Luggage reviews

SpiraMirabilis

SpiraMirabilis

Possible Subversive
I'm sure there has been many threads regarding this so I apologize in advance.
I haven't been in this industry very long, in fact I haven't been off IOE for much more than a week, so in my desperate attempt to save money I have been using as luggage a cheap roller I had gotten at Wal-Mart quite a while ago.

The handle has snapped off already. If you saw a dumba-- walking through terminal 4 at PHX carrying a piece of luggage to his chest like a baby well that was me -- next time stop and say hi! :)


In any event what is some good luggage for a guy who can not afford spending $269 on a purdy neat? In the sub $200 range would be awesome actually. For free would be good too. Or failing that I could be persuaded to work off the luggage by being a cabana boy. (Does WildCougar have any extra luggage?)
 
Travelpro makes decent bags, but if there's anyway you can get the purdy neat, I'd get it. I love mine, and its sturdy as a rock with that steel frame.
 
UPS gives us a new travelpro every two years. The only reasons I use it are it's free and I get a new one every two years. They are cheap and at the end of two years are in need of replacement. I would not buy one myself. I've heard good things about the PNT bags. Expensive, but worth it in the long run if your company doesn't provide luggage for you.
 
My rollerbag was a old-school Samsonite hard-side. No outside pockets, no frills. All it needed was rollerblade wheels to replace the cheap plastic factory wheels and it was effortless to roll.

It made an excellent chair, stepstool, pillow, ballast, backrest, workout accessory, and you could even put stuff in it too!

I don't know if Samsonite still makes the same one or not, I bought mine at the schoolhouse in DFW in the winter of 2000.

Travelpros tend to fall apart from the use and abuse regional life tends to deliver.

Costco has an excellent bag that has a lifetime warranty, so if you destroy it you get a free replacement. Bill has had his Costco for almost 3 years now, and it's outlived every TravelPro he's ever had. (One he ran over with his car, so that one doesn't count.)
 
UPSpilot said:
UPS gives us a new travelpro every two years. The only reasons I use it are it's free and I get a new one every two years. They are cheap and at the end of two years are in need of replacement. I would not buy one myself. I've heard good things about the PNT bags. Expensive, but worth it in the long run if your company doesn't provide luggage for you.
Click to expand...

Travelpros are fine for the occasional traveler, but they do not weather a crews' life well over time.
 
MQAAord said:
Costco has an excellent bag that has a lifetime warranty, so if you destroy it you get a free replacement. Bill has had his Costco for almost 3 years now, and it's outlived every TravelPro he's ever had. (One he ran over with his car, so that one doesn't count.)
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Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
That sounds like a nice idea. I'll take a visit to costco and see if they still have this offer.
 
SpiraMirabilis said:
I'm sure there has been many threads regarding this so I apologize in advance.
I haven't been in this industry very long, in fact I haven't been off IOE for much more than a week, so in my desperate attempt to save money I have been using as luggage a cheap roller I had gotten at Wal-Mart quite a while ago.

The handle has snapped off already. If you saw a dumba-- walking through terminal 4 at PHX carrying a piece of luggage to his chest like a baby well that was me -- next time stop and say hi! :)


In any event what is some good luggage for a guy who can not afford spending $269 on a purdy neat? In the sub $200 range would be awesome actually. For free would be good too. Or failing that I could be persuaded to work off the luggage by being a cabana boy. (Does WildCougar have any extra luggage?)
Click to expand...


I don't have a pool, so you can't be my cabana boy. :D Sorry, but I don't have any extra luggage for ya! ;)
I wish I could've seen you walking through the terminal as described. Too bad no one took a picture! :p
 
Actually, the Costco bag is a pretty good deal for $99. I think they stopped the lifetime warranty thing a couple years ago because so many crewmembers were returning the bags every couple/3 years.

I don't know that for sure, but that's the line rumor.
 
I got a hand me down Travelpro around 2000. It was a gift from a flight attendant who didn't like the hardside version anymore and so she gave it to me.

