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Cheap checkable luggage suggestions

triangulum33

triangulum33

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Messages
304
Reaction score
42
Location
NorCal
Resorts Owned
2005 WKORN
We need a suggestion on a rugged, cheap no frills checkable bag to tote our beach, scuba and misc gear to Hawaii.
Bigger the better. We usually try to fill our bag right up to the 50# limit.
 
Do you mean something like a rolling duffle bag?
... I bought one while in Spain to supplement our luggage.

If you can wait a bit, I'd look for some Black Friday sales.
 
Last edited:
I don't know what your definition of "cheap" is, but I just bought a new 27" spinner from Antler luggage (a company I hadn't heard of before). It has a TSA lock and a 10 year warranty. It was much less than other suitcases of the same size and quality.
 
Many, many years ago we got a couple of large rolling duffle bags in Walmart and are still using them today. Went all over with them- Hawaii and Alaska included.
 
Do you have Ross for Less, Burlington Coat Factory or Marshalls near you?
 
I took a rolling duffel I got at Big 5 sporting goods to Morocco. It withstood riding on the roof of a Land Rover for a couple of weeks That type are inexpensive and have lots of room. Look carefully at the wheels and their mounts. If those go out and you're loaded heavy, it's a lot to drag.
 
Just go online with any major luggage maker or any major retailers that sell luggage and buy last season luggage pieces.
 
Just a note to beware of Oversize Baggage Charges. United charges extra for bags with a combined dimension larger than 62" total, length+ width+ depth. They also can charge other hefty fees for overweight (50#) but you already know that.

Jim
 
Jan M. said:
Do you have Ross for Less, Burlington Coat Factory or Marshalls near you?
Click to expand...

+1 for Burlington Coat Factory. On a trip to the East Coast two years ago, spouse's oversized, highly overstuffed suitcase kind of exploded. The zipper closure blew teeth, rendering the suitcase a goner. I still maintain it was a suicide... ;)

Friends took us to the Burlington in Virginia Beach, and we ended up with a two-piece set of IT Luggage, semi hard sided, moulded, four-wheel spinners. Very reasonable price, and they've held up surprisingly well, despite the vacation abuse they've received. We'd buy them again. Spouse is thrilled, and loves to show me how much unnecessary stuff can be crammed into it. ;)

I'm much easier on my suitcases, and I use the Ebags brand, "TLS Motherlode" two-wheeled models. I have a 21", a 25" and a giant 29" size. Depending on where I'm going, I can make do with only one suitcase. They were expensive, but I doubt I'll ever need to buy a suitcase again. I also have their "TLS Motherlode Weekender Convertible" backpack, which is the perfect size when the 21" suitcase is too large.

Dave
 
I've had good luck with Swiss Gear bags of all sizes. I either buy them from eBags when they are on sale or have found a couple at Marshall's for good prices. Marshalls is a good place to shop for luggage if you prefer not to do mail order. Sometimes they have some real gems.

Sheila
 
IMHO - this depends on how much use you expect the bag to receive.

I'm travel frequently - typically 6 to 9 trips per year. Been that way for many years. After a number of years of buying Samsonite, American Tourister, ... ..., I got tired of having bags start failing in three years. So I decided to upgrade. Was shocked at the prices for TravelPro, Tumi, and Briggs and Riley, and bought Atlantic. Got about five years out of the Atlantic, then it began falling apart. So when I saw a Briggs and Riley sale about ten years ago, I moved up to that. Smart decision. Still going strong.

DW every now and then decides we need a new suitcase, and gets something on sale at Macy's or TJ Maxx. Three years later, if it gets used regularly, it's falling apart. I don't say a word, but continue to trundle the B&R when we travel.

One of our B&R pieces is a softside supersize that I don't think they sell anymore. It works great on our Hawaii trips - I pack it with our snorkel gear, trekking poles, and insulated backpack. Then fill up the remaining lighweight stuff to day below 50 lbs. Works beautifully now for 10 years. I'll never go back to cheap luggage again. It's not worth it unless you are happy with disposable.
 
triangulum33 said:
We need a suggestion on a rugged, cheap no frills checkable bag to tote our beach, scuba and misc gear to Hawaii.
Bigger the better. We usually try to fill our bag right up to the 50# limit.
Click to expand...


I bought hard side poly type luggage from ebags. My scuba gear fit perfectly. I use Scuba Pro twin jet fins and they fit in the checked bag. All of the rest of the gear plus my other stuff fit in the same bag. Even though my regulator has a case I like the hard sided luggage. I hosed the luggage out when I got home but there is still a bit of sand in there.

https://www.ebags.com/

The luggage is pretty light.

I took my lead weight in my checked bag. It was about 11 pounds. If you take lead be sure to have it in a separate case and tell tsa you have scuba lead as it shows up black on the xray and they can get wondering.

