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Yet Another Luggage Question

Yet Another Luggage Question

Old Sep 8, 2009, 8:55 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Berlin and Buggenhagen, Germany
Posts: 3,509
Hi there,

glad you found the kind of luggage you needed! ^

It is always good to go to a bricks and mortar store. Your selection is certainly a very good one and BR is almost without fault except for the somewhat stupid outsider handle system.

I am a sucker for a good deal so I might have gone with the Bravo combo and disregarded the warranty issue. But the BR combo is at least as good and has the warranty.

Now on the 22" roller, you might want to do some measuring when you get it. Or did you bring it home already? From what I understand and from what others have said, too, if you factor in the outsider handle system and the wheels it will not fit the sizer anymore and might get difficult in some overhead bins. If you find that to be true, you could still exchange it for the 20" model which should be ok in the sizer.

Did you bring home the tri-fold garment bag already? We (that is mostly I) want a review and would be particularly interested in your packing notes. What do you pack where and how does it fit? Do you already have a shirt folder? Measure the curtain pocket and see if the 18" eagle Creek folder will fit. It should. That would be ideal.

Please keep us in the loop about how it works out for you. I really do think the combo of a rolling briefcase and a tri-fold garment bag is a very smart solution and others stand to profit if you can tell us how it performs in your eyes.

Cheers,

Till
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Old Sep 8, 2009, 10:10 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by tfar
Hi there,

Now on the 22" roller, you might want to do some measuring when you get it. Or did you bring it home already? From what I understand and from what others have said, too, if you factor in the outsider handle system and the wheels it will not fit the sizer anymore and might get difficult in some overhead bins. If you find that to be true, you could still exchange it for the 20" model which should be ok in the sizer.

Did you bring home the tri-fold garment bag already? We (that is mostly I) want a review and would be particularly interested in your packing notes. What do you pack where and how does it fit? Do you already have a shirt folder? Measure the curtain pocket and see if the 18" eagle Creek folder will fit. It should. That would be ideal.

Please keep us in the loop about how it works out for you. I really do think the combo of a rolling briefcase and a tri-fold garment bag is a very smart solution and others stand to profit if you can tell us how it performs in your eyes.

Cheers,

Till
Uh-oh... So the model I got is actually the 21" (U421X), measuring it here I get ~23-1/2" from wheels to handle. I saw this post and thought I'd be ok:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/newre...ply&p=11950617

Originally Posted by BrianV
I always get tagged at LAX. My Briggs & Riley Baseline 22" fits fine. If I had it SUPER stuffed it may be a problem but even moderately stuffed I haven't had a problem.
Now I'm worried. I'll dig and see if anyone has had problems with the 421x. Have you heard of any?

As for the tri-fold: I should get that in a day or 2 (there wasn't one available in the store), so I didn't leave with it. As soon as I get it, I'll update you.

thanks
-pk
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Old Sep 8, 2009, 10:39 pm
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Berlin and Buggenhagen, Germany
Posts: 3,509
If it measures 23.5 inches top to bottom it won't fit the sizer. Simple as that. It's a stiff bag. A soft bag you could crunch to get it to fit and hope the GA has mercy on you but at 23.5 hard inches, no go. Did you take the measurement in depth including the handle mechanism? That's the other important dimension.

Domestic in the US airlines might be easygoing especially if you fly First and have Plat status. The question is if it will even fit in the MD-80 bin wheels first. It will probably fit sideways, though. I just used a 25x12x12 duffel on an MD-80. The length fit just so with tiny squeeze and I needed to squeeze for height a bit more. I only tried the larger 3-seat bin.

There should be enough posters here who have experience with that particular BR model on an MD-80. To get more attention you might want to consider starting a new thread for the specific inquiry. No need to let it turn into a huge discussion. Just answer the questions if UX-421 fits in either of the MD-80 bins and how? Second question, does it fit the sizer? My answer to the second question would be no from just the measures but I haven't tried it.