That thing lasted for about four more years. It finally gave up the ghost in 2005 after some dumbass user of the luggage decided to try to sit on it without making sure it was locked.

I bought my current rollaboard (another TravelPro) at Macy's for about $120 and then they gave me a big discount for getting their credit card and another ten percent off on top of that!
 
Just bought the Purdy Neat Stealth 26 inch today. I am thinking of changing my order to the 22 inch though.

I am a big guy, have big shoes, and usually over pack so I am thinking the 26 inch might be better for me.
 
Seggy said:
Just bought the Purdy Neat Stealth 26 inch today. I am thinking of changing my order to the 22 inch though.

I am a big guy, have big shoes, and usually over pack so I am thinking the 26 inch might be better for me.
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I have the 22" and I pack a lot too. For non-revving it is nice because it is always okay as a carry-on bag and it fits in width-wise in an overhead bin instead of having to lay it sideways. That's nice when you're the last one on the plane. Also, I don't see how anything longer than a 22" would fit to the left on the 737 jumpseat.

You can cram so much into it that the 22" can turn into a much larger bag than the shape of it is. I would just get the 22" and the dufflebag which clips onto the top.
 
I'll echo what's been said and side against the TravelPro. I've got the 22" Crew 5 and after a year and a half of crew life, it's not holding up well. The stitching is coming out, the handle has separated from the bag itself, and I'm just waiting for the flight-kit strap to break off...probably only a matter of time. I'm going to get the PNT one soon, heard only good things...
 
The Costco bags have switched to this auto-expanding mechanism (instead of the zipper all the way around) that I'm not too keen on. I received one in the previous style as a Christmas gift, looking forward to getting some good use out of it.
 
I went with Nick's advice and got the 22inch roller board and the executive dufflebag that clips on the top.

The Stop Over Store customer service freaking rocks! Highly recommend them!

www.stopoverstore.com
 
You'll dig that bag, Mark, it's the same rig I carry around with me and it works pretty well. All that plus an eBags crew cooler, a CW flight kit and I look like a traveling hobo walking around the airport!
 
Seggy said:
Just bought the Purdy Neat Stealth 26 inch today. I am thinking of changing my order to the 22 inch though.

I am a big guy, have big shoes, and usually over pack so I am thinking the 26 inch might be better for me.
Click to expand...

Nick said:
I have the 22" and I pack a lot too. For non-revving it is nice because it is always okay as a carry-on bag and it fits in width-wise in an overhead bin instead of having to lay it sideways. That's nice when you're the last one on the plane. Also, I don't see how anything longer than a 22" would fit to the left on the 737 jumpseat.

You can cram so much into it that the 22" can turn into a much larger bag than the shape of it is. I would just get the 22" and the dufflebag which clips onto the top.
Click to expand...


From what I hear, I'd stick with Purdy Neat Stealth as well. I'm sorry to say, that the quality of Travelpro has gone down a lot over the last few years, with wheels and zippers breaking a lot. When I worked for AAA's travel division, we had a travel store that sold luggage, and I thought that the quality of the new Travelpro's was a bit cheesy. I also watched what luggage was being returned broken, and with defects, and the truth of the matter was that a lot of different luggage brands were coming back. Many of these top-line luggage companies are out-sourcing the manufacture of the luggage to cheap factories in Taiwan and the Phillipines. I actually once went to an all-day luggage conference one day with the head of the travel store retail division and learned a lot about luggage!

#1 - always buy luggage with heavyweight #10 gauge zippers.
#2 - buy luggage with heavyweight wheels made from the stuff they make the wheels to rollerblades from.
#3 - make sure the pull up handle is always locked down and secure because once that baby is bent, your luggage is useless, as you can't pull the handle up or down anymore.
#4 - buy luggage that has a heavyweight fabric made of heavyweight ballistic nylon (for some shell luggage users)
 
I'm going to go with my normal recommendation and say Strongbags. I've had mine for a year now and other then the zipper pull coming off one zipper, it's holding up great. It's also sub $200 (I think).
 
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