they don't really care anymore if the liquids baggie is presented separately. They say that they care, but whenever I "fail" to take mine out, I never get admonished, never ever. So you might just try that.
In order to facilitate that you really want to put ONLY liquids in the liquids baggie. Don't put your powder or lipstick in there. It is not a cosmetics baggie but it is a LIQUIDS baggie. If it's not liquid, it doesn't go in the baggie. You can pack all the other things in the main suitcase and won't need to open it.

7. If you now have 4 wheels but hardly ever use them and you feel capable of dragging your bag along on two wheels, then I suggest you stick with two wheels. More interior volume, less chance of breakage, cheaper. 4 wheels are the solution to when you cannot put stress on your bag, arms or shoulders. If you are still fit, 2 wheels will do.

8. In terms of brands I do think Travelpro is very good. So is Eagle Creek and Samsonite. Also Delsey does have some good offerings. I'd advise to choose top-of-the-line or one level below top. So that would be the Platinum or the Crew range for Travelpro for instance.

9. Very often suits for females already have a higher proportion of manmade fibers so they should be less prone to wrinkling. However, they can also not be "steamed" in the bathroom while you are taking a hot shower. For that you need clothes made out of 100% wool and ideally a wool thread that is highly twisted. Crepe wool cloth is very highly twisted. It will spring back very easily with a little shower steam. Another advantage as a woman, as men's suits usually don't come in crepe.

10. For more detailed questions and answers on what to pack and what clothes or cosmetics to use, go to the Woman Travelers Forum of Flyertalk. The ladies there have it all sorted out and will be very helpful.

Cheers,

Till

Travelpro Luggage

How many pockets are you looking for?

The Crew 8 has 2 outer pockets in the front. One running the length of the bag.

Inside there is a lid pocket and 2 interior pockets.

I hope this helps.

Paul Lawrence
Travelpro International

inez314

Tfar,

Thank you very much for your reply. It is great!

ad1. thanks for advice. I wasn't sure about the size but now I know

ad3. I will read the packing master thread I think it will be very useful.

ad4. Big thanks for that. I was searching for this, but I couldn't get the name right.
http://www.eaglecreekluggage.co.uk/p...php?prod=40153 this is it right? I'm around 4us size so if this fits 42eu size I should be covered.

Ad6. I'm using plastic zip bag with small bottles. I don't take any cosmetic bag as for me it is a waste of space. The problem with taking it into purse is that I travel with a very small purse. I need to have a laptop backpack sometimes with 2 laptops in it. So I'm trying to have a tiny purse or no purse at all.

ad7. Yes I'm fit and not that old so I think I can still drag the bag for couple of years

ad8. So now the choices:

Eagle Creek ES3 Traverse Pro 19
http://www.eaglecreekluggage.co.uk/p...=202820&cat=21

I've noticed it because it has this backpack on it. As I must have a laptop backpack as well maybe this is a solution. Although I'm pretty sure that I need to take this backpack off before putting it into the locker so maybe it's not worth it.

Eagle Creek Es3 Tarmac 20 Wide Body
http://www.eaglecreekluggage.co.uk/p...=202850&cat=21

looks nice. One big pocked outside but I guess I could live with that.

TravelPro Crew 8 20"
http://www.travelpro.co.uk/showitem.asp?prodid=32

To be honest I love this big pocket which fits laptop and phone and everything. I haven't noticed that before.

Travelpro "Platinum 7" 20" Expandable Business Rollaboard
http://www.travelpro.co.uk/showitem.asp?prodid=53

Also looking great and the same great front pocked.

So the question is will I really feel the difference? Because of course there is a price difference between those 2. Is Platinum worth it or I could stick to Crew 8

And Samsonite
PRO-DLX3
http://www.samsonite.co.uk/pro-dlx3-upright-55cm-22inch-black/product-en.htm?or=5037564257&shs={46f5399b-ef0e-4492-8b2e-3102309cace7}

This one also has this great laptop storage place and a lots of inside pockets.

or B-Lite DLX
http://www.samsonite.co.uk/b-lite-dlx-upright-55cm-20inch-sand/product-en.htm?or=5037564257&shs={46f5399b-ef0e-4492-8b2e-3102309cace7}

which looks nice because it is really nice

Or Xion Travel
http://www.samsonite.co.uk/x-ion3-travel-upright-55cm-20inch-silver/product-en.htm?or=5037564257&shs={46f5399b-ef0e-4492-8b2e-3102309cace7}

Any thoughts?
My heart is now with Travelpro because of this great laptop pocket.

Thanks very much in advance.

MAN Pax

Till nailed most of this in the earlier post.

I would add that I have a Crew 7 as my "big" Carry-On bag and it works well, with lots of space. It does bulge if you put a lot in the front pocket, so beware of the baggage police. Bonus is being able to expand it and the well protected wheels if you need to check it.

