good luggage for a good price

[Deesknee]

Two of my kids are heading overseas in the winter and i would like to purchase nice luggage sets for them. I have a couple questions, if anyone could offer any advice.

1) should I purchase the new hard sided luggage. They think they would like it. But the pieces I have looked at seem as though they could crack if they go thru freezing temps to hot temps.

2) what brand is rated most durable.

3) what brand is best for the dollar.

4) would you get the new fashionable colorful luggage or go with a more traditional color. They will both be in their early 20's when they first use them.

Please any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We basically travel 1 a year and it is all nonstop domestic flights. So... TIA

Dee

 

[SalandJeff]

I can't answer all your questions; however, I would get them luggage in a color other than black. It is so much easier to find it at the baggage claim. Just don't get a light color.

If you have a TJ Maxx or Marshalls near you, they have a lot of luggage right now and the prices seem very reasonable. You might want to check some online sites, like Amazon, to check ratings on various brands.

 

[disprincessatheart]

I used to sell luggage at a specialty shop and here's my 2cents.

Do not buy black - too easy to mix up
For fabric you want ballistic nylon
Hard sided is fine if you prefer but get dark colors and remember that normally hard sided luggage weighs more and may be more of a challenge to store and pack since there is no flexibility. A well packed soft bag is just as good, just what you prefer.
European airlines have different size and weight regulations for luggage, so check before you buy.
Also depending on what they are doing they may prefer rolling duffles to traditional bags
Look for the wheels to be partially in the bag and the handle poles entirely in the bag - they're much less likely to break.

If it has those feature, brand doesn't matter much unless you want to spend a lot

 

[Candace]

Bought this to take to Europe for a month last summer. Held up so well that I bought the smaller one for shorter trips after I got home. There's a Father's Day special going on for some percentage off, plus free shipping. HTH

http://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/mother-lode-etech-junior-25-wheeled-duffel/54633?productid=622581

 

[Deesknee]

thank you both. I am planning on, hopefully getting them both a set for Christmas. I just figured I better start looking & researching now.

 

[taaren]

So my mom works for the airlines and sees a lot of damaged bags. Things we are not allowed to buy in our luggage: Black, because there's always too many on the carousel. Exterior wheels that are not recessed into the luggage itself because they break off constantly. Things we prefer: Hard-sided luggage - the new ones are both light and protect your stuff wonderfully. Straps around your luggage in case the latches get bounced and open up (we never lock since to us the TSA going through it is a possibility and we'd rather they not have to un- and re- lock its easiest just to strap, never had anything stolen and we fly quite a bit.) The strap may get lost, but that's better than having your luggage pop open on the tarmac; that being said, I've lost 1 in 15 years ...
Preferred brands: Samsonite for the Lifetime Warranty. If anything happens to the luggage (lost handle, broken wheel), just take it into any Samsonite store and they will ship it to the factory, have them repair it, and send it back to you for a $15 FedEx charge. Recently had my 6 year old 29" break while we were on vacation, took it to a Samsonite store, and because we needed something to get our stuff home, bought a cheaper duffel bag and they waived the shipping. My current luggage is the Outline series, but my next purchase will be the Dura-lite most likely. The nesting is a nice feature now that we're going to be doing DCL ...
American Tourister for carry-ons. Light, durable, all around awesome.
FYI we travel 4-5 times/year across the ocean but domestic, often to different climates (usually at least of two those trips are to go skiiing in Utah, and another to Phoenix where my in-laws live, from Maui so my luggage goes through a lot of temperature changes).
Just IMHO.

 

[FoodLover]

We travel almost constantly and we're about due for some new luggage. (We currently have the TravelPro Crew7 soft sided, and it's in amazing shape considering we've taken it around the world a few times, but it's getting a little shabby.)

Anyway, I've been considering buying the new, very light polycarbonate hard sided "spinner" style luggage (sold by Heys, Rimowa, etc). So far, based on my research, there are two things making me hesitate:

1. Apparently the polycarbonate luggage scratches like crazy, and starts looking sad pretty quickly. One manufacturer even recommends WAXING the luggage to polish out the scratches and make it look better. That sounds like a lot of upkeep to me.

2. Hard sided luggage is by definition not flexible. One thing I like about my current soft-sided luggage is that I can "smoosh" it a little if I'm having a hard time getting a carry-on into the overhead. And if I have a lot of extra stuff on the way home, I can zip out an extender on the larger bag that I check, and make it a couple of inches deeper if I need to.

So I remain on the fence. I'm very attracted to the colors of some of the hard sided stuff, and the very light weight is appealing, but I haven't been able to get past the issues above.

Thoughts from someone who owns the polycarbonate luggage?

Mary

 

[taaren]

1. Apparently the polycarbonate luggage scratches like crazy, and starts looking sad pretty quickly. One manufacturer even recommends WAXING the luggage to polish out the scratches and make it look better. That sounds like a lot of upkeep to me.

2. Hard sided luggage is by definition not flexible. One thing I like about my current soft-sided luggage is that I can "smoosh" it a little if I'm having a hard time getting a carry-on into the overhead. And if I have a lot of extra stuff on the way home, I can zip out an extender on the larger bag that I check, and make it a couple of inches deeper if I need to.

So I remain on the fence. I'm very attracted to the colors of some of the hard sided stuff, and the very light weight is appealing, but I haven't been able to get past the issues above.

Thoughts from someone who owns the polycarbonate luggage?

