Best Luggage for business travel

Best Luggage for business travel

Author
Discussion

Waitey

Original Poster:

869 posts

221 months

Wednesday 8th April 2015
quotequote all
Hi all,

I've just sadly had my last set of luggage killed by the handlers at BKK.

Can anyone suggest a nice set of luggage for under £500.

A laptop bag and all cases with 4 wheels would be a bonus.

theaxe

3,557 posts

221 months

Wednesday 8th April 2015
quotequote all
Many will suggest Tumi but I've never been able to justify the premium. I find that Antler cases last a decent enough time for the price.

The Leaper

4,937 posts

205 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
Briggs & Riley, excellent.

R.

tuffer

8,849 posts

266 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
An Antler suit carrier lasted me <9 months, my Tumi luggage is virtually unmarked after 4 years. I used to travel long haul every week but the last year barely at all.....I do not miss it.

Fas1975

1,777 posts

163 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
Majority of my luggage is Samsonite. They have decent ranges at the outlet centres, including the one in Bicester. I've had one suitcase since 1998, used at least once a month long-haul, apart from a replacement handle, still going strong.

robwilk

818 posts

179 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
Amazon are having "daily deals" at the moment Ive picked up a couple of samonite spinner cases at a good price over the last couple of days.
They are quite heavy but my other samsonite spinner has lasted very well so I thought i would refresh the family's cases.
I also travel long haul a lot but at the moment mainly use smaller cases as they will not handle big hard cases at the work end, hard to get in a chopper.

andysgriff

913 posts

259 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
I used to buy Samsonite however a lot of it has fallen apart quite rapidly, I feel it's overrated. Also have a large no brand suitcase that's still going strong after years.

fizz47

2,663 posts

209 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
I take about 50 flights a year and my suit ases take a battering -

What I have found, is if the luggage is going to go in main hold I will use an American Tourister suitcase by Samsonite. It seems this is a samsonite spin off / budget brand but have found they have been made just as well as my samsonite cases. Also mine are hard cases and in 3 years with constant abuse, only 1 has had to be replaced where it was puntured somewhere between US and London. Have never paid more than £80 for a case.

The life of the case will also depend on how you pack, e,g. having large empty spaces in the case will cause your case to break quickly.

For hand luggae I use a Rimowa Cabin Trolley - A lot of people say they are poncy and at £400 they are not cheap however when switiching from my samosonite case to my rimowa I really love my rimowa- It's effortless and glides along - I have my laptop case on top of that.. For hand luggage would never buy anything else. I think they do a matching cabin trolley and laptop case set.

Edited by fizz47 on Thursday 9th April 14:50

pureguilt

124 posts

234 months

Thursday 9th April 2015
quotequote all
The Leaper said:
Briggs & Riley, excellent.

R.
Briggs & Riley - I've had the baseline carry on and two suitcases for over 10 years and they all look as good as new. Never had to use the lifetime warranty though. Same ballistic material as some of the Tumi cases but cheaper&#128515;

Craikeybaby

10,369 posts

224 months

Thursday 28th May 2015
quotequote all
I've got a couple of long haul trips coming up this year, so feel like I should get myself a new suitcase, as I've borrowed them for my last few trips.

Borrowing cases means that I have been able to work out what I want:
4 wheels - My trips to Japan usually involve 3 trains, 2 planes and 2 taxis door to door, and 4 wheels are much better in the Tokyo stations.
Hardside - I quite often have sample electronics from work in my case.
Black - Although it is easy to spot my girlfriend's blue case on the conveyor, it isn't very business-like!
Budget is £200 tops, as although it is mainly for business trips, I'm paying for it myself.

The front runner is the new Samsonite Neopulse (the one that is on their TV advert), but I'm open to other suggestions.

Not having had a hard case before, are zips or clamps better? And is it better to get a smaller case and cram stuff in, or get a slightly bigger one and leave stuff rattling around inside?

