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-   -   Luggage, with very good wheels needed.... (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/2058489-luggage-very-good-wheels-needed.html)

Jeannietx Nov 10, 2021 8:45 pm

Luggage, with very good wheels needed....
 
I have been pretty much absent from FT and any other board that had to do with travel since March 2020. All of that cancelling for 2020 and 2021 was depressing.

Flyer Talk used to have two forums that I can't seem to find now. One was related to travel stuff/needs, the other more about electronics. I can't find them....?

Anyway, we went on a weeklong trip in October and decided we really need to replace our luggage before our next trip, which is a long trip, and isn't until 2022, so have some time. I'm looking for recommendations for heavy duty travel luggage. I need larger and much better wheels that will survive being checked and manhandled for air, rail and ship travel. We prefer 28"-30" for checked luggage. The only carryon we do are backpacks and my handbag/purse. The luggage being replaced is Samsonite soft, and is about 9 years old.

DELee Nov 10, 2021 8:49 pm


Originally Posted by Jeannietx (Post 33719203)
I have been pretty much absent from FT and any other board that had to do with travel since March 2020. All of that cancelling for 2020 and 2021 was depressing.

Flyer Talk used to have two forums that I can't seem to find now. One was related to travel stuff/needs, the other more about electronics. I can't find them....?

Travel Products

Travel Technology

David

Jeannietx Nov 10, 2021 8:58 pm

Thank you!!!
 
Thank you, sorry.

LondonElite Nov 10, 2021 9:01 pm

For checked luggage I’d just get solid Samsonite cases at a medium price point.

DELee Nov 10, 2021 9:05 pm


Originally Posted by Jeannietx (Post 33719230)
Thank you, sorry.

No sorry needed - just keep posting here on FT and your travels website!

David

sushanna1 Nov 12, 2021 8:21 am

I recommend a bag with two wheels as opposed to a spinner. Personally I like Eagle Creek's wheels but use a much smaller bag. Suggest looking at https://www.eaglecreek.com/shop/whee...ariationId=347

Dread Pirate Jeff Nov 15, 2021 8:19 am


Originally Posted by sushanna1 (Post 33722834)
I recommend a bag with two wheels as opposed to a spinner. Personally I like Eagle Creek's wheels but use a much smaller bag. Suggest looking at https://www.eaglecreek.com/shop/whee...ariationId=347

At first I was confused, because the last I had heard, Eagle Creek was going away by the end of they year... but then because of this thread, I discovered that Eagle Creek lives on!

That's excellent to learn and give my Monday morning a bit of a boost. I really like Eagle Creek and have a lot of their gear for travel, especially their ultralight organization products.

As an addition, I've used TravelPro for years, largely because I noticed that when I travel, almost all the aircrews use TravelPro, and knowing how much they drag those things around, I figured that was probably a pretty good endorsement. And I've been quite happy with their Maxlite luggage, a set I probably should update at some point, but I've been using my Maxlite 2 bags for years without any issue at all, and have checked or carried on for flights around the world for ... almost a decade now since I bought them.

pstm91 Nov 15, 2021 12:16 pm

I never see Eagle Creek recommended in these types of forums/threads and I never understand why. I have had the same bag and carry on for over 10 years now and beaten the absolute hell out of both of them. Both are still going strong. I love that they are simple and extremely sturdy. I do not like hardshell bags (for either checked or carryons), and I prefer 2-wheels for carry-on. All of my preferences stem from my Eagle Creek experience, and in particular the carry-on, which has two thick wheels that can handle any situation (especially cobble stones/uneven streets in Europe and Asia).

To be fair, they are certainly not cheap. However, I have not had to make a change in over a decade so I would value that as a pretty good investment and possibly cheaper than replacing a lower/mid-range bag every couple of years (or even more frequently depending on your travel habits). My girlfriend has been through a Tumi and two Samsonite bags in that timespan.

serpens Nov 16, 2021 6:51 am


Originally Posted by pstm91 (Post 33731001)
I never see Eagle Creek recommended in these types of forums/threads and I never understand why. I have had the same bag and carry on for over 10 years now and beaten the absolute hell out of both of them. [...]

While I agree with you, I will note that on my first post-Covid trip, Delta ruined one wheel on a Load Warrior and United ruined the other wheel. (By ruined, I mean the axle was dislodged so the wheel was canted in its well and wouldn't roll.) This was my older Load Warrior and it has a different style wheel than my newer Load Warrior, so apparently Eagle Creek changed the design. Delta and United notwithstanding, I also recommend Eagle Creek, or at least the Load Warrior products. (I haven't seen them for a while. Were they discontinued?)

sushanna1 Nov 17, 2021 9:03 am


Originally Posted by Dread Pirate Jeff (Post 33730245)
At first I was confused, because the last I had heard, Eagle Creek was going away by the end of they year... but then because of this thread, I discovered that Eagle Creek lives on!

