Usually, I am the one recommending luggage options for readers, but I have found myself at a crossroads and need some recommendations from our readership, please.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
I Loved My Rimowa Topas
I have gushed over my Rimowa Topas aluminum luggage for some time. I love it, it makes me feel like a million bucks, it’s durable and they stand behind their product. But, as I have learned, just for five years. It’s been longer than that since I purchased my set and I have a major issue with my international rollaboard. The plastic that attaches to the metal around one of the wheel wells has separated from the metal. Forgive me for not including a photo.
While Rimowa has typically been very good about repairs, those have all occurred during the warranty period. Now that I am outside of that, I may still pursue a fix, but it requires a hull replacement, it could be hundreds of dollars which puts me into the market for an outright replacement.
I Tried Away, It Wasn’t Perfect
Away was kind enough to let me try out one of their bags on a trip. At the time, the battery was locked in and that version would no longer comply. While I only tried mine out for one very busy trip, I noticed scuff marks right away and its lightweight design was a hindrance because it didn’t easily roll with my heavy backpack over the top.
While a heavy backpack (personal item) is not the fault of Away, it is the way I choose to travel and therefore, it wasn’t a match. The brand has made changes to the design that may make it more attractive, they offer a 100-day trial, they now offer a metal version which would match the rest of my set, and have adjusted the battery even offering a replacement. They also have a lifetime warranty.
I remain on the fence regarding an Away carry-on.
Tumi Seems Great but Has Flaws Too
My wife and I looked at an A3 international carry-on from Tumi over the weekend. It had the right weight, and the design looked great. However, the design of the interior has a concave lining that limits some of the space where my Rimowa allows me to maximize. When I carry on for a four-day trip in small rollaboard, those corners count. The zipper that allows quick access to a laptop or tablet was also a little tight and the metal teeth would scrape against my metallic tech.
My concern is that even with a 20% discount (there’s a sale right now), it’s still very expensive and the warranty matches Rimowa, one-year for almost everything and five years fairly comprehensive. That puts me where I am now, at the manufacturer’s mercy should something go wrong after the first five years.
Conclusion
I should certainly give Rimowa an opportunity to correct the problem first, but I don’t want to pay to send it in only to be handed either a bill for the repair or the return shipping. I am open to our readership’s opinion on what I should consider. Maybe it will be one of the options I have already explored, or rather something I have not considered at all.
What do you think? What’s your go-to carry-on rollaboard? Should I just pay to have my Rimowa fixed?
I view luggage as a throw away. I now buy ricardo pieces, and replace them every 2 years or so. The ricardos are very nice, and cheap enough. I love my rimowa, but the weight of the empty case plus the fact that I like to carry alot makes it hard to justify unless I am allowed 70lbs.
I used to view luggage as replaceable items too, and really, if I spend the same amount of money over the same useful period, that’s what they are. So I am not sure which camp better fits me.
Just stick with Rimowa. Even if irreparable issues occurs after five years outside the warranty, replacing the luggage isn’t too cost prohibitive. Although, outside Away and Tumi, you’d be looking at more adventure-design luggage like Eagle Creek which I like as well. Still, stick with Rimowa. I do!
Noted. Thanks for your thoughts.
Briggs and Riley offers a lifetime warranty. And their luggage is well constructed. They have a new hard shell product line similar to the bags you seem to prefer although I like their Baseline bags.
The only objection I have to Briggs and Riley is that I can’t find an attractive piece of kit. Some of it is certainly utility, but vain as it may be, I also want it to look good. Can’t they design one that also has a little bit of style? If so, what line is it because Baseline isn’t it.
“I also want it to look good”
Who exactly do you think is impressed by your “attractive” luggage?
Me. I always want it to look good because I have to look at it, not just others.
But why not want good looking luggage, just like you’d want clean clothes and nice shoes? If this suggests that looks don’t matter or “I don’t want attractive luggage because people who judge me are superficial” then why not wear pajamas to the airport and slippers?
So the super expensive Rimowa fell apart? FFS, give up on these pretentious brands like Tumi and Rimowa …they’re no better or more functional than Samsonite or Delsey or TravelPro and yet you pay a massive premium to feel hip. Snob value only. Save your money.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not happy I have had issues with the durability of Rimowa. But there isn’t a lot of aesthetically pleasing pieces out there and as much as I am with my bag, I want it to look nice too. It’s not about the tag, it’s about the look, feel and quality (or so I thought) of the bag. It’s also important to note that I have three Rimowas in total and while one has a latch issue, this is the only one I have had a major issue with so the others have lived up to the hype.
I have tried several brands, expensive and cheap. They have in common that sooner or later something breaks. Esp Delsey has been extremely disappointing; from all the ones I have had the casing cracked within a few years.
So now I buy cheap stuff and just replace if and when needed.
Warranties don’t work for me.
I really like my Samantha Brown luggage I purchased this year. She used all her experience as a Travel Show Host and world traveler to design pieces that are durable, have super useful features and are decent priced.
