need Spinner pep talk, instructions and success stories

I have been traveling with that spinner for several years now to Europe (2x per year for a month+ at a time) and other domestic trips. I love its fluid mobility, it’s so easy on my wrist. I push it slightly ahead and along side of me indoors, on transportation and sidewalks. I pull it on 2 wheels behind me on cobblestone and other really bumpy surfaces. I can easily carry it up flights of stairs as my packed weight is similar to yours. I’ve never had a wheel break on this spinner or other ones I’ve owned. The only thing you need to be aware of is to keep a hand on it or wedge it in with your body on transportation as it can roll away from you. A basic set of packing cubes fits nicely inside. I think you’ll love it.

Oh, Mona, thanks! That is so helpful and will keep my stress level down.

I love my spinner. And I am not kind to it. I expect it to handle all kinds of things. It has to plop down curbs and off busses. I am past 2 years with it and wheels are fine. I wheel it on all 4 wheels when I can and switch to pulling it on 2 if I have to. Usually on real cobblestones I have to pull on 2 wheels but it handles it fine. And it really saves my shoulders when I CAN spin. It moves in and out of spaces so much more easily than my old 2 wheeler.

The only problem I have with it is making it wheel straight if I add the weight of my backpack to it. But I travel with more weight in both it and my backpack than you.

The only thing it has not been able to handle are the streets of round river rocks (Girokastra and Mostar). But then I have lots of trouble walking those myself. Those and stairs are the only places I carry it.

Edit: I find it simple to switch from pushing to pulling as needed, without having to stop to do so. I just keep an eye on where I am so I don’t trip someone walking behind me. One stronger pull gets it back to pushing position.

If your wheel broke...What did you do?

Saw a person whose spinner had broken a wheel and she just used it like a two wheeler. Might not work in all cases, but it did for her.

Wray, like the others, I love my spinner. I have had a Travel Pro MaxLite spinner for over 10 years. First I had the MaxLite 4 for 7+ years, then gave it to my daughter in 2022 and bought the MaxLite5 as a gift to myself for my first post-Covid trip to Germany. :-)

They are awesome, and, like TexasTravelMom, I am not kind to my spinner. I beat it up considerably. I've taken mine through many rough pavements, up and down flights of concrete stairs in small railroad stations, and it is still working great. I've never had a broken wheel or any problem like that. I will continue to always use spinners because they are just SO EASY to roll along!

You've gotten great reviews from others, I too have a Travel Pro MaxLite spinner. What really surprised me was how much I liked being able to let go of the handle in an airport, train station. whatever, as I reached into my shoulder bag for something, and it kept on going! Hope you have a great trip, well done on packing light!

I am not really much help since I use a 2 wheel bag, but in all my travels the last few years I can’t help but notice how many folks are traveling with spinners now. I’ve never seen one hobbled by 1 less wheel either. I do notice people pulling them like a 2 wheel bag out on the street but then they switch back to 4 wheels inside buildings.

I have the same thoughts on hard sided bags, more and more are being bought. In fact if you need a new 2 wheel soft bag, you better buy one sooner rather than later!

You’ll do great, Wray. And congrats on keeping the weight so low! What are you using as a personal item? Happy travels!

I bought a spinner at TJMaxx and brought it to France. Right out the door of my apartment in the southern part of France the trouble started: sand from construction, curbs, plush hallway carpet in the hotel, small-stone sidewalks. As soon as we got home, I ordered a new two-wheeled Travel Pro and use the four-wheel suitcase for storing files. That's my experience.

No experience with spinners but....

It's been a while since I did this tour but we stayed at the Best Western Plus Hotel d'Angleterre. I think the bus was able to get pretty close. It's located at kind of a triangle with 2 streets branching off and I think the drivers were able to pull right up on one side. (We had 2 drivers...a husband and wife team!).

Hello Wray, I echo a lot of what Mona has to say. I got my spinner about 10 years ago, after a back injury that made it difficult for me to pull a 2-wheeler behind me all the time. I am right-handed, so I keep my spinner to my right and a little to the front of me on smooth surfaces. I really love how the spinners work on escalators. On cobblestones,/rough surfaces I either (1) pull it behind me on two wheels, (2) lift it up and carry it over short distances, or (3) turn around and pull it towards me for a particularly big rut/bump. Keeping it as light as possible really helps - 15 lbs is a good weight to handle. I have been using my 20" Wenger Neolite for 10+ years now, at least twice a year, and the wheels have not broken off. And I usually check it in, just so that I have to handle it as little as possible. I also love how the spinners have a higher profile, so I don't worry/get grossed out as much, if I have to pull it over wet or dirty surfaces. Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you all! I'm feeling more confident now. It's so light that I had a sudden panic that it might not hold up at the most inopportune time.

