Rick's luggage or travel pro or?

We have the 21" RS rolling bag and I swear by it. I had an earlier version for many years and the zipper finally wore out, but got another and am just as happy with this one. I have had this for about 5 years now and it still look brand new. No issues at all, and it gets used often.

I’ve had both brands and prefer Travelpro. RS bag starting looking thrashed/fraying sooner than the TP.

I have the RS rolling carry-on and really like it. Small enough to fit in overheads IF you don’t overpack, which is easy to do.

RS has a great warranty. The extension handle stopped retracting after a few years of light use and they replaced the suitcase. I didn’t expect them to do that. (Replacements are at RS’s discretion if your teen is hard on things.)

Which one weighs more empty? Edited to add that there’s a good Black Friday sale on Travel Pro on their website right now.

Everyone has their own preference, and your grandson may have already given you his, but after years of being a strong believer in my two-wheeled luggage (Eagle Creek, several different sizes), I finally purchased a four-wheeled roller bag and love it (I now have a couple of those, including a 21" travel pro, which is great for most of my purposes). So unless your grandson has already said he really wants a two-wheeled bag, think about four wheels. I don't have Rick's luggage, so can't compare it to Travel Pro.

And, making some assumptions about the strength of your grandson, he may be a little less focused on the weight of the bag than are some Rick Steves posters (me, for example).

RS weighs 6.5, Travelpro is 5.4. Travelpro is also an inch over approved airline size. That could be a problem.

Travel pro is definitely a problem on the discount European carriers (we checked ours for those short flights) but never been a problem on domestic or large international carriers. (Delta, BA, United etc)

What is your budget?
LLBean - Approach Rolling Gear Bag
How about a backpack for the teenager? Something around 32 - 35 liters.
I have a RS bag. However, airlines are getting stricter about size and weight. Backpacks weigh a lot less due to no wheels.

We have the travel pro max lite 5 roll aboard (22”) and have had no issues on Delta, American and Easy Jet; daughter has had no issues on TAPortugal or Easy Jet.

But I will be the first to admit, I think it may be a crap shoot on the budget airlines.

I have this Orvis luggage, and so far, love it! Depends on your price point.

https://www.orvis.com/product/trekkage-lt-adventure-40l-carry-on-roller-bag/3E0M.html

For your grandson? Rick Steves…bonus that it is on sale now. Anyway, that’s what we bought our grandson last year.
Full disclosure: Husband and I have TravelPro suitcases.

I really like 4 wheel hard sided bags so I have moved away from RS luggage.

So unless your grandson has already said he really wants a two-wheeled bag, think about four wheels.

I agree. I took my teenage grandson and younger granddaughter to London and Paris earlier this year and I bought them each a four-wheeled hard-side spinner carry-on before we went. They absolutely loved them. In fact my grandson kept looking over at the people who were pulling their two-wheel rollers behind them and said, "Ours is cooler." 😂 Please note: this is is not a dig at anyone using a two-wheeled roller bag. I know there are many people here that love theirs. I'm just saying at the teenager with me loved the ease that he could maneuver it through airports and through the towns and cities.

For what it's worth, I have the Travel Pro Max Lite 5 21" carry-on spinner and I love it. It's so light and easy to maneuver. I've had it for years and it's been so great. This is my second Travel Pro spinner. The first one (the Maxlite 4) I bought a while ago and eventually gave it to my daughter. She loves it and I got a new one for myself. It's only 5.4 lbs and that makes such a difference when you're traveling. I've also never had any problem using it as a carry-on even when I used some regional European airlines. That said I have not used EasyJet, but I've flown other regional airlines and never had a problem carrying it on.

I had written a reply last night but apparently it didn't go through. Grandson is 16 and strong enough to carry his suitcase. I thought about the backpack kind but he will have a backpack with him to carry his easily accessible stuff. I was leaning towards two wheels because his upcoming trip will have a lot of cobblestones. I really appreciate everyone's input and am amazed at how active this site is! Happy Thanksgiving to all.

We have the Travel Pro international carry on size two wheel and love it.

Be aware that the 2 wheelers have more internal volume due to their design. So you aree getting the space of a larger bag despite the smaller overall dimensions.

Also, they are much better at taking abuse from cobblestones and luggage carousels.

We had Travelpros for many years and they refused to die but they weighed 10 lbs empty. Currently have RS 20" 2-wheeled rollers which weigh closer to 6 lbs than the 6.5 listed, and seem to be well-made considering we're not the first owners. That said, they cost us around a third of new. Even on 20%-off sale these bags seem pricey. However the warranty surely counts for something!

That said I'm a grandparent and still carry a RS convertible as my main bag, with a Civita daypack as a personal item. Tbh I find rolling bags much more of a strain on my back, shoulders and wrists. If I were 16 I wouldn't even consider a rolling bag (actually I think when I was 16 there weren't any 😂)

I was leaning towards two wheels because his upcoming trip will have a lot of cobblestones.

I walk with a spinner over cobblestones lots of times and never have any problems. If it was ever too bad, I might pick it up and carry it. It's lightweight enough that I don't have to worry about it being too heavy. Either way, I wouldn't worry about cobblestones with regards to suitcases.

My spinner has traveled many a cobblestone street without difficulty.

Don’t rule out the backpack. He can place a small RS civita pack or a packing cube inside the backpack. This small bag can have stuff he needs for flight comfort. Then, after getting on airplane, just pull out the “packing cube” - toss the larger pack into the overhead bin. Then, place the small bag under his seat for easy access. Or, carry a fold-up packable daypack once at the destination.

There are a lot of benefits to a backpack. Teenagers are good at hauling them around.

Once again, Sun for the packing win!!!

(Happy thanks giving from me and my pinched pennies!!!)

I have the Travel Pro MaxLite International Size. I use it expanded on domestic flights. It has held up well.

Travel bags can easily be overstuffed making it too large to pass the carryon size limits even on US airlines. My trusty Away carryon hard sided bag cannot be overstuffed. And the spinner wheels are phenomenal. I’ve never had issues with cobblestones.