gfunkdave

It's been a long time since I bought luggage but I'm looking for a new roller bag carryon and also a larger bag with wheels I could check (but not more than 50 lbs). My current checked bag is a large Samsonite duffel with backpack straps (long since broken) and wheels/handle. It's at the end of its life. I don't have a roller carry on anymore but my last one was a Costco Kirkland Signature one that worked well. Now I just steal Mr Gfunk's Tumi carryon if I need to.

What are good brands these days? I'm looking for build quality and any nice little thoughtful features. I don't really want to spend more than a few hundred bucks but could if there's something really good.

Chris2013

I’ve heard great things about Travelpro’s Platinum Elite model. On sale you should be able to get this under $300 I would think.

I’ve used Tumi bags for many years and have always been happy with the features and quality. If you can hit their annual sale, you’ll be able to snag a discount that’ll take off $200 or so making the price a bit more palpable.

The frequent fliers that I know personally use either Tumi or Travelpro bags with maybe an odd exception in there. If you’re logging 100K+ miles per year, I tend to believe that you’d buy lasting luggage.

gfunkdave

Thanks, I'll take a look. I don't fly anywhere near 100k miles a year - probably more like 15-20k miles, all recreational/vacation. But I don't want to buy cheap junk.

Chris2013

Oh definitely I get that! I probably fly about as much as you anymore as COVID really took a beating to my international travel.

I’ve always been a proponent of “buy once, cry once” for most of my purchases. I’ve looked at the Travelpro Platinum model and I will say I was quite impressed! It probably has 80% of the features of my Tumi for 1/3 the price so the value proposition is quite strong. I’d recommend that to anyone looking for a very solid suitcase.

A few years ago, a coworker of mine was in Europe on a business trip and those cobblestone streets are hard on spinner wheels. He got it caught in a crack and it busted the wheel. He found a Tumi store fairly close to where he was staying and they repaired it by the end of his 4 day trip. Now not sure every Tumi store would do this but evidently there is still some decent customer service left in this world.

gfunkdave

How do Tumi, Travelpro, and Rimowa compare? I don't know anything about Travelpro or Rimowa except that most airline crew luggage I see seems to be Travelpro.

Do you know when the next Tumi semiannual sale will be?

Chris2013

From my memory, I believe the next semiannual sale is usually the week before Black Friday and then usually the week before Memorial Day. I bought my Alpha 3 carry on during the Black Friday sale and the discount was 20% so almost $200 off.

Travelpro makes great, affordable luggage in my experience. I know plenty of road warriors that have used Travelpro without issue for years. Before I splurged on Tumi, I used a Travelpro and was happy with it. Just wanted to upgrade .

As far as Rimowa, it’s another high-end luggage brand that I tend to see in much greater numbers abroad than I do in the states. Seems to be very popular among wealthy Chinese travelers in my experience. I’ve looked at them but I prefer a soft sided suitcase as I rarely check a bag- exclusively carry on it I can help it. I wouldn’t hesitate on buying a Rimowa if you want hard sided luggage but be prepared to shell out $1000+.

gfunkdave

Ah interesting thanks. I think I prefer soft shell anyway. Since I'm not in a hurry I'll wait a couple months for the Tumi sale.

Loren Pechtel

Yeah. Most of our stuff is TravelPro at this point--and the fact that it's almost always what I see the crew using has a lot to do with that. They're in a far better position to know what's good.

Hoyaheel

I thought TravelPro was used so extensively because they offered discounts to cabin crew? (via employers etc) My husband drools over Rimowa (I don't because I prefer soft-side) but they are all spinner right now, and we are not spinner people.....

Briggs & Riley is another "top tier" brand (take with as many grains of salt as necessary). For me, every time I've seriously considered a Tumi piece, I've bought B&R in the end. But then, I'm happiest with my Eagle Creek so I'm a cheaper traveller . I still drool over Tumi regularly, but so far just have other travel bags & accessories, no suitcases.....

Chris2013

Travelpro makes actual flight-crew luggage which is VERY heavy and nearly indestructible. This is different from their consumer line.

Some airlines have contracts with luggage manufacturers to outfit their crew with a certain brand. Tumi and United have a partnership.

You really can’t go wrong with anything from B&R, Tumi, or Rimowa. All depends on your preferences. For a carry on I really think soft sided is the way to go but hard sided for anything checked.

Hoyaheel

That's something I vaguely recall hearing, so it means even less if I, a passenger, see that all the crew on my plane have that brand luggage. What they buy and what is available for me to buy are not necessarily the same, so it shouldn't mean anything in terms of "recommendations" on brands. (Travelpro consumer luggage might be fine - I've never owned any - but it's not what the pilot is using, so....)

linsj

I'm a big TravelPro fan, only brand I've owned for decades. No spinners since I hate them. I finally had to throw out a carry-on I've had for at least three decades. I had to replace a strap on my 24" bag and had another repair I can't remember on a different bag. Never had to replace wheels.

Chris2013

I like spinners but I do agree that stationary wheels are so much more durable. I absolutely hate using spinners on carpet, it’s horrible.

Hoyaheel

On a completely unrelated except perhaps in my brain, years ago my husband replaced 2 wheels on his carry-on with nicer roller blade wheels. He got a multipack from wherever (not even sure it was amazon - it was a while ago). Last month he was complaining about how the stupid electric smoker wheels were useless (they were) so he stole the smoker and it came back with roller blade wheels on it! Hubs had all the extra in his shop, whaddya know, they work great and now the smoker can roll over the garage door out to the drive very easily!

Loren Pechtel

If you look around you can find the crew versions for sale.