buying a suitcase / luggage -- recs?

[ajpa]

I am not sure where to post this ....

I think we need to buy new suitcase(s) / luggage. One big one to chcek in and a couple to carry on.
Any tips or recs on brands or types?
Are spinner-types good?
Any brands that totally stink?

I am looking for good value -- not terribly expensive but won't fall apart either.
So far I am looking at target and BJ's (wholesale club) since they are nearby.

Thanks!

 

[RMAMom]

I don't really have a brand to suggest but we bought rolling duffel bags at Target a few years ago and we really like them. They were very inexpensive and have held up well. We have taken 4 trips to Disney and DDiL borrowed them for 3 trips of her own.

 

[disneymarie]

I agree about the rolling duffels.
The problem with sending a huge one through, of suitcase size is the weight and what you could pay for overweight.

I had a 26 in I packed to send through and was to the 40lb limit.

I would go with 2 normal and even some airlines now allow a checked bag a person free.

 

[jemzmom]

Don't buy anything that you will cry about when the Magical Express folks want to see what kind of pretty sounds they can make by dropping it from a great height. The jeep models from Target/Walmart work great, roll and swivel easily, and are cheap enough that you won't care when they arrive looking like you didn't just buy them. Keep in mind though that everyone else has one, so get a hot pink name tag or something.

Also, while you're in the bag section, DO NOT forget to buy a little scale for which you shouldn't pay more than 13 bucks. If they're all overpriced, go to the fishing section. You'll need one that at least registers 50lbs. I've seen families fall apart, unconcionably rude, under the stress of the end of a week at wdw while trying to redistribute weight between 4 suitcases in the AKL lobby while trying to check the bags with only 5 minutes til the last trolley leaves for the airport in the morning, having the airport guys weigh the bags again and again. There is simply no substitute for thinking it through.

Have a magical time!

 

[ajpa]

Thanks!!!

Don't buy anything that you will cry about when the Magical Express folks want to see what kind of pretty sounds they can make by dropping it from a great height.

 

[NotUrsula]

Bring a soft tape measure when you are shopping, and measure the bag with it full (go to the linens dept and put towels in it.) The measurements on the tag are almost NEVER accurate. Go for the lightest weight you can find. Spinners are good.

You don't want to buy anything that has a total L + W + H (including handles and wheels) of more than 60". Most US-based airlines currently set the limit at 62", but the scuttlebutt is that it is likely to be reduced to 60" in the next year or two. Most of the time in a suitcase with expansion capacity, this will limit you to nothing larger than a 27". We normally use a 27", and fully packed with the expansion zippers open and space bags inside, it almost always comes in between 46.5 and 47 lbs., well under the #50 limit.

For the carryons, you are better off to stick to 19" or less. Current rule is 22" on most airlines in the US, but foreign carriers have lower limits, and our airlines may soon go down to match.