Till
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Old Sep 9, 2009, 8:30 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by tfar
If it measures 23.5 inches top to bottom it won't fit the sizer. Simple as that. It's a stiff bag. A soft bag you could crunch to get it to fit and hope the GA has mercy on you but at 23.5 hard inches, no go. Did you take the measurement in depth including the handle mechanism? That's the other important dimension.

Till
Nuts... So I made some more exact measurements by using a carpenters level (the previous measurement was eyeballed).

So using a carpenters level, I put it on the highpoint of the bag, kept it level, and then measured from ground to the high point of the bag.

I get a tad less than 23.5" including the top handle. 22-7/8" not including the top handle.

Thickness: with nothing in the front pockets, i measure ~8-3/4" from the back of the rear handle to the front of the bag

Width: 14" without the side handle, ~14-3/4" with the side handle.

So this may be a bit tight for AA, but for F9 airbuses (which I fly domestically), I'm good. For AA, this is probably right on the edge based on the measurements given in this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...-sizers-2.html

Originally Posted by dstan
The inside dimensions of the gray metal sizers are:

Length: 23 1/4" (59 cm) to outer edge of open (right) end
Depth: 9 7/8" (25 cm)
Width (sizer height): 13 1/2" (34 cm) to bottom of crossbar / 14 1/2" (37 cm) to top of crossbar


(long layover w/ measuring tape )
I'm definitely gonna get a 20" though, for the times I need to fly AA, just in case. Though if this garment bag works out, this all becomes moot Since I now have a wheeled laptop case, I may try going the redoxx airboss route as well for the times when I don't need a suit and just carry that around.
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Old Sep 14, 2009, 3:54 am
  #20  
 
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PK,

is the garment bag there already? Impressions?

Besides the Redoxx Airboss, I'd like to attract your attention to two equally interesting BR offers.

The 235x, which I own and the review of which you can read in the shoulderbag shoot-out on OBOW.

And the 231x, Double Expandable Tote
http://www.briggs-riley.com/category...able-Tote_231X

The 235x has the larger base dimensions and features a suiter panel among many other things.

The 231x has the smaller base dimensions but can be expanded to 12 inches deep. That will give it roughly the same volume as a 20" rollaboard.

Given that you are going the BR route anyway, I thought I'd let you know.

Till
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Old Sep 14, 2009, 4:53 am
  #21  
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Hey Till,

Originally Posted by tfar
PK,

is the garment bag there already? Impressions?

Besides the Redoxx Airboss, I'd like to attract your attention to two equally interesting BR offers.

The 235x, which I own and the review of which you can read in the shoulderbag shoot-out on OBOW.

And the 231x, Double Expandable Tote
http://www.briggs-riley.com/category...able-Tote_231X

The 235x has the larger base dimensions and features a suiter panel among many other things.

The 231x has the smaller base dimensions but can be expanded to 12 inches deep. That will give it roughly the same volume as a 20" rollaboard.

Given that you are going the BR route anyway, I thought I'd let you know.

Till
Thanks! So yeah, I got the bags, in fact, I'm (re)packing now (got up at 2am to try and get on German time, flight leaves at 10:00).

So I really like the tri-fold. It's a great bag. But I ran in to one huge problem: the shoes issue. I took pictures of how I packed it, I'll post when I get bag. So as I said, it's great for suits, lots of room, sturdy, and when packed it still was under roll-on size. I think it even holds more stuff than the roll-on.

But I couldn't fit my shoes anywhere. The bag is very thin (~3") so depending on where you put the shoes inside the bag, they "lumped" the bag and made folding over very difficult because of the size. The best spot was up near where the hanger is (I removed the little pouches up there by the shoulders), but my shoes are too long and wouldn't let the bag fold over. I had debated just wearing them, but these shoes are still new and I'm worried that they might cause me problems because I haven't broken them in yet. My last trip to Germany killed my feet because of new-shoe issues.

I should've worn the shoes and broken them in ahead of time, but I didn't... So I chickened out. I just now got through re-packing everything into the B&R 21" that I bought, and was able to fit the shoes in there as well. The 21" has a suiter so I put the suits in that. They will get a bit more wrinkled because of the width (the tri-fold is wider and accommodates my broad shouldered suits better), but that's what steam in the showers is for I'll gamble that the bag will fit the sizer if I get checked (from the other posts I've seen, the bag should *just* fit).