Briggs.
I can’t find one that looks good.
Kyle. are you really that superficial?
Is it superficial to want to have something attractive and functional? If you’re paying $600-750 for a rollaboard from Briggs & Riley is it really too much to ask that it doesn’t look like the same one I could get for $30 at Wal-Mart?
If you pay Lexus prices, but get a Toyota is that superficiality or value for money? I know United would back me up on this.
I’ve bought Samsonite at Ross or some similar place for my last two which each survived around five years of weekly travel. I guess I like the look of extra cash in my wallet as opposed to dragging it behind me in an airport.
I’m not Kyle but if that question were put to me the answer would be “yes indeed”.
I don’t see superficial as necessarily a perjorative, rather, one operates from aesthetic point of view.
I’m personally a big fan of Travel Pro. They have been very durable in my day in and day out use are pretty light weight to start and the Platinum Series has a good warranty as well.
You might try looking for a local shop that can at least evaluate the repair of your bag or sending pictures to Rimowa to get a better feel for its reparability.
I will try to have a shop in HK take a look, I know they have a Rimowa spot in Kowloon where the hotel has handled a small latch repair for us in the past.
Wait for the Dior x Rimowa bags to be released in January.
Noted.
Or take your Rimowa on a trip (if not to much of a hassle with the broken part – couldn’t tell without picture) to one of the cities they have a repair shop and some can pick up from the hotel.
I am considering doing that. I also think that if you are travelling at the time they have a little more impetuous to get it repaired and turned quickly.
Travel Pro all the way. I’ve been using it for years and never lets me down.
Every flight attendant and pilot can’t be wrong, maybe I should give them a look. Thanks Mike.
Briggs and Riley, true lifetime warranty, replace or repair for only shipping cost one way. ‘Nuff said.
I’m good with the warranty. I like it and Away offers something similar, but Away’s carry-on is just so light and the Briggs & Riley just doesn’t make a bag that looks good. Can’t they be both?
Overall, I see luggage also as a throwaway ( just hoping you do not have to throw away in the middle of a trip.)
Have liked the very lightweight “It” luggage. Yes, my carryon has been weighed by a fastidious security person in PPT.
When weight is less likely to be an issue, I have been blown away by the Muji collection. Truly believe it is the best bang for the buck. The wheels have brakes, which I believed to be overkill, until I discovered the floor at the airport was not perfectly horizontal and I had to chase my luggage down an imperceptible slope.
This is still a possible approach for me.
I’ve tried Briggs & Riley, Away, and Rimowa. I like the Rimowa best overall. The Away packs better but it’s not as well made nor as stylish. If you get the all poly Rimowa, it’s lighter, you have more flexibility (literally), and you don’t have to worry about having the frame bent when you check it.
Good notes, thanks.
Briggs and Riley. Don’t waste your time with the others.
But can’t they make something more attractive? They are at the same general price point as I have acquired the others, they have a better warranty but they just don’t look very good. Someone has to be able to match form with function…
My husband and I are watching this thread as we need new luggage. Our eBays Motherloads have worked well for five years but it’s time for something new. Ebags was great with warranty issues (replaced at least five telescoping handles) but I am tired to devoting the time to replacement parts.
I need soft-sided, duffle style as a much of our travel is on small, prop planes.
I have Briggs&Riley for my checked bags and they are flawless after more than 10 years of travel. However, for carry on I agree that they do not have a nice style. I cannot understand why they cannot design a carry on that is attractive. With their great quality and amazing customer service it would be a killer.
My luggage priority has been to travel the globe sometimes several trips a month, year after year, with a sturdy bag. I want to pull my carry on out of the overhead and continue on to my customer sites without having to screw with broken handles, effed up wheels, broken zippers or torn fabrics. My Briggs carry on looks almost the same as it did 11 years ago when I bought it and has aligned perfectly with those priorities.
If you want excellent luggage, with the best warranty in the business, that functions as luggage, go with B&R. If you want something that makes you look fashionable during your 15 minute stroll though the airport… maybe pickup Louis Vuitton or Ralph Lauren bag and all of the inevitable inconveniences that go with them…
I offer a different answer. LuggageWorks. Either the Stealth or the new carbon fiber model. The Stealth is not invisible but rather has a rugged looking steel exterior frame.
A review after a year’s use would be interesting. I can’t do a review because it’s too expensive that I didn’t want to chance it. I needed a new bag after American Airlines insisted on checking my bag then shredded it. They gave me a cheap replacement, whi ch is reasonably well designed except doesn’t feel durable. Already, the handle is wearing out after about 25 flights.
Invisible would be cool.
I have a Tumi international form version that I have taken everywhere, usually carry on. I had it at least 5 years, probably more likely 10. I can’t remember when I bought it.
Tumi’s are expensive, but they work and last a long time.
I have had a similar experience with my other Rimowas, but the Tumi is certainly tempting.
