Hi,
Our family takes quiet a few international flights, and often we go back to the old country where everyone wants something brough back. Thus, our baggage is always full.

Given that most ailrines signficantly reduced the weight allowance for 2 pcs international check in for fligths, we need to replace our heavy and huge check in Samsonite bags with something lighter.

Along the lines of wheeled luggage of 24", 26", 28" sizes, what do you recommend that is light?

Thanks!

 

Tume T-Tech Pulse line is pretty good. I have the 24" model. Not cheap, but is durable, light and worth the money.

http://www.tumi.com/travel_luggage/t...3+10013+600139

 

Check TJ Maxx or Marshalls if you have one near... I've seen the TravelPro Walkabout Lite in 24", 26", and 28" going from $45 - $75 depending on size. For the price they're very well built, light, and have the TravelPro Warranty (though that's not quite what it used to be).

 

Tumi is good for the carryon and laptop bags, but for stuff thats going to be tossed around, its a bit too much.

 

I realize that many here love the Tumi brand, it's very high quality and a great choice for FFers. But families traveling to "the old country" probably won't be buying the top brands, and expensive luggage shouts "look inside and take nice goodies."

What I would do is go to the ebags.com website and search for luggage there. They have categories for lightweight bags. Be sure to note the actual weight of bags, that's one good thing about ebags - the weight is given for nearly every item they sell. You'll find that lots of bags that are called "lightweight" by their makers - are not really so lightweight when you look at the stats. You can purchase your bags wherever you like, ebags is a very good resource for weights.

You're on the right track to specify the 24 to 26-inch size. Fully packed bigger bags will probably exceed the new limits.

I never buy unless I see the luggage in person. I'm very picky about features, quality, etc. and want to know what the luggage is before I buy. ebags has good photos and many consumer-written reviews.

 

I guess it depends. In my case the "old country" is EDI so while Im not a fan of Tumi, I wouldnt expect a problem.

 

Actually, I was looking at one of their TOL Carryon models 20" International Model for Europe (Gen 4), and although the Tumi site does not list the weight, it's weighted at 14.5lbs at another site. That's not very good considering that Lufthansa has an 8kg limit on the carry-on.

This is checked baggage. It contains clothes and various other gifts/materials. It goes in and comes out. It will get tossed around at airports, sometimes lost. It will get rained on. As long as the content is not broken or lost it is fine. But it does have to light. Not really designer stuff.

The Samsonite cases we bought at TJ Maxx and Marshall did us fine, except they are a bit too heavy by today's standards considering the days of 2x32kilos are gone.

 

That is the beauty of the this particular line of Tumi - it doesnt really scream out, especially in black. It is solid, but not flashy. Only one logo on it, which can be obscured with a sticker of your choice. Pretty low key, all in all.

 

we do the same kind of packing. we want the most stuff we can carry.

we use llbean's duffels, without wheels. have a few of their wheeled duffels too which eat up some of the weight but are drfinatley easier to get around. btw, they list item's weight on their site, which i find really helpful.

 

duffels are great but can be easily slit open. I agree about shopping TJ Maxx to get your hands on the luggage before you buy. Check both sides of the store as they often have luggage in both the men's and women's departments.

 

I've just recently (in the last 6 months) noticed TJ Maxx and Marshalls carrying some of the better luggage brands like TravelPro and Delsey. In the past they've carried alot of lower end brands and designer clothing brands. I almost grabbed the 26" TravelPro Walkabout Light for $59 but didn't like the green color. If it had been red I would have jumped on it.

 

I'm also a TravelPro Walkabout Light fan, though I don't know if there was a TJ Maxx in HNL. Are there any left?

(For our next visit, is it worth a trip to the outlet centre (H1 south, way past the airport?) to look at the Tumi outlet or anywhere else ?)

I ended up getting the TravelPro 21" rollaboard at Macy's at Ala Moana, 50% off plus 11% off from the Macy's visitor discount, from our Prince Hotel stay. It still worked out over $100, though, so TJ Maxx or other outlets may consistently beat Macys and the like by a further 50%, based on the reports above (nice going!).


Just wanted to let the OP know that the TravelPro Lite (there's Lite 2, don't know if it's similar quality) survived being loaded quite heavily and used as checked luggage for the first time, KUL-MLE-CMB-SIN-SYD. ^