So I'll try the garment bag on another trip when I can wear the shoes I need on the flight. The garment bag really is almost perfect, except for my size 13 shoes which I didn't break in first.
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Old Sep 14, 2009, 5:53 am
  #22  
 
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Wow, already a reply. Nice. I hope I am just in time to wish you a safe and successful trip.

I am also glad that in principle everything turned out as predicted, especially in terms of volume. Well, unfortunately the size 13 shoe issue also turned out as predicted. When you have more time perhaps you can find out a way to pack them. Maybe on the lower edge, i.e. when bag is hanging on the low small side. This way they don't interfere with the folding but will still add bulk.

You made the right decision in taking the other bag. Shoes that aren't broken in can indeed kill you, just ask me.

Take care,

Till
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Old Sep 14, 2009, 7:39 am
  #23  
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So I had a change of plans (again)

After re-re-packing, I ended up putting my "other" shoes in the bag. They were much lower cut, and they fit when I placed them at the bottom of the bag. I'm now going to wear the shoes that I haven't broken in yet, but that won't be a big deal because I can just take them off when I get on the plane, and if I have to, I can change them when I land. So now I'm back to the garment bag again Everything fits well, in fact, I have even more room available than I did in my roll-on. I even took pictures... The garment bag is very nice, I just found that it also has a "slot" in the fabric through which you slide the handle of the rolling luggage. I measured everything, and the thickness now ends up @ ~22.5x14x~9.5 (it can squish to 8"). So I'm guaranteed to fit in the overhead and sizers. Yay

We'll see how this all works out when I get back... Now it's off to the airport with the garment bag.
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Old Sep 14, 2009, 10:34 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by patk
So I had a change of plans (again)

After re-re-packing, I ended up putting my "other" shoes in the bag. They were much lower cut, and they fit when I placed them at the bottom of the bag. I'm now going to wear the shoes that I haven't broken in yet, but that won't be a big deal because I can just take them off when I get on the plane, and if I have to, I can change them when I land. So now I'm back to the garment bag again Everything fits well, in fact, I have even more room available than I did in my roll-on. I even took pictures... The garment bag is very nice, I just found that it also has a "slot" in the fabric through which you slide the handle of the rolling luggage. I measured everything, and the thickness now ends up @ ~22.5x14x~9.5 (it can squish to 8"). So I'm guaranteed to fit in the overhead and sizers. Yay

We'll see how this all works out when I get back... Now it's off to the airport with the garment bag.
Good luck! Im at LHR now and they didnt even size my bags. The Skytrain was on my back. I was going to check but was pretty rushed since AA offered me an earlier flight and I took the offer.
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Old Sep 15, 2009, 1:40 am
  #25  
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In the Frankfurt Airport Sheraton now (after a very bumpy flight, didn't sleep well).

The bag so far has been a success. Absolutely no problems on the MD-80 size-wise. I was in 4E on the flight to DFW, it fit the normal way with tons of room to spare. The FA even moved it up to the smaller front bin to make room for a larger roll-on.

On the 777, it wouldn't fit long-ways in the bin, it had to be horizontal. That was fine, I just threw my new wheeled laptop case up there next to it, and that worked wonderful (case horizontal with the bag horizontal).

Oh, PS: the shoes are fine (new pair of Ecco's, in case you're wondering), so I didn't need the spares after all Guess I got lucky that they didn't need to be broken in. Hopefully the business meetings go as well!
Just got through changing for the first business meetings, and I was very happy with the state of the clothes. A few small wrinkles in the suit, but a few minutes in the shower with steam fixed that, didn't need to touch it with iron.

Overall I'm very happy the BR trifold, it's got lots of spaces, protects the suits well, fits well, is light, has a slot in the bag to slide it over the BR (or other) laptop handle for even easier carrying, and it looks nice too This bag's a keeper. Thanks you guys/gals!

I'll update later when I get back on packing and other things when I have more time.

Last edited by patk; Sep 15, 2009 at 1:42 am Reason: comment about the shoes
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