Traveling Soon? Tips for buying good luggage!

After six weeks of frequent airline travel (six airline trips in six weeks) I’ve been in a lot of airports and seen a lot of luggage.  I worked for Irv’s Luggage for over five years and now have a new job and travel quite a bit. Over the last six weeks of traveling I acquired an entirely new perspective on airline travel and more importantly for Irv’s Luggage, a brand new perspective on luggage. I guess that I have now been upgraded to a frequent flyer, as the flight attendants now know my name.  Traveling with good luggage can make a huge difference in your trip and a huge difference in how you feel about traveling.

Three things to consider when purchasing new luggage.

First, how do you travel? Do you check your bag or are you more of a carry-on luggage person? For me, I really like a carry-on, cabin bag. I had to wait this past Sunday, while one of my traveling companions  waited for her large, wheeled checked bag came off the airline carousel.  The wait wasn’t terrible, but how do you find your bag among the sea of black bags?  Impossible. Plus, no matter how pristine the luggage is when  you check it, it comes out smashed, dirty and often something is damaged or scratched.  So whenever I can, I carry my luggage on board. My choice for the best carry on luggage? Easy: Briggs and Riley 21 inch wheeled carry on bag. Durable, easy to wheel and made of ballistic nylon, this rugged carry on is my first choice for a carry on bag.  And, good news, right now the Briggs & Riley Baseline 21″ Carry On Expandable Upright Chocolate – Discontinued  is on sale at 35% off.

Second, warranty. Let’s face it, luggage gets damaged…frequently. Look for luggage that offers a lifetime warranty, or a ‘no questions asked’ type of warranty. Briggs & Riley was one of the original ‘lifetime luggage warranty’ companies, and now many luggage manufacturers offer either lifetime warranty or a ten year warranty.  Hartmann Luggage, Samsonite, Victorinox, High Sierra and even Eagle Creek offer wonderful warranties.  And, should your luggage get damaged… first, if the airline damaged the bag, then stop at the ticket counter immediately and file a claim.  Second, Irv’s Luggage offers luggage repair on virtually every major brand. So, if you need luggage repair for wheels, zippers, handles, or seams, bring it to Irv’s Luggage for all your luggage repairs – no matter what the damage is.

Last, thought… right now spinner luggage is hugely popular (vs. the typical two – wheeled luggage).  My preference of spinner luggage verses the traditional wheeled luggage: spinner luggage.  Spinner luggage is easier to wheel in an airport, down the center aisle of the airplane and virtually everywhere. And, if your luggage gets damaged, and you lose a wheel, you still have three others!  I love my new spinner luggage. If you want something other than Briggs (see paragraph above) I am also a huge fan of the new Samsonite Hyperspace Spinner 21.5″ Expandable Upright (SM 47166). Offered in black, teal and pink, this is rugged, spinner carryon luggage is spacious, durable and lightweight.

Back on the road again on Friday to lovely Memphis. This trip, my Samsonite Hyperspace will be traveling with me!

 

 

Valentines Day Gifts for Him – Briefcases for Men, Carry On Bags for Men

Valentine’s Day is almost here, have you figured out what gift to get that terrific husband or boyfriend of yours?  Come on, it is a two way street, although they won’t admit it, they too look forward to feeling special on Valentine’s Day; but remember, no flowers for the guys either ;). (See blog dtd 1/31/12)

Read on to find some unique briefcases for men, leather wallets and a golf bag any guy would love.

The 2012 top selling men’s gifts for Valentine’s Day are:

1. Kenneth Cole Leather Briefcases – Sharp, stylish leather briefcases at very affordable prices from Kenneth Cole; including the very popular Show Business, Mind Your Own Business, Long Story and Flappy Gilmore styles!

2. Victorinox Swiss Army Men’s Leather Wallets  –  The Altius 3.0 from Victorinox Swiss Army Luggage is one of our top selling wallet collections and offers many different styles and designs including the best selling Barcelona and Athens wallets! The Antwerp Card Case has been a huge hit too!