Lyndash, I am using a Sherpani Soleil (I think), which is a tote, crossbody and backpack in one. I am really looking forward to being able to just sit it on top of my spinner for most of the time.

Pam, Thanks for the information regarding the hotel/bus situation in Bourges, which I realize might have changed. EDIT: Duh, I have the list. I just looked. I'll be at the same hotel. Great.

I also appreciate what has been indicated about easily reaching into the personal item at TSA or where ever while it sits high on the spinner!

I’ve got two spinners, a super-lightweight Delsey and a super-heavy Briggs&Riley. The four wheels and brackets on each have held up and not broken or bent. Each has gone over multiple cracks in the sidewalks, rolled over rough surfaces in crosswalks and up and down curbs when the sidewalks got narrow, and through gravel and grit. I haven’t just thumped them down staircases and train steps like I routinely did with my 2-wheelers over decades, and I have tended to lift them over some trickier bits (Mind the Gap, 5 flights of stairs, etc.), but nothing’s loose or failing to spin or roll. I figure that the few times I’ve had to check the suitcases gave been harder on them the when I’ve been able to carry on, but they’re not being coddled. I’m not abusing them, either, but the spinners are more durable than one might think at first.

Beware, though, on a bus! On a hill, going either up or down, and if there’s any swaying or shifting of the bus, hang on to the spinner bag. But also brace yourself, so it doesn’t pull you down. A bus leaving the train station in Siena, standing in the back doorwell because all seats were occupied, was torture. Also in Italy, a bus heading down a steep hill from Cortona resulted in the bag rocketing down the aisle, and slamming into the dashboard at the front. It didn’t wobble or fall over, so stable that it was as if it was on rails, and the wheels so smooth that it rolled fast. But it has no brakes, so you have to be its anchor. That’s harder in an unstable environment.

It is fantastic getting it down the narrow aisle on a plane, but rolling it on and off an escalator is a bit more difficult. Frankly, durability isn’t the biggest concern about a spinner suitcase.

Thanks, Cyn. I'll be sure to hold onto it or attach it to me. Maybe I can invent something...

I said this:

The spinner will weigh about 15 lbs and my personal item, 5 or 6 lbs...

Well, now that I am packed fully for my trip, I don't want to leave an incorrect impression. My Maxlite spinner is just slightly less than 20 lbs with my raincoat in it. It's 18 lbs without it. My personal item is 7 lbs.

I've been through it over and over again to reduce weight. I can't find anything to remove. At one point, I removed all my compact dslr related items as well as the camera. That's two pounds. It's back in. Every time I walked by the camera, it called me. I just love it too much. Packed up, I walked down our long carpeted hallways in our building, rolls great, but even better on hard surfaces. OK, I just wanted to set the record straight. :). I'd really like to reduce it 2 more lbs, but I don't think I'll find it.

Thanks for all you help!

I think that weight is fine.

When I am traveling with a rolly suitcase, I often stick a medium-sized (to me) bungee cord with a kind of decent-sized hook which I use when I am on a metro or a bus .....

Kim, an excellent idea! I think I will use the shoulder strap and a hero clip.

Have a great trip and give us a spinner evaluation when you return, please.

I agree with Kim, I think you will manage with that weight and yes, you should take your camera with you!

I love HeroClips! They are so functional.

Also. . . the Maxlite spinner will roll right out of the luggage bay on a train. Make sure you place it on its side.

And. . . my backpack has a trolley sleeve, which is fantastic for attaching it to the spinner. However, the whole thing can tip over. I can mitigate this risk somewhat by distributing the weight carefully in the spinner, with heavy things on the bottom.

Mona, I will do a review.

Pam, I should have known you’d like hero clips. (We think packing very similarly.)

Currer, I have tried to pack heavier items at the bottom. My PI fits tightly on the handles, but when I need it on there briefly, I rigged a looser system. Fingers crossed it doesn’t tip!

WRay I think you should take whatever you want, whatever you need and whatever will make you happy.

I've been using a spinner for over six years. Yes, sometimes they tip. So I either keep a finger on the handle to stop it from toppling over or I lean it against something. And sometimes I forget and over it goes.

It should be my biggest problem in life.

It should be my biggest problem in life.

Frank, LOL, so true. And you are right, my camera will make me happy.

My concern is the weight this year. While I can lift it into the overhead bin, etc. ; from recent events, I feel I need to watch it for a few more months...and sometimes don't do some things I know I can, which likely makes no sense to people who don't know me personally.