Mary

I have Samsonite Outline polycarbonate. The scratches I just live with and figure it makes me look well-traveled. The color is a metallic-light blue and so you can't see the scratches from a distance, if you had a brighter color they'd probably show more. As for smoosh-ing, they are a bit flexible as far as the sides go if you didn't stuff your 25" roll-aboard to the gills the broad side (largest panel) will flex inward rather than outward if you put it in a slim overhead and will flex right back when you take it out. As far as spinners go ... seriously consider recessed wheels so they can take a beating and not get sheared off when the luggage handlers start throwing it around (only if you plan on checking in your luggage, ignore this advice if you're only getting things you plan to roll aboard yourself).

 

[FoodLover]

I have Samsonite Outline polycarbonate. The scratches I just live with and figure it makes me look well-traveled. The color is a metallic-light blue and so you can't see the scratches from a distance, if you had a brighter color they'd probably show more. As for smoosh-ing, they are a bit flexible as far as the sides go if you didn't stuff your 25" roll-aboard to the gills the broad side (largest panel) will flex inward rather than outward if you put it in a slim overhead and will flex right back when you take it out. As far as spinners go ... seriously consider recessed wheels so they can take a beating and not get sheared off when the luggage handlers start throwing it around (only if you plan on checking in your luggage, ignore this advice if you're only getting things you plan to roll aboard yourself).

Thanks for the info! It didn't even occur to me that spinner wheels are not recessed... good point.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up buying the TravelPro Crew8 (new version of the luggage we already have).

Mary

 

[disneymarie]

I bought my kids the Mother Lode, I did not even get the largest one, the middle maybe 26" It holds a tremendous amount or items, lots of areas for shoes, bottom is a traditional square and then the top is similar to a duffle bag. Lots of pokets. rolls.

Lifetime gurantee. I got the orange and black. Then for myself I got a Blue and black.
They always have codes and speials. I am sure I did not spend more them $89 to $119.

do a coupon mountain search for ebag or mother lode codes.

 

[swilshire]

LL Bean has nice luggage and their guarantee can't be beat. I use one of their carryons.

Sheila

 

[Orlanr]

I have bought from EBags, the Ebag brand is very good and inexpensive.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

What ever brand you go with make sure to check the "denir count" the higher the denir number the strong the material is. We usually go for an 800 to 1200 count.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

I cannot recommend this luggage enough. I've had it since 2008 and it's been on three continents. The smaller roller is carry-on size, and the larger one weighs so little that it would be nearly impossible to pack so that it weighed more than 50 lbs. It's very durable and reasonably priced. Good luck!!

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/48311?feat=2911-GN2

 

[Deesknee]

Okay.... here I go. Rumor has it... Santa is bringing DD a piece of hard sided Samsonite luggage. Hope it wears well.

Now DS is flip flopping on whether he wants the hard sided or not. ARGGG! Doesn't he know Santa's elves need time to produce this stuffl.

just figured I'd jump on and see if anyone else has a particular suitcase they hate or love.

Thanks to all that have given their input.

 

[disneymarie]

I probably have posted about the ebag purchase of Mother lode.
Since the purchase we have used both pieces multiple times. From 7 day cruise, disney travel, Niagara and others. I love that it does not look traditional, but had mega room in it. For the cruise I packed everything for dh and I for the week, shoes galore, tons of clothes for both of us. The middle size one dd had and packed enough for two weeks.

I love the seperate compartments, and even the side pockets for lots of extras.

For a teen, this is great. I do belive it has a life time warranty also.

The one thing I love is in the car packing. They fit so well over the old traditional type of cases.

 

[floridascgirl]

I've been doing a lot of luggage research for an upcoming purchase and really wanted the 21" Motherlode. However, after reading through the comments and the dimensions, I found that it was slightly over the carry-on regulations...it was 45.5" instead of 45".
We are very unlucky travelers and I didn't want to risk it and have to check all of our bags. I think I'm going to go with the Travelpro Walkabout Lite instead.

 

[bearzabout]

I can highly recommend Eagle Creek luggage. It will be the last luggage they ever buy since Eagle Creek has such a great lifetime warranty. Their designs and construction are great. I love their colors and covertable wheeled backpacks.

Our bags have traveled a few million miles and are still going strong. They don't look like expensive bags (like Hartmann, etc) which make them less a target for thieves overseas.

Sometimes REI will have 20% off anything coupons that make the bags more affordable. For durability, you just can't beat Eagle Creek.

Save up twist ties from bread bags. I always put one through the zippers before flying to make sure no one easily gets into the bag.

Make sure they get an under clothing waist belt for valuables. American passports are very valuable overseas.

By the way I always loved the travel books by Rick Steves. He does a great job getting you off the beaten tourist track in Europe and provides a great "live like a local" experiences.

 

[sookie]

Two of my kids are heading overseas in the winter and i would like to purchase nice luggage sets for them. I have a couple questions, if anyone could offer any advice.

1) should I purchase the new hard sided luggage. They think they would like it. But the pieces I have looked at seem as though they could crack if they go thru freezing temps to hot temps.

2) what brand is rated most durable.

3) what brand is best for the dollar.

4) would you get the new fashionable colorful luggage or go with a more traditional color. They will both be in their early 20's when they first use them.

Please any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We basically travel 1 a year and it is all nonstop domestic flights. So... TIA

Dee

Hard luggage is heavier. You need something ultralight. I love my samsonite and I usually have two months out of the year where I travel pretty much non-stop. They have served me well. I did get a light color but it is easy to clean. Good luck!

 

[pampam]

I see the shopping channel has Heys luggage on special for today. $199.99 for 3 pieces of lightweight hardsided spinners. I bought a set a year ago, and I just love them. They wer selling at Sears for exactly the same thing for 3x as much.

http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/

http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/pages/productdetails?nav=R:509268&cmpid=RE_HP_111204_MN_HeysTS