Bill
 
Our brand of choice is TravelPro Platinum Series .
 
easyrider said:
I bought hard side poly type luggage from ebags. My scuba gear fit perfectly. I use Scuba Pro twin jet fins and they fit in the checked bag. All of the rest of the gear plus my other stuff fit in the same bag. Even though my regulator has a case I like the hard sided luggage. I hosed the luggage out when I got home but there is still a bit of sand in there.

https://www.ebags.com/

The luggage is pretty light.

I took my lead weight in my checked bag. It was about 11 pounds. If you take lead be sure to have it in a separate case and tell tsa you have scuba lead as it shows up black on the xray and they can get wondering.

Bill
Click to expand...

We have under the seat wheeled bags that count as our personal item. Anything heavy that isn't too bulky goes in them. That leaves more we can put in our checked bag and not be overweight.
  • Product dimensions: 15.7” (H) x 15.7” (W) x 9.8” We've flown Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, Southwest, Delta, American with these bags and no one has questioned them as a personal item. When I fly to bring our granddaughter down for her vacations with us and take her home I can fit enough in this bag for a 3 day stay with no problem. I put my Kindle Fire in the front pocket and there is enough room in the pocket for something bigger. Our laptop is big but fits in the main compartment. Groupon has a deal on the bag in the picture. Our Lucas bags get a lot of use and have held up well so I have no hesitation in recommending them.
  • Now that my husband is retired we will be doing more driving and less flying but if I were buying one now I might consider going with the Skyline one 13.5 inches (H) x 15 inches (W) x 8 inches (D), the Travelon one 8.5x14x13.5", or the Travelpro one 8.5" x 13" x 15.5" as they are smaller in case the airlines drop the dimension requirements in the future.
  • I use a fanny pack instead of a purse which would count as my personal item and the fanny pack leaves both of my hands free for the return trip with a little one. My fanny pack has to be 20 years old and when I dug it out to use it the first time my husband rolled his eyes and said even he knew fanny packs weren't cool anymore. Maybe the younger mothers can deal with their purse, an active toddler and their luggage but this grandma would rather have one less thing to schlepp through the airports and two hands free to deal with a small child. I recently told another Tugger about my husband making fun of my fanny pack and he said his wife just recently bought herself a Gucci one for the same reasons. I took a look online and was amazed at the selection. Apparently they aren't as out of date as I thought and I will definitely be getting myself a new one.

211182_4_1
 
We bought top of the line Travel Pro suitcases at Macy's about 15 years ago, of course on sale and with whatever coupon was available. They are large enough that they are always checked, and we use them multiple times a year often internationally. They are still going strong, although not so pretty anymore.

We have had 1 wheel break and a baggage handler somewhere tore off the side strap. We just get a repair voucher from the airlines and take them to the luggage repair shop nearby. When my husband asked about a good replacement, the repair guy noted that “they don't make them that good anymore” and encouraged use to keep using them. We recently bought small Travel Pro carry on size roller bags and they seem fine but have't used them enough to know how well they will hold up.
 
The older Travel Pro luggag 10-15 years ago were make to last forever, with all the little extras include liked leather name tags, a garment bag, a shoe bag, etc. The only problem is their weight. The older Travel Pro luggage bags are a little heavy then today’s light weight Travel Pro luggage bags IMHO.
 
Yes, ours are a bit heavier than some of the newer bags but that encourages me not to overpack them! Even decently full, they don't get over 40 pounds, which works fine when we have a rental car or are on a cruise or bus tour. We did decide on a recent trip by train through Berlin, Prague and Budapest that they were too heavy for that trip, though! Too many of the stations and subway entrances still don't have escalators, and lugging bags up and down stairs got annoying.
 
Jan M. said:
We have under the seat wheeled bags that count as our personal item. Anything heavy that isn't too bulky goes in them. That leaves more we can put in our checked bag and not be overweight.

211182_4_1
Click to expand...

I recently purchased one similar to this for the same reason.
 
Here's another approach for a different problem.

When we arrived in the UK for their heat wave in July (85 degrees, definitely no AC and hardly any fans), we bought a 12-inch desk fan. Had to get it from Amazon, as the local suppliers were constantly out of stock. Then we needed another rolling bag to carry it around ... but knew we wouldn't want to pay to fly the extra bag.

Well, in the UK there are plenty of cheap luggage sellers. Some are in malls, some are in street markets. We found a cheap (£13) rolling, collapsible bag to carry the £19 fan in for two months. The bag actually folded flat and would have fit in the bottom of a big bag. In the end, we gave the fan and the bag to a charity store in Stratford-upon-Avon just before flying to Milan.
 
I had to buy a new carry-on bag this year so I tried one of the hard sided ones and I am hooked. There is more room inside since there are no outside zipper pockets. I love it and will be replacing all of our bags as needed with the hard sided ones.I feel like the prices are best at Ross.
 
Are hard-sided ones stronger/better than they were 20 years ago? I had one that cracked from mishandling, and of course that was the end of it. With nylon or other soft sides, that can't happen. I do have one now in a smaller size and I like it OK.
 
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