What luggage brands do you use?

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Right now I use Briggs and Riley almost exclusively.

When I started traveling frequently for business and leisure about thirty years ago, I had the usual Samsonite and American Tourister. I would go shopping for luggage, and blanched at some of the prices I saw. After three or four years of replacing luggage almost annually, I decided it was probably worth it to pay more.

Having decided to upgrade about 20 years, I went to a luggage store. I still couldn't convince myself to buy top end, so I bought a set of Atlantic luggage. That was a considerable improvement. The Atlantic pieces that got the most work held up for five years, and then started breaking down. I continued to make do with them for a few more years.

At that point, I decided to go with Briggs and Riley. That was a good decision. I've had that stuff ever since. It held up for about 20 years before starting to show signs of wear, and the wear isn't anything major. It's guaranteed for life, and I've had no problem getting repairs done, including easy stuff such as zipper replacements and replacement of some of the corner bumpers. I just purchased a new smaller size spinner size, which will be my primary bag for commuting between San Diego and Seattle.

So that's my story and preferences. What other favorites are there in the TUG traveling community?

 

[TravelJoy]

Anything that is not hard plastic but cloth with 4 swivel wheels works. We found some Traveler’s Choice luggage on clearance that still works like new 10 yrs running now, and we check these in everywhere. The easiest thing to do if there is any damage is tell the airline to replace it, we have had to do this on multiple occasions and have never had any issues with getting a cloth replacement. It’s important to snap pictures or video as they check them in to validate condition of luggage.

 

[easyrider]

Travel Pro hard side. We bought the three piece set at least a decade ago on a black Friday sale. We bought a Samsonite hard side carry on maybe five years ago on a black Friday sale. Our luggage gets used. When we go to Costco in Hawaii or Mexico we transfer our groceries into our luggage then take it to the condo. The bottled water is pretty heavy, definitely over 50 pounds. On the return trip from Mexico we load up a piece of luggage with wine right up to the 48 pound mark.

So far the only thing that has happened to the luggage is one of the Travel Pro tags is missing.

Bill

 

[Ken555]

Briggs and Riley FTW

I’ve been considering buying another, in a different size, as my current suitcase is now 10 years old. Costco has a few of their products at a discount, tho it’s still expensive.

 

[TolmiePeak]

I would go for the Sterling Pacific 40L if you have the cash.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Briggs and Riley FTW

I’ve been considering buying another, in a different size, as my current suitcase is now 10 years old. Costco has a few of their products at a discount, tho it’s still expensive.

My only issue with my Briggs and Riley is that I bought the set before spinners became a deal. But the stuff I have is holding up so well that I can't rationalize getting rid of it just because I have to pull it. I've never had a problem pulling the luggage; the spinners are just a matter of convenience.

 

[Ken555]

I would go for the Sterling Pacific 40L if you have the cash.

It’s a beast

 

[Ken555]

My only issue with my Briggs and Riley is that I bought the set before spinners became a deal. But the stuff I have is holding up so well that I can't rationalize getting rid of it just because I have to pull it. I've never had a problem pulling the luggage; the spinners are just a matter of convenience.

My B&R is my first spinner and is turning 10 in September. It’s a 29” large suitcase and I use it for 3-4 months a year. It’s been repaired a couple of times and works great. I’m tempted to buy a similar suitcase but at the 26” size since I sometimes don’t need the large suitcase. Costco has it for $450, which is about $100 less than anywhere else (that I can easily find). I’m not in a rush but it might be a gift to myself sometime this year.

 

[WaikikiFirst]

Army-Navy

 

[slip]

Decades ago when we started traveling, we bought a set of American Tourister. That set served us well for years.

Once we started making at least annual trips to Hawaii and I had to travel more for work, we figured it was time for a new set. We bought Delsey and we still have those decades later after adding different sizes over the years. They have held up well and still look good.

Now that we are retired we are down to two or three trips a year so we see these holding up for quite a while.

 

[linsj]

I'm a TravelPro fan--soft sides, no spinners. (I dislike hard cases and spinners.) The 22" I always check & 24" cases I use the most are more than 20 years old and still going strong.

 

[Talent312]

We started out as softsiders, and still have several pieces. But over the years, the fabric frayed or tore. So now, we have hardside Samsonites to check and use our old softies for carry-on.

 

[beejaybee]

TravelPro for us. Soft side and 2 wheels only. Spinners are not conducive to cobblestone streets, hilly roads and trains unless placed where they cannot roll around. We travel for 3 weeks with 22in rollaboard carryon topped with their Maxlite 5 Soft Tote. Have had the rollaboard since 2016. Decided to purchase the tote for last year's Europe trip in lieu of the backpack I wore for years as "personal" item, but alas! it didn't come in purple to match the rollaboard.

 

[Brett]

Travelpro for us 2

 

[bnoble]

Mostly travel pro. Some Briggs and Riley.

 

[Daytripz]

Away carry-on expandable - worth every penny

 

[pedro47]

TravelPro for us.
We liked their Platinum Elite and their Maxlite luggages.

 

[Passepartout]

This just seemed appropriate:

 

[Cornell]

Big fan of Away bags.

 

[stmartinfan]

We've had some TravelPro bags that have lasted for years. An airline broke one of the wheels on our larger checked bag several years ago. The repair shop urged us to keep them as long as we could because “they don't make them like that anymore.” We don't use them much anymore because we now go with smaller TravelPro that we can put in the overhead. Learned our lesson on the trip we lugged those heavy large bags around Europe on trains we took from Frankfort to Berlin and on to Prague and Budapest. Way too heavy to haul up and down all the stairs in the train stations and VRBOs!

 

[Luanne]

My daughter swears by her Briggs & Riley. It's more than I want to pay. I have had a series of bags over the year, no particular brand. I go more for what the inside looks like, meaning what it will hold. I think my current bag is an Antler? I prefer soft side, 4 wheels.

 

[Cornell]

This just seemed appropriate:
View attachment 97125

My dad was a road-warrior when I was a child. Routinely flew from Chicago to NYC for work. Back in the 60s he flew on "men only" flights. They were late afternoon / early evening. I believe this was on United. I laugh thinking about this.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

My dad was a road-warrior when I was a child. Routinely flew from Chicago to NYC for work. Back in the 60s he flew on "men only" flights. They were late afternoon / early evening. I believe this was on United. I laugh thinking about this.

My father-in-law was a little bit of a road warrior. He was in maritime insurance and periodically traveled to Chicago and New York from his office in downtown San Francisco. In his day (shortly after WW II) that meant taking the train, and at each train stop someone would check for telegrams that had been wired ahead for pickup. Between train stops you would work on responses to the those telegrams, which would be given to telegraph offices along the way to be sent out. Very much like you see occurring with the Ratchett and McQueen characters in the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express.

 

[buzglyd]

Travel pro for me. I've got the 22 spinner and love the magnetic alignment of the wheels. It practically rolls alongside me by itself. Sometimes it even rolls away when I'm not looking! I was a career road warrior and always try to carry on. The fabric got dirty so I washed it in the bathtub to get all the grime off and then threw it in the pool in Scottsdale and sun dried it. Looks like new.

I prefer hard side if I have to check.

 

[easyrider]

I've never had a problem pulling the luggage; the spinners are just a matter of convenience.

To me it's a night and day difference. I can move all four of our spinners through the airport fairly easy if I need to.

Bill