Disclaimer: All of my Tumi luggage was acquired with United Mileage Plus miles when I decided to liquidate my account and never fly that sorry-ass airline again.
I have a set of Tumi Tegra-Lite: small carry-on, medium and large checked bags. I use the medium the most as my trips are usually at least five days, too much for a small carry-on. The plastic ribs around the perimeter separated and got yanked off after several years of heavy travel. I took it to a Tumi shop who sent it to the repair depot, where they examined it and decided it could not be repaired. This was right after the 5-year warranty expired. So they gave me a 75%-off voucher for a replacement. Not bad! I found the same, updated bag online in a gross brown color that was already heavily discounted so for about $100 I had a new replacement. The pull handle broke on that one earlier this year and it was replaced at the local store for no charge.
So yeah Tumi is stupid-expensive but they’ve treated me right even though I did not actually pay for them outright. But I would not pay full price for it, nor for Rimowa.
I have heard that Tumi is pretty generous with replacements as your experience indicated. I am leaning that way.
I can’t imagine having a “set” of luggage in 2019. I’ve got different bags for different purposes.
My “big” case, which I use for multi-week trips with little travel is an ancient (18 years old) TravelPro, that’s been to three continents and 20 US states.
For a rollaboard, I have an equally ancient TravelPro.
But the piece I carry most frequently is the RMU Mountain Briefcase. It doesn’t have wheels, but it has very useable stowable backpack straps, tons of room, and it’s incredibly flexible.
https://rmuoutdoors.com/products/brfcs35-50
I will say that, the older I get, the less I pack and the less I’m willing to tolerate being slowed down by regular luggage, so the trade offs the RMU bag necessitates might not work for everyone.
Fair enough, I would chide my mother for having a “set” as well. That being said, if I instead said that I occasionally need a large checked piece, a large carry-on and a smaller carry-on that it was kind of “create your own set” then why not have them all look the same? And that’s what I did. It’s same-same but different as the Thai would say.
I’ll look into the ones you recommend.
Check out Barmes, sounds like you could benefit from their 3-compartment design. Doesn’t ship until November but worth a look: http://igg.me/at/barmes
My only hesitation is that Indiegogo doesn’t guarantee I will ever get my product or a refund and by the time I purchase it until the time I receive it could put me outside of my credit card protection window.
I ordered a metallic sliding cover for my laptop camera because the tape I used kept falling off and looked a little tacky (though effective). That little $15 (three-pack) piece of metal took, and I am not kidding, about a year before it was finally delivered after it was due. I now prefer to wait until customers of new inventions have actually received their products.
I have had everything but Rimowa. Everything seems to break right after the warranty ends. I do have 2 Boyt bags that are 25 years old. Way before rolley bags were common. One is a duffel, the other a carry-on. The carry-on started to peel the waterproof coating. Sent it back and they gave me a brand new bag. Which is actually a much nicer bag. I have had TravelPro, International Traveller, Delsey, American Tourister, Samsonite, and Ricardo. All last about 5 years. I like a newer looking bag, so maybe 5 year life is good for my tastes. I have purchased Tumi for the spouse with no issues. But none are older than 4 years old. All the Tumi stuff still looks new. My next carry-on is a Patagonia because I like the way it is designed. I don’t want it to be a rolley. I want to be able to make some of its compartments carry a camera and lenses with a padded insert. Strictly a carry-on, but with lots of room. Patagonia bags are becoming more attractive looking. But maybe not for you, as they look like sport bags.
I definitely try to not spend a lot of money on bags that get checked. That philosophy has worked for me.
Porsche Design. Check out their black edition spinner.
I am a fan of the Titan ultralight spinners.
Just to mention, my criteria is that it be as light as possible, but durable, hardsided and have four spinners. But lightness is the key thing. I have had Delsey, Rimowa, TravelPro, Tumi and Titan. Both Delsey and TravelPro did not last long (admittedly, one of my Delseys was one of those checked bags with a lid opening – in retrospect, though that is a good design for packing, I think in the luggage hold it gets too much pressure on the points where the lid closes).
Titan is very light, yet has lasted me about 7-8 years for each large checked piece before a crack appears, and that is probably at about 40 segments a year, half of those international. I don’t really expect any luggage to last the beatings the airlines put on it for more than that. (Come to think of it, rolling down cobble stone streets a fair amount is probably not good for it either.) And another good point is that it can often be found on sale online.
The Tumi 19 Degrees are most like the Rimowa, but with better wheels and a more distinctive design than what you see everywhere in Asia and Europe. Not to mention more often on sale.
The handle just fell off on my Rimowa last weekend and I believe it just ran out of warranty. It has already received a lot of warranty repairs so I’m reluctant to continue with the brand — it’s nice that they fix things but it’s not so nice to be thousands of km’s away with a broken luggage.
We have a few lightweight Samsonite’s and while they might have some details lacking, I cannot blame them for their price and quality. So as someone already mentioned, one could check the mainstream brands as well.