holly_1948

I haven't made a trip back to Blighty in a while and now discover it costs real money to fly transatlantic with suitcases (historically it was two included in the fare, now it is one).

So I probably need to replace my two medium sized cases with one maximum size case. I thought it would be easy to find the optimum bag, but it is not.

Problems with the offerings at Waltmart, Sears etc are:
(1) Smaller or larger than the airline (United Airlines for what it's worth) specification of 62 inches (Length plus Width plus Height).
(2) Wheels and long handles are ubiquitous, they detract from space and from payload weights (maximum 50lbs gross).
(3) Shapes that are materially not cuboid; significantly rounded designs waste space when it is very limited to begin with.

Naturally I want a bag made with tough fabric and fasteners (I dislike zip fasteners though these seem to be inescapable in cheap suitcases).

Has anyone been through the same thing and have any good suggestions (short of paying a King's ransom for either luggage or airline baggage fees)?

Just as an aside I was shocked to see that less than 22% of my fare is for the basic ticket. The rest is for taxes, airport imposed fees, junk fees and "security". It's past time everyone stopped being afraid of their shadow, it is killing the world. We all have to die sometime anyway. In 1975 it was about 90%, not 22%.

Orangepants

Samsonite lightweight spinner luggage is good quality, durable and really light.

lansbury

But I prefer it not to be at the end of a 35,000ft drop.

When I worked at Heathrow most of the staff would buy then lightest bag and not worry to much about the durability. The thinking was it is going to get banged up being thrown around and not likely to survive a lot of trips so get one that does the job and be prepared to replace it. The hard sided ones tend to get the most damage.

Brit3964

My thinking as well. Since I both travel as a passenger and as a pilot, I've found getting a cheaper bag works out better. I tend to get the "Jeep" brand from Wally World as they seem to handle the knocks quite well. The current one is a hard sided type. So far so good. They seem to be very similar to Samsonite and American Tourister but for less $$.

md95065

If your goal is to avoid paying fees to the airlines for your luggage there is no point in getting a "maximum size case" because the airlines are also getting much tougher about charging for overweight bags - KLM, for example, charges the same for an overweight bag (over 23kg / 50 lb) as they do for a second bag - so there isn't much point in buying a bag that can hold significantly more that the free baggage allowance allowed by your airline.

Zip fasteners are find provided that they are sufficiently strong and are suitably recessed or otherwise protected so that they don't get damaged when the bag is dropped on a corner or an edge. In the better designed cases wheels and handles do not add significantly to the weight or reduce the available storage volume.

Personally I would go for something like a 26" soft sided upright case in the $100 to $200 price range - anything less than $100 is likely to be junk and over $200 you are starting to pay for things that you likely don't need or want.

Apfelkuchen

+1. I have a max size case (I got it one time when I had to transport a large gift) and because it is so big, when it is full, even only with clothes, it is borderline overweight.

Mummy in the foothills

We are doing the suitcase hunt right now too. We got a set from Burlington coat factory that look like they should be OK, izod I think they were.
We are only looking for the medium sized cases as the biggest ones are too big and when packed are too heavy for the airlines, so medium when packed tight should do the trick.
I'm at the point now of wondering if I can just cardboard boxes and gaffer tape or big black bin bags, I'm sick of looking.
I did look at the WalMart ones that Brit3964 mentioned and they are now top of my list for when I need to go and get a couple more.

sime303

I bought a fairly durable lightweight suitcase from TJ Maxx and like a previous poster got the max. size JEEP hand luggage from Wally World. Between my luggage and the wife's it was like taking 3 full size suitcases.

holly_1948

Thank you.
Pursuant to your suggestion and when I spotted a local department store (Bealls) was having a closing down sale I spotted one of those.

Samsonite Jetlite 28" spinner. MSRP (joke) $320, everyday discount price $110, but the store had 20% off everything until closed next week. So at $88 I went for it. TSA approved paranoia combination locks too.

The nice part is that (with expansion zips extended) it is exactly the maximum size allowed by United Airlines (30+19+13) for a good volume because of the 13.
Also, the long metal handle was easily unscrewed saving weight, space and hard tubes in the cargo space. Resultant weight several lbs less than my 30 year big old 30+19+8 Samsonite hardside.

I plan to hit the 50lb weight limit exactly, no quarter is given these horrible days, none is expected.

On to find a maximum allowed laptop bag that is considered a "personal item" as contrasted with a cabin bag.

Sic transit gloria mundi. It's astounding that a transatlantic airfare costs about the same number of dollars (900) as it did in 1982. But now it is nearly all taxes and airport charges of various kinds. Of course, apart from the travel itself you get far less for your money today (notably not being routinely treated like cattle or treated like a criminal if you make an honest mistake in reading the arcane rules).

AmerLisa

penguinsix

FWIW we use the 'duffle' bags from Walmart. They compact into a small case when not in use, and when you unzip them they can handle quite a bit. I think they are $15. We have used a half-dozen or so. Basically disposable so not that worried if they go through heck.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Protege-32...Black/11069689

This is better for when we are relocating with a bunch of clothes that don't need the protection of a bigger piece of luggage though.

AmerLisa

We have the usual roller duffal bags. They are ok, but the last time we took a big trip, as I was dragging that damn thing through the streets of London (we had went to two weddings, in the UK and Greece, so had to pack for two weather extremes!) I thought how nice it would have been to have one of those spinners!

We don't always have the trips like we took last time, but sometimes dragging those duffels is too hard work!

Jerseygirl

Costco sell such an item...made by Samsonite...sold under the Kirkland name. Great value...backed by Costco's no quibble guarantee.

Over Christmas my daughter's Heys suitcases were damaged during a flight. She emailed a copy of the receipts for the cases to Heys...within a few days she received new cases.

Duncan Roberts

You may find that means you will have some room in the case. We had to downsize suitcases recently because even just filling them (not packing tightly) they were 10-15lbs overweight. They aren't the lightest cases but they aren't that heavy either.

holly_1948

Useful web site:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Airline_baggage

Air Canada for me next time, bigger free baggage allowance and only very slightly more expensive than United from here.