jackohara

Which brand of luggage has lasted you more than 5 international trips?

gobluetwo

Why international only? Does a long flight imply more wear/tear on the luggage vs. domestic?

In any case, I use Victorinox stuff. My Mobilizer NXT 5.0 20" suitcase has held up very well on multiple international (4, I think) and domestic (more than a dozen) trips. It's been checked maybe half a dozen times, and gate checked another half dozen.

Mellonc

You mean checked luggage, I think...... Briggs Riley, and Costco. from the value perspective, it's very hard to beat Costco.

mbece

Both Kirkland and Eagle Creek.

Vegasrider

I've had a set of Andiamo's for over a decade, been everywhere. My large suitcase is made out of ballistic nylon which has gone through hundreds of check ins. I love the large heavy duty oversize zippers, the wheels are inserted and flush with the suitcase so they can't break off, amongst other features that was built to last. Unfortunately they are no longer in business. It's similar to Tumi, but in my opinion, it was much more durable so that's why I went with them. Probably spent over a $1000 back then, but still going.

What I have learned is you can't go cheap with luggage if you plan on travelling a lot.

DirtyDan

I would recommend avoiding Samsonite. When I started travelling, they were the brand of choice for my 4 pieces. OK for the occasional trip to a Caribbean all-inclusive, but not for anyone that actually travels. After only 250K miles, there are only 2 pieces remaining and both have had repeated wheel / zipper replacements (and one of those cost me a lap top screen when the handle broke while walking down the stairs at DSP).

I enjoy my little Tumi roller (purchase airside of BKK when the above incident happened to the Samsonite), but even with the occasional gate check it's so scuffed it looks like it has been through a rock crusher - although it still works well.

We just bought a full size Rimowa and after 4 check-ins it's holding up well - I load it up to 70lbs and it still rolls beautifully.

Father-in-law swears by B&R. Has pieces with a million miles on them and they still work great.

I wish I'd just invested in good luggage from the start - took me too long to find FT and get y'all's great advice!

aktchi

I like wheeled checked bags and non-wheeled carry-ons.
I buy on clearance sales; so no sets or matching luggage.
I place a great value on unconditional warranty. Even well-made brands like Tumi didn't pass this test.

After much research, I settled on B&R as well as Red Oxx (very different personalities), also an odd piece or two of the old Andiamo.
I have had great experience with these. No surprise, they were selected with a lot of care and reading.

Of course, I have not used every brand and I am sure there is other equally good stuff out there.
What I have need not be "the best"---in the sense that all else is inferior---just among the best.

For reviews related to general travel, I'd turn to this forum as well as OneBag.com (non-wheeled carry-ons).
For "outdoor" activities, http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/travel.

Vegasrider

Personally, I have a habit of observing the quality of luggage that comes down onto the carousel. What else do you have to do? It's hilarious how many times I have observed luggage that has been damaged or needed to be retaped. You can really identify the top quality luggage from the cheap luggage. In my opinion, It's easy to spot a travelling pro versus a amateur based on the type of luggage they have. When I see the Tumi's, Halliburton, and the rare Andiamo's, it catches my attention

aktchi

I too tend to enjoy "luggage watching" at airports. However, I must say that a lot of the luggage, choices, behavior, etc that I see are so inept that sometimes it gets depressing.

I was at DEL recently (location is anecdotal, this could happen anywhere), when I spotted a woman frantically checking the name-tag on almost every passing bag at the carousel, but never picking up one. By offering to help, I could strike a conversation. Turns put that she had a generic sidewalk-shop black spinner with a carrier supplied paper name-tag. They looked like every other bag on the belt. Obviously part of a set: her carry on looked similar, just smaller.

She thought I was Einstein and Edison combined when I showed her how easy it was for me to roll a non-wheeled carry-on atop the rolling checked bag. Or how I could easily tell my checked bag due to colored wraps around the handles. Or that she could use free ribbons for the same effect. Or, as last resort, she could have picked up name tags from a couple of different airlines, which would have stood apart from the sea of BA tags all other black bags had (this was a BA flight).

pilotalan

I have an old Delsey rolling suitcase (not bag, *suitcase*).
It has survived Russia, Israel, Mexico, and a few times being tied to the top of a bus in Egypt (some lady's softsided roller looked like a banana when they brought them down).

The next time I go there, I'm taking Pelicans.

Emeraldcity

Briggs and Riley AND Eddie Bauer. The Eddie Bauer bag lasted 100 flights in the belly of the plane till it finally gave out. This is both international and domestic. If I could only find another one just like it......sigh...

gpia

Delsey has served me wellover the years - in fact, I bought an additional one yesterday. A 62'' hard case spinner cost me 69 $ on sale...with a 10 year international warranty. Not sure how good they are at honoring it, reason being I never had any problems.

nux

B&R has lasted many dozens of trips, but going carry-on only 95% of the time helps.

MSchackne

Lots of great product out there ... be sure to include warranty in your comparison. The new Andiamo Avanti collection is going to get rave reviews from you too. You can't beat a warranty that includes airline abuse.

Vegasrider

Warranty, and honoring the warranty is an important factor in the decision making factor.

The older Andiamo's came with a lifetime warranty. I have sent in my large suitcase for repair once or twice and they have honored the warranty without any problems. But then they went out of business. I heard that they may have been bought out or they are making another comeback using the same name but I'm concerned that the quality won't be the same.

Another reason why I love my Andiamo, besides it's still going after a decade is that the luggage is so rare, it's easy to identify even when it's black.

The con's about my luggage is that it's soft, so it's susceptible to leaks from other luggage when they all get piled on top of one another. I experienced being on the other end of some other luggage leaking, which smelled like perfume. And sometimes, my interior will get wet if it experiences a torrential downpour while it's on the conveyer belt.

And my biggest pet peeves whenever it's time to claim your luggage are the people who stand right next to the carousel waiting for their bags. If people could just stand back several feet away, and wait until they see their bags coming will make it easier to identify and pull your luggage off the carousel. Nothing worse than trying to pull you 65lb suitcase with people right next to you. Yeah, I purposely drop it on their foot. Stay away until you see your bag coming.