3. Briggs & Riley Chocolate Luggage and Briefcase Collection – Briggs & Riley is the favorite brand of road warriors the world over, both for their fabulous luggage and briefcase lines too!  Check out these terrific chocolate brown Baseline and @Work pieces on closeout for that special business man in your life!

 

4. Johnston & Murphy Briefcases  –Quality high-end leather pieces with 150 years of  craftsmanship and know-how behind them;  Johnston & Murphy briefcases, American-made leather goods at their finest!

 

5. Hartmann Luggage and Wallets – The oldest luggage manufacturer in America, the Hartmann Luggage name is synonymous with reliability, superiority and excellence.  To really let your Valentine know you care, go with a Hartmann!!!

 

6. Athalon Golf Bags – The perfect gift for the golfer in your life who is also a big football fan, the Athalon NFL Golf Trunks and the NFL Wheeled Golf Cover Bags are sure to be a winner!
7. Crown Edition by Heys USA BioCase – The BioCase Collection is a technological innovation for luggage that puts biometric technology to work for you. Biometric technology requires fingerprint technology in order for you to access your bags. Whether you travel for business or pleasure, you can relax knowing that your valuables and important documents are safely secured in your BioCase. Biocase is made of 100% German Polycarbonate, and is nearly indestructible.

 

Luggage Trends in 2011

Continuing with my series of “Staff Picks”……. this week I interviewed Irv’s Luggage’ top luggage buyer, Phil.  Phil has been in the luggage business for over 30 years, and he too definitely has his opinions on travel luggage. In my interview however, Phil chose not to talk about his “favorite picks”; instead, he focused on the three trends he sees emerging in the luggage industry and the current buying philosophies of the 2011 consumer:  1) the rise of larger lightweight luggage 2) purchasing luggage with a lifetime warranty and 3) the rise of spinner luggage.

As Phil explained, while carry-on bags continue to be big sellers, he has seen a shift from purchasing moderate (24” – 25”) sized bags to larger (28” – 30”) bags.  This is primarily due to the changes in fees being charged by the airlines (many are now charging high fees for a second bag) and the lightweight technology that allows consumers to fit much more into one larger bag while staying under the 50 lb weight limit; making  these “larger bags” a much better choice for today’s travelers.  The larger 28” bags previously weighing 17 lbs. are now weighing-in at 7-9 lbs lighter.  Thus the benefits of carrying a 24” or 25” bag no longer exists. Three top lightweight lines Phil recommends are Antler Luggage – New Size Zero, Samsonite L.I.F.T and High Sierra Elevate collections.

The second trend in luggage buying Phil sees is consumers buying higher quality / higher priced luggage that comes with a lifetime warranty.  Purchasing one of the four brands that will repair or replace your luggage no matter what the cause (Briggs & Riley, Boyt Luggage, Hartmann and Victorinox) is a long term buying philosophy /savings approach many more consumers are now making.  They spend more money up front but will now own the same bag for a lifetime, with a huge savings on the back-end of their purchase!

Finally, while Phil notes the huge marketing campaigns promoting spinner luggage and the rising trend of purchasing spinner luggage, he does not necessarily agree that spinners are the  best option for today’s luggage consumer.  While the spinners offer some benefit with greater ease of travel, he does not feel the maneuverability advantage outweighs the hassles that accompany 4 wheeled spinner’s higher rate of repair (with two additional wheels and the wheels sticking out further on the bag, the bags are damaged more easily).  In Phil’s opinion you are better off with the traditional 2 wheeled pieces.

In conclusion, this is very interesting and useful information for today’s luggage consumer, thanks Phil….. but  I’m still kind of curious to know which are your favorites. I guess there is always next week’s blog…..until then…… happy trails from Irv’s Luggage!!