HOGEPH

5,249 posts

185 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
Slight thread drift, but I'm off to the US in a few months and wondered if Costco USA do any decent luggage? Anyone here bought a suitcase from them?

smack

9,727 posts

190 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
Craikeybaby said:
I've got a couple of long haul trips coming up this year, so feel like I should get myself a new suitcase, as I've borrowed them for my last few trips.

Borrowing cases means that I have been able to work out what I want:
4 wheels - My trips to Japan usually involve 3 trains, 2 planes and 2 taxis door to door, and 4 wheels are much better in the Tokyo stations.
Hardside - I quite often have sample electronics from work in my case.
Black - Although it is easy to spot my girlfriend's blue case on the conveyor, it isn't very business-like!
Budget is £200 tops, as although it is mainly for business trips, I'm paying for it myself.

The front runner is the new Samsonite Neopulse (the one that is on their TV advert), but I'm open to other suggestions.

Not having had a hard case before, are zips or clamps better? And is it better to get a smaller case and cram stuff in, or get a slightly bigger one and leave stuff rattling around inside?
Zips can be opened with a pen, so basically no security, so my view is go clasp. Although all cases these days have TSA locks, and the key is basic/easy to get (TSA have busted their key two times in my cases, needed to use a multitool to open the lock and extract what was left of the key). I use a zip tie on the lock/clasp if not flying through the US, since the 2ndy padlocks that can be used with the case are so small they could be forced open with not much effort.

I use Samsonite plastic hard cases, which I see most long haul flight crew use too. Likewise to you I often have kit I need to protect in my cases (otherwise boottles of booze!), so have the more heavy rigid models - I not sure the lightweight bouncy/flexy polycarbinate hardcases would take to luggage thrower abuse once they are 30kg and you want the contents to stay intact.

3 times I have taken my motorbike kit for biking O/S, the hardcases have been great at making sure it all arrives with no damage (my helmet being the item I care about), and that was though Africa, where the throwers do their best to abuse your bags....

Craikeybaby

10,369 posts

224 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
Thanks, I've seen that most cases have zips, but thought they may be a weakpoint.

I usually use a zip tie, or a key ring to secure my case when not flying through the US as they are just as secure as a travel padlock, but draw less attention to the case.


toohuge

3,430 posts

215 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
We have a full set of Tumi cases and it is very good, but very expensive (but looks awesome smile )

For that budget, Samsonsite do a hard case that looks like CF, which is supposed to be very good and durable.

Our next set of luggage will be Rimowa - it's a little heavier than the others but very well made a good warranty. - Oh and stupidly expensive.

arun1uk

1,045 posts

197 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
pureguilt said:
Briggs & Riley - I've had the baseline carry on and two suitcases for over 10 years and they all look as good as new. Never had to use the lifetime warranty though. Same ballistic material as some of the Tumi cases but cheaper??
+1 for me.

Have both suitcases and backpack for work. Great features, build quality is bullet proof and reasonably priced when compared to Tumi. Lifetime like for like replacement warranty is the ace.

I would suggest going into your local John Lewis to check them out.

Had Tumi and wouldn't go back.

Zod

35,295 posts

257 months

Friday 29th May 2015
quotequote all
Tumi is expensive, but it generally lasts forever and, in the event it doesn't, they replace or repair it. It's expensive, but worth it,

surveyor

17,768 posts

183 months

Saturday 30th May 2015
quotequote all
Had an Antler suitcase provided by Ryan Air of all people after some monkeys destroyed my very cheap suitcase. Get's used often and is holding up well.

NorthDave

2,355 posts

231 months

Saturday 30th May 2015
quotequote all
I'm not as much of a full on traveller as some on here but he Eastpack stuff seems to be well made, cheap and non fussy. The guarantee looks good too (35 years?) although I havent had need to use it.

Craikeybaby

10,369 posts

224 months

Saturday 30th May 2015
quotequote all
Back in the day I had call to use the warranty on a couple of their rucksacks and they always replaced without questions.

But their bags look a bit more gap year than business trip to me.

brickwall

5,192 posts

209 months

Sunday 31st May 2015
quotequote all
I use a Samsonite lightweight carry-on roller. It's been used heavily and has stood up to it really well. Very impressed.