That's excellent to learn and give my Monday morning a bit of a boost. I really like Eagle Creek and have a lot of their gear for travel, especially their ultralight organization products.

As an addition, I've used TravelPro for years, largely because I noticed that when I travel, almost all the aircrews use TravelPro, and knowing how much they drag those things around, I figured that was probably a pretty good endorsement. And I've been quite happy with their Maxlite luggage, a set I probably should update at some point, but I've been using my Maxlite 2 bags for years without any issue at all, and have checked or carried on for flights around the world for ... almost a decade now since I bought them.

Excellent news regarding Eagle Creek. Thanks for posting.

pstm91 Nov 17, 2021 11:36 am


Originally Posted by serpens (Post 33733001)
While I agree with you, I will note that on my first post-Covid trip, Delta ruined one wheel on a Load Warrior and United ruined the other wheel. (By ruined, I mean the axle was dislodged so the wheel was canted in its well and wouldn't roll.) This was my older Load Warrior and it has a different style wheel than my newer Load Warrior, so apparently Eagle Creek changed the design. Delta and United notwithstanding, I also recommend Eagle Creek, or at least the Load Warrior products. (I haven't seen them for a while. Were they discontinued?)

That sounds like some very bad luck, and I'm sorry to hear it. One thing I love about my Eagle Creek bags is how the wheels are mostly imbedded into the bag so it would be very difficult to damage them (plus they are wide/thick), yet they don't take away any storage space within the bag. I just checked out newer models and it does appear the wheels are more exposed now and probably easier to break. I know you said it was your older bag but not sure how your wheels were set up...

serpens Nov 17, 2021 3:02 pm


Originally Posted by pstm91 (Post 33736949)
That sounds like some very bad luck, and I'm sorry to hear it. One thing I love about my Eagle Creek bags is how the wheels are mostly imbedded into the bag so it would be very difficult to damage them (plus they are wide/thick), yet they don't take away any storage space within the bag. I just checked out newer models and it does appear the wheels are more exposed now and probably easier to break. I know you said it was your older bag but not sure how your wheels were set up...

The damaged wheels (which I believe were damaged axle mounts rather than damaged wheels; the wheels themselves looked fine) are mostly concealed. Maybe the luggage handlers took it as a challenge.

The wheels on the newer bag do appear to be more exposed (and larger in diameter but smaller in width), but they survived just fine. I can't explain it.

FLYMSY Nov 22, 2021 9:59 am


Originally Posted by Dread Pirate Jeff (Post 33730245)
At first I was confused, because the last I had heard, Eagle Creek was going away by the end of they year... but then because of this thread, I discovered that Eagle Creek lives on!

That's excellent to learn and give my Monday morning a bit of a boost. I really like Eagle Creek and have a lot of their gear for travel, especially their ultralight organization products.

As an addition, I've used TravelPro for years, largely because I noticed that when I travel, almost all the aircrews use TravelPro, and knowing how much they drag those things around, I figured that was probably a pretty good endorsement. And I've been quite happy with their Maxlite luggage, a set I probably should update at some point, but I've been using my Maxlite 2 bags for years without any issue at all, and have checked or carried on for flights around the world for ... almost a decade now since I bought them.

I agree with you about Eagle Creek but wondering if the new products are being built to the same quality level.

I think that the TravelPro air crew products are constructed a bit differently than the TravelPro consumer products.

Dread Pirate Jeff Nov 22, 2021 11:01 am


Originally Posted by FLYMSY (Post 33749978)
I agree with you about Eagle Creek but wondering if the new products are being built to the same quality level.

I think that the TravelPro air crew products are constructed a bit differently than the TravelPro consumer products.

True, but what I was getting at was that the popularity of TravelPro among aircrews was a pretty good endorsement in general and one of the reasons I bought the set. I've used the same TravelPro Maxlite 2 bags internationally for almost a decade now and have never had an issue with them. I keep thinking I could get a new set but honestly there's no real need to as the ones I have have held up beautifully (far better than the Samsonite bags I had before), that's all I meant.

As far as Eagle Creek goes, I wondered that too. Usually when a brand is taken over, there is a definite drop in quality as the new owner cheap out on the manufacturing end to maximize profits. But in this case, it was owned by the same company that owns The North Face, Altra, and Smartwool, and was sold to their VP of Emerging Brands who was looking for something new anyway, so he bought Eagle Creek from VF, then quit VF to rebuild Eagle Creek, so that leads to some hope that he won't completely bollocks it up. But it'll probably be 6 months or more before you can really tell, once the old stock is finally sold out and replenished with new stock from the new EC. We'll see... I'm at least hopeful for this one.


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