Luggage

[2000cs]

Apologies if there is a thread on this already that I didn’t find, but no apologies for the search function!

I am shopping for a new suitcase. Mostly carry on, occasionally checked. Typically carry one suit, sometimes two, and dress shirts, ties, dress shoes, etc. Hate clothes arriving wrinkled because I hate ironing!

I travel about once a month by plane typically, and several more trips by car. This fall I am flying once a week for 8 weeks, so pounding the bags a bit more.

I had a High Sierra bag that I bought off Amazon 8 years ago for under $100, thinking it might last a year. Had the difficult zipper issue but it lasted until this last trip. So time for a new bag. This is the bag I am looking for advice on replacing.

For reference, I have a Briggs and Riley garment bag on rollers, which works on larger planes and is very sturdy. They make a nice, expensive “suiter” rollerbag with normal carry-on dimensions. I have a big Tumi (too big to carry on) hard shell which got scratched up first use but hasn’t been damaged beyond cosmetics in several years of use. That is all I know other than Amazon and other reviews, and prices. I think a soft exterior is preferred to a hard shell (meme: change my mind).

Any recommendations for what to get as a standard size/shape carry-on, or what to avoid?

Thanks!

[qba335i]

I highly recommend Rimowa. They are relatively expensive, but worth the price.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Confusing thread. What are you asking?

You said you already have everything.

I have two other bags but my carry on standard size/shape is toast and I want to replace it. So looking for recommendations for that bag. Just mentioned what I have for reference/perspective.

Made a few edits to original post; hopefully clarified. Sorry for confusion.

[Nuckle]

Tumi or Briggs and Riley are my faves.

[SunnyD]

Rimowa.

[gonzo]

Club Glove TRS Ballistic. But that's just me. Research it.

[RickFLM4]

Briggs and Riley is great, particularly if there is a good local repair shop. Travelpro is really good for a fraction of the cost.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Club Glove TRS Ballistic. But that's just me. Research it.

Nice looking bags, website. Priced like B&R, Tumi. Had not heard of it. Thanks!

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Nice looking bags, website. Priced like B&R, Tumi. Had not heard of it. Thanks!

If you find a bad review, I'd be surprised.

[pz619]

Honestly, I buy the cheapest I can find that is a grade above a cardboard box. I travel a bit for work and I learned not to buy higher quality luggage for these reasons:

1. If it looks cool, it ends up "stolen". Had this happen in hotels too.
2. The airline is just going to kick it across the tarmac to the plane

Because of this I just buy from the samsonite outlet.

[Haywood]

Travelpro. There's a reason why all the flight crews and pro travelers use their stuff.

[Mr Tonka]

Did high sierra and switched to Tumi. Nothing but good experience with them. We actually had one briefcase where the shoulder strap kept breaking. They kept replacing it and told us that they were redesigning the strap. Well, when they did, they gave us a brand new briefcase with the redesigned strap. It was 1.5 years old when the strap first broke. 2.5 years old when they replaced it.

[BEM-S4]

B&R end of story.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by Haywood

Travelpro. There's a reason why all the flight crews and pro travelers use their stuff.

Reviews on travel pro seem to have turned negative lately; perhaps they have cheapened the product, because your sentiment is consistent with older reviews. I need to look deeper; they may have a “consumer” line and a better line for the airlines.

[P1]

Tumi. Talk about a company that stands behind their products.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

Briggs and Riley is great, particularly if there is a good local repair shop. Travelpro is really good for a fraction of the cost.

These are the two brands I was going to recommend as well. My TravelPro carry-on is going strong after 10 years and many, many trips both domestic and international. That included living out of it for about 7 months in Europe, the heavier duty wheels (not quad roller) do well on cobblestone and older European roads.

[Hawkeye]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Reviews on travel pro seem to have turned negative lately; perhaps they have cheapened the product, because your sentiment is consistent with older reviews. I need to look deeper; they may have a “consumer” line and a better line for the airlines.

They do have different lines for consumer and commercial.

[Dog Face Pony Soldier]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Club Glove TRS Ballistic. But that's just me. Research it.

X2 on Club Glove TRS Ballistic. If you want super robust construction and also Made In USA it can't be beat.

[Dang3r]

Rimowa, Aircrews first choice. Second would be Wenger but just for small trolleys.

[catcher22]

Tumi is pretty good. You probably want to make sure it has a double coil zipper and a TSA combination lock built into the suitcase as that's always good for peace of mind. Those are my two minimum standards.

[bosstones]

I've done the following:

1. Store bought Samsonite - Pro: price, lasted a decent amount of time (several years). Con: fairly beat up (frayed) looking not too long after purchase
2. Outlet bought Samsonite - Pro: price. Con: didn't last at all, started falling apart pretty quickly (e.g. handle tore off, zipper pulls broke quickly, etc...))
3. Briggs & Riley - Pro: warranty, haven't used customer service yet but have heard great things. Con: price. Neutral: name recognition. I personally don't care about brand names, but prefer to be incognito (security) on travel. Not sure how widely B&R's name is known. I bought B&R for the warranty.
4. 3-day ballistic nylon backpacks - Pro: I love pockets and durability on my packs, can fit tons in them, price beats conventional luggage & and is more multi-purposed, still fits under airline seats, exercise. Cons: they are scary to some people, best for 3-4 or less trips depending on need.

At present, I go btwn B&R and my Blackhawk pack.

I've been looking at smaller carry-on bags (my B&R is the 'international carry-on' and is a little wider than conventional carry-ons) and have been looking at Tumi and Victorinox. Even though Tumi's warranty on paper isn't the same as Victorinox and B&R (from what I understand), I've heard very good things about Tumi customer service and their willingness to repair/replace. While they have more name/brand recognition (re: preference for incognito/security), it is hard to pass up a company w/ excellent CS reputation.

I've heard mixed things about TravelPro. The usual pro is that it is the go-to for airline pilots/stewards(esses). However, what I haven't been able to decipher is if it is because it is good for the price and thus not expensive to replace.

[wrickem]

Another Tumi guy here. Nothing buy good experiences with their products, and there's a lot to choose from. I replaced our ancient Victorinox set as they wore out, but those really held up really well, and packed great, but were very heavy and outdated since they were pretty old and had a lot of miles. I'm sure they are lighter and have better features now though.