Ideally want something that’ll last 20 years. Anything as good as Samsonite?

My beloved Samsonite has been like The Black Knight. Shrugging off attack after attack. It’s about 20 years old, has been around the world and back several times and still going.

One of the wheels has lost its outer coating. One of the ‘feet broke off somewhere between Florida and Heathrow this week, meaning it doesn’t stand up. Apart from that, still works.

The not standing up bit is a little annoying, so sadly I’m looking at replacements. It’s had a hard life, but excellent value for money over the years.

Not sure samsonite would last 20yrs, but Rimowa seems the be the default for top range. I’d quite like a big aluminum one for hold luggage, but the cost is just eye watering.

How about Pelican? If their luggage is anything like the hard cases that I’ve got 20yr seems achievable

Went with Delsey as it maximises the cabin luggage on the airlines I regularly fly.

Early days but it seems Ok.

Eastpak, lifetime warranty on the bags and they’re lovely to use.

Tumi if you have the £££

Not sure anything you can afford will last 20 years any more.
I have an old antler suitcase that has probably done 10 long haul and 20 or so short haul flights and is maybe 15 years old now.
If you buy soft sided bags won’t be cracked when they are dropped (or have stuff dropped on them).

If you’re looking for better than Samsonite then I’d go Rimowa but it could cost you the same as a fortnight on the Algarve.

My Antler carry on case has done lots and lots of travel and is bearing up well. I crave Rimowa, but the price is eye watering. So my suggestion is go to your nearest outlet mall and pick up whatever Samsonite/Antler or another good brand have on promotion.

Rimowa look scruffy quickly. You can buy them with miles if you’re on the Lufthansa ff scheme.

I went for Osprey for my ‘big bag, for longer trips. Seems excellent so far, it’s done about 8 long haul trips in a year and showing no signs of wear.

Soft/structured cases seem better to me.

Agree on the soft luggage. I’ve got some ortleib bags that have been flawless over 7 years? They don’t weigh much either.
https://www.ortlieb.com/en/Rack-Pack/
They’ve got some more luggage type options now too.

I have a Samsonite hard case thingie that has been abused across the world for the last 10 years.

It’s a little scuffed, only has two wheels and doesn’t have a TSA lock but it’s still going and none of those things are making me want to replace it yet.

We invested in a Rimowa set and it’s doing well after 12 years. The Salsa Air as opposed to the alu ones.

I balked at the price but they are great.

I’m massively impressed with our Antler luggage – rigid case.
For example, the wheels roll SOOO well I can move 2 large and 1 medium case by myself (2 handles in one hand). In fact my toddler pushed a medium case through Gatwick on Thurs!

Strong too..lots of signs of scrapes/rubber marking, and no damage..

Not cheap, but..buy cheap, buy twice etc…

DrP

Well my evoc world traveller is 3 years in and going strong. Used a lot and taken everywhere. Nice big solid wheels, good handle and pockets and light for the size. It will probably do 10 years and that will be fine for me.

yes. Samsonite are still good and will provide you great service, but they are no longer the only ‘go to’ brand. Other brands have caught up and are just as good if not better in my view. Plenty out there as good as Samsonte. My Vittorinox/swss army stuff is lasting very well after 5 years of regular travel. got kitted out when Tesco’s were doing them on a voucher scheme, got two big suitcases for family hols, a medium sized one and a small aircraft baggage bin friendly one for work travel duties, and a laptop bag for daily duties.

All has proved to be very robust and lasted very well. My laptop bag is now starting to look a bit tatty and one of the zips has failed so will be replaced soon I think but easily fit for purpose and doesn’t look too flashy. I really don’t get flashy looking luggage – its just screaming out ‘break into me and knick stuff’ when travelling thorough, dodgy airports.

The only downside to the Vitorinox stuff is that it is quite common. Obviously alot of people shop at Tesco’s, so you will need to add some identifying features.

I really like the look of Thule stuff. I know it will be top end quality but the design of their gear is just brilliant. Some really well thought out features – they’ve caught the more established luggage companies out napping on that front. Expensive, but worth it as you know it will last forever.

debenhams often have tripp cases on discount, thats where we bought ours. soft sides but we go away a few times each year and theyre still perfectly fine. we always make sure weve got the towels and clothes on the outside so anything electrical/valuable is protected, havent felt the need to splash out on rigid, supertough cases.

went for bright flowery colours just so theyre easily identified on a conveyor full of black cases, havent found anyone else with the same colours on any of our flights so far 🙂

weve also wrapped different coloured gaffer tape around the handles just to be doubly sure.

