lavender1365

Hi
I was wondering if anyone can recommend a good, comfortable spinner luggage that needs to be checked in. It needs to be large or medium (25' to 29'). If you have Rimowa Salsa Deluxe that size , please share your experience with it. I have Salsa Deluxe cabin IATA and it works for me but I never check it. I wonder how checked bags would do with luggage handlers?
If you have B&R, how satisfied are you with them? Salesman told me handlers grab the outside handles of those bags to toss them around which can make them break off..weird...
How about TravelPro Platinum Magna? I need a dependable bag that can take a heavy packing and will not fail me while I travel. It happened to me once and was not fun. Because of recovery from surgery I do need a spinner. Many thanks for your advice, any and all will be greatly appreciated.

DNA

Samsonite F'Lite - simple, but extremely durable.

aktchi

I have had B&R Baseline for several years and am extremely satisfied. So far nothing serious has happened to it. However, I agree that airlines are capable of damaging anything. If something did happen, B&R would take care of it, no questions asked.

http://www.briggs-riley.com/shop/collections/baseline

lavender1365

Thank you very much for your response, do you have medium or large Baseline model? Is it a spinner? Do you check it in? I really like their bags, but I really need a check in version and I am not sure how they do "roll when heavy" and if they can take some airline abuse.
Much appreciate feedback!

lavender1365

Thank you for recommendation. it does look solid. I m going to check it in store. I wish it had a standard handle, not the T version so I can put my carry on on top of it easier but it still may work. It does look solid.

Pup7

I have the carry-on sized Transcend (22") rollaboard, but I've weighted that thing down multiple times to the point it needed to be checked (we won't discuss what it's weighed - LOL) and it's rolled just fine. I've carried on en route but checked it on the way back with the expansion open, and it does great. If I'm in the UK I usually take the train from Southampton to Central London, then the Tube to Paddington to catch the Heathrow Express and it's just as easy to roll at that weight as it is at a proper carry-on weight.

I took it fully loaded up with winter gear (I'm active duty Air Force) on a two-month temporary assignment to Minot, ND in January and February - it went through three plane changes in a sixteen hour time frame there and back and still looks fabulous. Since I bought it two years ago, it's been my go-to bag for every trip, whether carry on or checked, and it's awesome. I can't rave enough about this bag!

If I ever need to buy a check-in size bag again, it will definitely be a Briggs and Riley, because of the warranty and the way that their bags just seem to roll with the punches. I know plenty of FTers (all of whom fly far more than I do!) brag on their B&Rs (which is why I bought this bag in the first place) - and while mine is the carry on size and you're obviously looking for a bigger one, I have no doubt that the bigger bags give the same level of performance.

aktchi

Between my wife and myself, we have four Baseline "uprights": 20", 24", 26", and 28". Available sizes were different then.

We have checked them all in. Even the 20" which is mostly meant and used as my wife's international carry-on, either because she was on a tiny regional jet, or because I needed a very small check-in bag to complement my Air Boss carry on.

All of my rolling bags have two wheels. This is obviously a subjective taste, but I feel this gives me sturdier wheels and better control when the bag is sitting on a slope or in moving trains/buses.

Similarly, I prefer the Baseline design because it has clean straight lines and no protruding pockets to get caught in luggage belts. However, B&R do have other lines with the same warranty, and if something appeals to you, go with it.

MaxBuck

Just completed our first trip with our new B&R Baseline large duffel. What a great piece of luggage. Biggest problem? It's way too easy to get overweight with it; had we been flying economy we'd have paid a lot in overweight fees, as the thing got to, I believe, 40 kg.

alphaod

I always recommend the Rimowa and one reason is the wheels. Seen too many cases that just don't seem to work as spinners especially with a heavy load, including Tumi, Samsonite, Victorinox, etc. I recently got my mom a Topas Stealth and compared to her Alpha 2, this things rolls everywhere whereas the Tumi would constantly get stuck.

If anything breaks on my Rimowa suitcases, including the handle, I take it to the shop and they fix it in no time. If need to ship it, the turnaround is immediate. Can't say that about many other brands.

lavender1365

Decided to go with Rimowa. Test drove B&R, Rimowa and Vicotrinox in travel store fully packed and realized Rimowa worked for me best.
I got Salsa Deluxe in 26"" to match my carry on IATA, both are black.
Here are my thoughts after few trips:
The good: rolls like heaven even when heavily packed which was my main concern (recovering form injury/surgery, needed easy rolling luggage/spinner). Protects content and is durable, so far so good. No issues rolling even on carpet and When needed I can wheel it as two wheeler but I try to avoid doing it (injury).
The not-so-bad-it is not as easy to pack and not as roomy as B&R but I can put up with it. I would prefer this to be non-clam shell design but hard cases for most part are built like that.
It gets a bit beat up (which I actually like) and color selection is still limited. On one busy flight I saw three coming off the belt looking exactly the same. I actually got one of those luggage "skins" now that help me recognize my suitcase fast when it comes off the belt. Works very well and adds extra protection.
As is the case with my IATA version, the numbers on the lock are so darn small my aging eyes are tested each time when I try to open the case in the hotel. But it may be just me :-)
Overall very satisfied, still B&R fan and when fully recovered I might consider a larger B&R or even Victorinox for those more demanding trips.