To read the full details need to be a member/subscriber, but at least can read the overview.
The highest price does not always mean the best quality
Top four in their tests
Samsonite Outline Pro Carry-On Spinner
Price: $189.90
Made By Design (Target) Hardside 20" Carry-On Spinner Suitcase
Price: $90.00
TravelPro Maxlite 5 Expandable Carry-On Hardside Spinner
Price: $144.49
Amazon Basics 21-Inch Hardside Spinn
Price: $110.05
Happy shopping
Thanks, Joe. I thought the overview was interesting in that the $800 Tumi didn't perform well.
The current and back issues of Consumer Reports are available online if you have Apple News+. Unfortunately, Joe's luggage article appears to be in CR's member-only newsletter, not the current issue, so it's not included.
Couple of years ago, Rolling Stone (!) reviewed some travel products and listed amazon's basic hardshell 21" spinner among their winners. It was a cool $60 in 2020.
Pre-pandemic i stopped at a Tumi store while visiting an Apple store nearby. Here is one company selling technologically superb products with great support. Tumi, well not so much. I looked at a hard sided spinner made of a very light polycarbonate. Light it was. I could push a side in with a modest effort. $800 !!. Mediocre warranty (you pay to ship). I’m a bit of a luggage snob only because we have Briggs & Riley bags which are old, been beaten pretty badly and are still in great shape. But Tumi IMHO has always been about the brand cachet. Now they are owned by Samsonite.
My TravelPro Maxlite 5 NON-Expandable European Carry-On (an inch smaller) made its maiden voyage to Dubai and Jordan for 3 weeks in April and I love it. I wanted small but in retrospect, the expandable might be a little more versatile (but again I was looking for smaller). However I really liked how it moved and packed and was happy. Also it was a little cheaper than the price above.
You can't just go by CR...you have too look at all the dimensions and weights:
Samsonite: 22 x 14 x 9 6 lbs
Travelpro: discontinued in hardshell
Made by Design: 21.75 x 14.25 x 9 8.7 lbs
Amazon Basics: 21.65 x 14.96 x 10 7.34 lbs.