Our Samsonite cases are well over 20 years old and show not signs giving up. I honestly can’t see me buying replacements!. We got them in an unusual colour which is a great idea when you need to get them of the conveyor!… I got them from Cheshire oaks outlet shop so they were quite cheap as well!

I’ve been using Samsonite for years but my newest one broke after six months and getting a replacement part from Samsonite was a nightmare. They did come good in the end after going down the Twitter route, but it was more hassle than I’d like.

Many people at work now seem to use Tripp, not because they’re particularly well made, but because of the lifetime warranty offered by Debenhams (or is it John Lewis? Dunno).

Yep, Thule does look good.

Ideally want something that’ll last 20 years

Might be worth clarifying exactly what sort of use you expect it to get in 20yrs… There are probably a few people on here who compress the average person’s 20yrs of travel into much shorter timescales.

I’m not one for checking bags in so can’t offer a direct recommendation for hold baggage. I have a Delsey hard case that’s 20yrs old and still fully functional, but I haven’t used it for 15yrs, so it probably doesn’t count 🙂

However, agreed with comments above that some Samsonite stuff isn’t as good as it used to be.

Fi. House of Fraser are doing 3 for 2 on luggage incl Samsonite if any use. Just got a couple of cases with a hardshell Samsonite cabin case for free. Have absolutely zero knowledge of posh cases but these seem ok.

Please don’t buy one of the 4 wheeled “spinner” cases that roll around busses and trains. 🙄

Nothing is made as solid as those old samsonites any more. I bought a soft Tripp from Debenhams for £30 in the sale. The last one lasted 4 years of 8 flights a month.

My old samsonite plastic suitcase may be bulletproof and still perfectly usable 20-odd years on, but it weighs a ton so you often weight out before you fill it (or rather the wife and kids fill it), and the Vittorinox soft suitcases i’ve now go have got probably getting on for twice the volume and I can fill them and still be within the 20kg weight limit.

My wife uses Antler. Commuted weekly Lon-New by train or plane for several years*. Bags lasted well and what’s more, when she had any problems* they were replaced free of charge under the lifetime warranty. I think in the last 10 years we have claimed a softbag and a small suitcase – no questions asked.

One was replaced when the wheels wore away – they were designed for airports not London streets.

Might be worth clarifying exactly what sort of use you expect it to get in 20yrs… There are probably a few people on here who compress the average person’s 20yrs of travel into much shorter timescales.

Very good point, couple of short hauls a year over 20 years is about 18 months for me at the moment with work.
There isn’t much point in investing big cash in something that spends 49 weeks of the year under the bed.

What sort of travelling are you doing?

Personally I don’t like suitcases, they’re big to store and heavy. I found when travelling for work that the more I did it, the less I took. One carry on was plenty for nearly all trips.

Generally the more robust they are they heavier they are. If I have to carry more then it’s a holdall, I prefer them

Young family overseas holiday at xmas, will be using north face base camp holdalls – easier to put into a rental car too!

I wouldn’t bother spending any more than Samaonite – Rimowa etc. screams ‘I’ve got loads of money’, which isn’t always what you want.
I had a Tumi carry on, bought cheap in the US, the zip broke after 3/4 years of hard use, cost to repair was…….£150; I bough a Samsonite instead!
As already said, the four wheel things are a nightmare, they’re always trying to run downhill and the wheels seem to be a weak point.

What ever you do don’t, like a colleague of mine, spend £245 on a Ted Baker suitcase. First trip the zip was forced open and contents stolen. Second trip case “lost”. I tried not to laugh but failed.

Eastpak

Always taken the view that whatever you buy will get damaged and look tatty after a few trips anyway so buy cheapish and accept that you will have to replace every few years.
Always fancied some of the Samsonite stuff but think it would break my heart to buy a shiny high performance case only for it to look tatty after a couple of trips.

I have an old Nike wheeled travel bag similar to the one in the link but was only about £30 from their clearance outlet. it has compartments for shoes, wet kit etc and detachable bag for your dirty kit which comes in handy when travelling. Despite the airlines best attempts to destroy it is still survives.

Nike Travel Bag

Similar case by Adidas

I have both Eastpak and Samsonite soft cases for hand luggage (and often checked in) that ive lugged to pretty much every corner of the planet over the last decade with work – i make 30-40 international long haul flights each year. Where others have failed, they’ve carried on going strong. There often stuffed to the gunnels, sometimes i look and think theres no way the zip will hold…sure enough they keep on going, where others have fallen by the wayside. You get what you pay for and all that.