I am looking for comments specific to RS bags. What are you favorites, and how is the quality?
I see RS has a sale going on for luggage. My 10-year-old Ricardo spinner is still perfectly fine, if a bit beat-up, but I can see needing to replace it in the near future. It weighs about 6.5 lbs so it's already pretty light, and the RS bags seem comparable.
TIA
My wife and I swear by the RS Ravenna bags. The hard-shell exterior is a very nice touch, as well as the expandability feature.
I'm happy with the Rolling Carry-on that I've used for several trips. The wheels have held up good pulling the bag over cobblestones and up and down Venice bridges (pull going up, push going down). I carry on outbound then expand and check for the flight home.
There have been lots of posts about luggage if you want to look at previous debates. This search shows one year's worth, some relevant, some not:
https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=carry+on+luggage&utf8=%E2%9C%93
Thanks horsewoofie - I did search the forum, but didn't see anything specific to only RS bags. Lots of recommendation threads, and some include RS luggage - I'm a little lazy lol and didn't want to wade through 500 comments to find something about RS bags :) I'd love for the forum to get some updated thread formats and fine-tuned search function, but that's another topic for another time...
I love my old, beat up, repaired RS 22” bag. This size is hard to find anymore so I keep having it repaired. We also recently bought the RS 21” carry on with wheels. It seems much smaller than 21” but will give it a try. We need the have wheels.
I love my RS spinner! It is well thought out with conventional features and is sized correctly, at least for US airlines. The quality Iis great.
I have a 2 wheeled bag of another brand that I love, but can't use it anymore because of the pressure it puts on my dicey shoulder when rolling long distances.
Do any of you have a second bag or backpack that you slide over the handle on a RS spinner? Any issues or concerns?
I had a "global brand" spinner (non RS) that failed on a recent trip due to the handle breaking. Seems it couldn't take the combination of rough streets, stairs and a heavy camera bag. Spinners are great in the airport with all 4 wheels touching. I worry about them on cobblestone streets and when they must be tilted onto two wheels.
JKH, you hit all the points for why I do not take a spinner to Europe. Much prefer the two, larger wheels rolling bag.
I’m in Spain with RS now and I can say that 90% of the luggage items I’ve seen while getting here and on the ground are spinners. Myself, I prefer the larger wheels on my old North Face two wheeler but that’s just me. There are four or six RS bags of varying vintages in my group; everyone is quite happy with whichever bag they have and often recommend them as good values compared to other brands. The most popular brand of spinner I have seen seems to be TravelPro.
Well, all I can say is that I've been traveling with a spinner (not RS, but a TravelPro) for years and have never had a problem taking the bag on cobblestone streets - or anyplace else for that matter. And it's a breeze to take through the airport - it's much less pressure on my arm. With a roller bag, I kept having to switch back and forth from one arm to the next.
I have two RS bags, the Rolling Carry-On and the Spinner Carry-On. They have both made multiple trips and have held up well. For physical reasons I switched to the spinner and my husband went from many trips of using the Convertible Carry-On to the rolling bag. Our first trip last year I had to pack a larger bag to deliver some things in Germany, so my husband used the RS spinner. There was no way I was getting that away from him afterwards so I had to find a new spinner. I kept waiting for the RS spinner to go on sale because I love how it’s laid out, but it didn’t happen. I ended up getting a Travel Pro on sale for considerably less and it’s nice, but I do miss the layout of the RS bag.
Thanks Andrea - my current bag is a spinner. I've never had any issues with it on cobblestones, bricks, stair, etc, so would consider another spinner. Glad to know the RS versions of spinner and 2-wheelers are holding up well for everyone!
I have the RS 21" rolling carryon. We had another one, the 22", for about 14 years until the zipper gave up, so last year had to replace it. I know this bag isn't overly exciting, but I love it. It is not that heavy, expands nicely, and does well on cobblestones. I can fit so much into it when I need;) The quality is there as well.
Last month I brought some cookware home in it. My trip was only overnight, so I had minimal toiletries, a quick change of clothes and a nightgown. I still managed to pack a soup pot, a large 12" skillet with a long handle, a large saucepan and all the lids. The handle from the skillet really pushed the limits and it was a bit tough to get the zipper just right to close, but I did it. When I unpacked, the bag looked no worse for the wear.
@ Andrea - I'm curious what it is about the layout of the RS spinner that you prefer over the Travel Pro spinner? Thanks!
@mln, it just seems to hold a bit more. That said, I do like my TravelPro and I got it on sale at Macy’s for considerably less than a full price RS spinner. I just wish it had come in another color than black.
Ah, thank you Andrea, layout as in how it fits things, that makes sense. I have two bags that are slightly different length/width and therefore fit things differently. But they are both well worn and so I’m following this thread with interest and contemplating while the RS bags are on sale.
PS maybe you can pull a spinner bag switcheroo with your husband and he won’t notice ;)
Not likely, one is gray and one black. 😆
On our RS Southern Italy tour in 2019--we had to walk long distances from where the bus dropped us off to the various hotels. We had two people with Spinner luggage break two of the of their four wheels. One broke because it was being wheeled as a 2-wheeler piece of luggage and the other broke in hilly Matera.
I LOVE Spinner luggage but will NOT bring it to Europe due to cobblestones and distances needed to drag it to various hotels.
I have had the RS 21" for 15 years. It has been to Europe probably 2 dozen times. Checked home very full probably 10. Gate checked domestically dozens of times. The wheels are wearing down some but still work great. I recently had to do a small repair this year where the zipper came loose from the fabric, but hoping to get many more years.
I did buy a replacement during this spring's sale. My kids now carry their own and I wanted a second.
I also have the 22" from almost 20 years ago, but it is well over current airline dimensions. We do use it still when travelling by car.