Also second the points on the Shirt Folder, Jacket Folding Technique and the ZipLock bags for cosmetics. I use the Snopake Air Bags now for my (man) stuff and they seem to last about 50 trips before giving in and needing to be replaced.

tfar

Hi Inez,

Glad you found the reply helpful.

I will go through point by point again.

ad 4) Yes. That's what we call the EC15. The smaller of the two EC shirt folders. It will be alright with a US size 4 woman's shirt. I can fit a man's shirt (jacket size 40) in there but prefer the EC18 for myself.

ad 6) Perfect. You're great! Usually this is one of the most frequent "mistakes". That's why I mentioned it. Small purse, yes, then you need a front pocket on the roller. I find a front pocket (and ideally a back pocket for magazines) very practical anyway.

ad 8) bag choices.

EC with backpack attached. Forget it. Heavy. Cumbersome to attach backpack. Necessary to remove BP before putting it in the overhead. Too much trouble. It's a leisure bag not a professional bag.

EC widebody. Forget the widebodies for travel in Europe. They are often less lenient than they are in the US. If the thing doesn't fit in the 14" sizer, you are out. This is 16" wide. No go.

For the rest I'd make a decision between two very extreme poles: The Sammy B-Lite and the Travelpro Plat7. The B-Lite is indeed very light at 2.6kg. It buys that lightness with a lighter material and less features. Still the 1.3kg difference is substantial when you are up against a 7kg limit. Somehow the size on this is off, though. A 20" model should be declared as a 50cm suitcase, not 55cm as it is here.

The Plat7 is very full-featured and made from a very sturdy nylon. That explains the extra weight. It also explains the fantastic warranty TP gives on their Platinum series. In terms of price value these cases are hard to beat. But if the case itself weighs close to 4kg and it may only weigh 7kg loaded, you are not going to like the packing experience.

I recommend you do a test pack. Gather EVERYTHING you want to pack. Then weigh every item. If it comes up at 3kg or you can bring it down to that, get the Travelpro. If not, get the Sammy.

I also recommend to get a dark color. At least a dark grey. The silver or beige colors will look dirty very quickly. Not nice.

Here is a video on the Plat7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ4lijbNeL8

If you can find a Plat5 (long discontinued but these were mass produced) I would perhaps get that. The features are even better than the Plat7. I also find it looks better.

Among the features it has are the coveted backpocket (which none of the above models has) and the special ergonomic handle.

You can read my review of it here: http://www.1bag1world.com/blog/2009/...er-review.html

Amazingly I found one still available and it is the 19" model.
http://luggage.nu/store/Travelpro-Pl...aboard_P95.htm

Downside is the weight. Even if you ditch the suiter, which you should definitely do in any case, this will come in just as heavy as the Plat7 or the Crew8. However, I contend that it is the better suitcase.

Till

inez314

Till,

Once again thank you for the reply. Today I'm traveling back so I will weight everything but I'm afraid that 4kg will be too heavy.
But I will know when I will check it.
Also I have issue with getting Travelpro in my home country (Poland). I would need to ship it from UK probably and of course looking at the price it is much more expensive then in USA.
And most of USA shops doesn't ship to Poland

I found Crew 9 on ebay with a normal price and shipment to my country but it is still just Crew 9 not Platinum.

Anyhow If I will check and decide that I can manage with 4kg then I will think where to get it or where to get the money for it

tfar

Exactly. Weigh the stuff first, then decide. If you read the 14lb rule of onebagging post I made, you will see that weight is really the prime factor in luggage decisions, or at least it should be for rational people.

Unfortunately, I can't help you on sourcing the case. But perhaps someone could bring you one from the US? Did you try German shops? They might ship to Poland since it's right next door.

Till

inez314

Hi,

It's me again. So unfortunately I need something light. 1,6kg will make a difference but still I think I will get travelpro plat but 22 when I will go to USA (I hope for new years eve).
So now I'm focused on Samsonite.

So B-lite Fresh
http://www.samsonite.pl/b-lite-fresh-upright-50cm-charcoal/product-en.htm?or=8590494524&shs={ab4b7785-0d10-455a-b018-a3af93742851}

Or B-lite DLX
http://www.samsonite.pl/b-lite-dlx-upright-50cm-18inch-black/product-en.htm?or=8590494524&shs={ab4b7785-0d10-455a-b018-a3af93742851}

There is a little price difference and a little weight difference. They look different inside.

So I don't know if the more expensive is better or not ?

tfar

Hi Inez,

I'd go with the Fresh, the cheaper one. It has more volume and weighs a full pound less. Materials are the same. Bag shape and structure, too. The artificial leather applique and the zipper lock hardly add any real value in the more expensive one. The somewhat more detailed packing features in the door are nice to have but not worth an extra pound. Rather get a shirt folder and a packing cube.

Cheers,

Till