We need new luggage. We don’t travel often, so we don’t need to pay a lot. Nevertheless, the last suitcase I bought survived less than a dozen trips over the years. That doesn’t really impress me. What’s a good, middle-of-the-road brand–something where the price is still reasonable but the bags will last a decent time? I don’t think I want any of these hard-cased plastic or aluminum ones I see in a lot of the stores.
Also, what nifty features should I be looking for? We’d like something that’ll connect together for ease of carrying, but what else have you found that’s really handy when travelling?
Don’t really have any brand advice as such, I don’t really know what they sell here as I haven’t exactly been on the hunt for luggage here.
However, depending on the type of travelling you, clever features includes coat hangers, separate compartment for clothes that needs to be hung up, some bags have removable compartments for toiletries etc, special shoe compartments and what not. There’s a lot of fancy luggage around these days, so I guess it really comes down to shopping around a bit and comparing features, cost etc, just like anything else. I would say if you’re getting a wheeled luggage which I presume you will, is to try and check the quality of the wheels and how they’re stuck on. On some luggages the wheels will fold in to protect them while the bag is not being pulled which seems like a good way of keeping them out of harms way. That’s the one thing that’s killed the most bags for me, broken wheels.
Samsonite rocks. We have some American Touristers that have held up pretty well, and a set of two locally-made suitcases (semihard shell) that we got at Carrefour about seven years ago. The local ones are ugly (great for NOT getting stolen/taken by mistake), practically indestructible, and cost less than NT6000 altogether!
I would look for something light though, as travelling to/from Asia means no more than 20-25kg in your bag, unless you’re going to North America. Problem is that light and long lasting doesn’t really mix all that well…
Bump. I’m wondering if anyone has good tips about suitcase purchasing in Taipei: in particular, a brand or store that hits a good midpoint between quality and price. I suppose I’m looking for a set of two suitcases, one of carry-on size (although I’d probably usually check it), and one somewhat larger.
Yes, I know suitcases are everywhere, but that’s part of why I’m confused. From what I’ve seen, suitcases seem to suffer a common problem in Taiwan: cheap crap or insanely priced branded goods, with little in between.
(My current suitcase cost about USD50 in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, and the pull-out handle broke off on its third checked flight.)
EDIT: Wow. Roughly USD600 on Amazon (so probably USD1000/NTD30,000 here?) for their carry-on bag; but they did win Wirecutter’s review of best carry on luggage. It looks great, but may be outside of my price range.
I bought some Eminent suitcases last year and have been quite satisfied with them. It’s a local brand that’s built well IMO and not outrageously expensive. There’s a store on Zhongxiao E. Rd. just east of SYS Memorial.
Made in Taiwan is probably better then Made in China. Here I can buy all sorts of name brands. Tommy Hilfiger, etc etc. All the luggage we see here at dept stores are fairly priced but all made in China and all have the same quality. They don’t really last that long. Some only one trip ! You can buy great luggage at ROSS for less then 100 bucks (original price 2 times that) of all the major brands. All made in China and all have the same quality. Workable. But i’d not say they will last a decade. They will last you a few trips usually.
I can tell most luggage from Taiwan is well made, you don’t need an expensive brand. I think they OEM for western brands from here. Those things get bashed around by the airline companies anyways.
A good piece of luggage needs to withstand extended wear and tear, but of course you need to pay for this durability. Tumi is a popular choice because they’re found EVERYWHERE and position themselves as premium. I did some research and talked to friends before pulling the trigger. Tumi popped up because the design is good, but a friend had to have his taken in the replace a broken zipper twice. Not a big deal since it’s covered under their 5-year warranty, but a nuisance nonetheless.
When I asked the lady in the luggage shop which brand she’d recommend, she introduced me to Briggs and Riley. I asked her how they compare to Tumi and she said that the biggest difference is the lifetime warranty that Briggs and Riley provides. That pretty much sold me on it right there.
The design is classic and understated. I like that it’s premium but doesn’t have to stand up and wave a flag saying so.
Maybe take a look to see what sort of reviews the luggage you’re looking for gets? If you travel a lot and an extended warranty isn’t important, then keep in the back of your mind that you’ll likely need to replace your luggage again in 3-4 years.
Look out for ‘lifetime warranties’ more often than not it’s just a misleading way of re-wording the warranty period you’d get anyway. For the vast majority of consumer products the lifetime in question isn’t your lifetime, which is what most people assume it means, but the intended use lifetime of the product as determined by the manufacturer. I work in the bicycle industry and our frames have a 5 year warranty, while many competitor brands who advertise lifetime warranty in some cases only actually cover the bike for 3 years or at best 5, same as we do. It’s a deliberately misleading but effective purchase motivator since most people will never use the warranty anyway.
I travel a lot for work and totally recommend TUMI for quality and durability, I haven’t used it but their service is supposed to be great too.
[quote=“plasmatron”]Look out for ‘lifetime warranties’ more often than not it’s just a misleading way of re-wording the warranty period you’d get anyway. For the vast majority of consumer products the lifetime in question isn’t your lifetime, which is what most people assume it means, but the intended use lifetime of the product as determined by the manufacturer. I work in the bicycle industry and our frames have a 5 year warranty, while many competitor brands who advertise lifetime warranty in some cases only actually cover the bike for 3 years or at best 5, same as we do. It’s a deliberately misleading but effective purchase motivator since most people will never use the warranty anyway.
I travel a lot for work and totally recommend TUMI for quality and durability, I haven’t used it but their service is supposed to be great too.[/quote]
Yeah, “limited lifetime warranty” is one those marketing terms that can really mislead people. FWIW, Briggs and Riley claim that theirs is the best in the industry (briggs-riley.com/simple-as-t … -warranty/).
I don’t doubt that Tumi has great quality and durability. I based my choice off of what happened to my friend and that they’re a mass market brand. I tend go niche when it comes to premium, simply because when brands manufacture in large quantities (especially across different contract manufacturers) it’s not always easy to keep the quality consistent. I think that’s why some issues popped with the zipper on my friend’s luggage. Glad that hasn’t happened to you!
I’ve read a lot of good things about Red Oxx. Seems that’s what real on-the-road warriors use and I’ve seen videos where they pack a ton of stuff in there. Not particularly stylish for business travel but unbeatable from a functionality point of view.
Don’t get the obsession with branded luggage in a country such as Taiwan which makes the stuff here, then they ship it off, some company puts a logo on it, imports it back again and charges 4X.
Did you ever see what they do to these bags off loading ramps straight onto the tarmac…I’ve seen 6 to 10 foot drops. Something gets busted within a couple of years if you are a frequent traveler. I’d rather my stuff isn’t so gleaming new and luxury looking either spells trouble in some places.
My zipper handle broke and now I use a key ring handle to pull the zipper. I’m a genius, the girls love me and the guys want to be me. Zipper key ring dude.
Maybe I can make it for you guys as the ‘Keyzipper Brand’ and sell it you for 4X, what d’ye think? It’s got KeytasticTM Technology inbuilt, no more struggling with stubby fingers trying to get to the handle, and you can see it right in front of you hanging there, saves valuable seconds locating those old zipper handles. Comes in 5 different colors.
