What happens when you have 5 suitcases that don’t have
wheels? You buy more luggage, that's what you do.
We have several large bags that have lots of mileage on them
and throughout our trips have lost most, if not all of their wheels. And, what good is a suitcase with just one
wheel?
So, the husband and I had been looking. . . not shopping per
say, but looking for some suitcases that might replace our others.
There was a second hand charity auction that had a black
suitcase up for bid and we placed a low bid.
No luck. Not too disappointed as it the bag didn't meet all of the criteria. . . see below.
We looked on-line and at a variety of stores.
Then, on Sunday, when we were roaming around a large
metropolitan area while the boy and his Uncle John took in a minor league
baseball game, we came across a bag that we liked.
First criteria—the wheels had to be built into the body of
the bag. We had learned through
experience that the farther out the wheels stick, the more likely they are to
get broken when you check your bag.
Interestingly, there were others that were checking out the
four wheeled bags that could spin 360° so I made sure our conversation about
broken wheels got a bit louder. It
worked. A lady made her way over with a
suitcase in hand and asked what we were saying about the wheels. We explained about wheels being broken when checking
bags. I also showed her how the wheels
extending from a carry-on bag could keep her bag from fitting in the overhead
bin.
Second criteria—the bag had to be lightweight. Again, our new suitcase met the
criteria. The husband did some testing
with a suitcase in each hand and compared the weights. The one we picked was lighter. And, lightweight was in the title of the bag. If I only get 50 pounds, I don’t want 10 of
those pounds going to the bag itself.
Third criteria—a double barred handle. Single barred handles can break easily. Again, the bag we picked had a double
bar. It even had a zipper compartment
for the handle when it retracted back into the bag and was not in use.
Fourth criteria—it had to be any color other than
black. This is more of a personal choice
due to the number of black bags that can be found on luggage carousels. Currently, we have pink, red, and purple
luggage just to give you an idea of color preference. Our new bag is a moss green/gray/red
combo. The husband said we had to jazz
it up a bit. I’m not sure what he has in
mind, but I did hear him mention ribbons.
Fifth criteria—it had to be sturdy. We double checked the zippers, hinges,
etc. Then, we took the bag for a test drive around the store while we continued to shop to test out durability and maneuverability.
Six criteria—it had to not be expensive. Conde
Nast Traveler’s July 2012 edition included a special report about why 26
million airline bags go missing each year.
The article also included advice about luggage, etc. One tip was to never pay more than $150 for a
bag. Well, that would be our top
end! Our new suitcase was less than $80.
As soon as we paid for it and took it to the car I said to
the husband, “You know what I want to do now don’t you?” He replied, “Pack?” That was exactly right!
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