Luggage

[Concordia]

Another virtue of Briggs & Riley--- not only are they very durable when it comes to airport abuse, but they have lifetime warranties.

[alden]

Another virtue of Briggs & Riley--- not only are they very durable when it comes to airport abuse, but they have lifetime warranties.

Lifetime warranties? I assume that was an ironic comment as there is no such thing. I have had two luxury luggage makers renege on their lifetime warranties after bankruptcy and reorganization. The hilarious thing is that after Chapter 11 they still offer "lifetime warranties" ...excluding any and all products made before such and such a date etc. Ha ha. Not funny. Warranty is only as good as the financial solvency of the company and bankruptcy is a good way to discharge themselves of any and all liabilities. Buyer beware.

As far as luggage is concerned I look to the intrinsic solidity of the product as my only recourse. In this regards, Briggs & Riley do not make the cut.

[Noble Savage]

Life time? Durable? I have an early 20-th century leather case that has lasted several human generations. Why? Because it was made of leather that is at least ten times as thick as modern leather luggage. Haven't seen anything like this produced today. It could be, of course.

[culverwood]

I have such a leather suitcase from the first half of the 20th century, my father's which he or rather his porter would have carried onto a boat or train. The problem is that it weighs almost as much as the full luggage allowance on a plane when empty!

I now buy lightweight hard shell cases knowing that their life is only a few years plus a more presentable carry-on case (Globetrotter Oriental).

[hectorm]

I now buy lightweight hard shell cases knowing that their life is only a few years plus a more presentable carry-on case (Globetrotter Oriental).

And we are back to square one.
No doubt that´s a more presentable carry-on, but it has the fatal flaw of no exterior access compartments which defeats the basic purpose of a carry-on (unless you want to haul yet another small piece with your documents, magazines, tablet, earphones, etc. or want to start unstrapping and unlatching things on the security line).

[Melcombe]

...a more presentable carry-on, but it has the fatal flaw of no exterior access compartments which defeats the basic purpose of a carry-on ...

A presentable carry-on is a grail worth pursuing !

A week back we made a very quick trip to Amsterdam from our local airport. The FlyBe service uses a turboprop plane and although you can check luggage in, the staff look at you as if you are certifiable if you do. Added to which, a 22 kilo case would have cost as much as the 2 return tickets.

Time to deploy the carry-on, then.

For me this is a recently acquired Globetrotter classic case dating from the 1970's that I acquired at an antiques fair for £10 while Mrs M was perusing vases or some such. It was designed especially for BEA (coincidentally the forerunner of FlyBe), according to the label, as "under-seat" luggage. It just about manages the 550 x 350 x 200 mm limits.

How much do you need for 3 days? Not much if you plan carefully. So I had room for paperback, phone charger, headphones, bars of chocolate, newspaper, all inside the case. I found very quickly that it was no particular inconvenience to open the case if a hard surface was handy. FlyBe allow you 10 kilos carry on case (plus overcoat, brolly, (& handbag apparently - I left mine at home) etc.) so you'd be pushed to hit that with just clothing.

What I found entertaining was the reaction I got from the security staff and passers-by at Schiphol and Amsterdam Centraal who variously complimented me on my "lovely, old-fashioned" luggage (although not on my ultra comfortable modern hiking kit!).



ps - If you've not visited Amsterdam, you really should. Its very elegant (in parts) and there were a number of very well dressed gents around.

[davidhuh]

What I found entertaining was the reaction I got from the security staff and passers-by at Schiphol and Amsterdam Centraal who variously complimented me on my "lovely, old-fashioned" luggage (although not on my ultra comfortable modern hiking kit!).

Dear David,

I can confirm your observation with Globetrotter. I'm using it since years as checked luggage. Nothing but compliments or puzzled eyes, by hotel staff, taxi drivers or airline staff. Mine got a lot of use, they are patched all over - Globetrotter has a great repair service, too.

Cheers, David

[hectorm]

ps - If you've not visited Amsterdam, you really should. Its very elegant (in parts) and there were a number of very well dressed gents around.

And it´s the only city in the world where I have found that the elegant gentleman´s shops carry my tall sizes off the rack .