The Case for Cheap Luggage

Well, I come from a split relationship. I agree, luggage is utilitarian, you should shop by weight, size, and features that matter (wheels, zippers, right kind of pockets, etc.). If a $10 bag does it, great! If I have to pay $200, then I would (but I have not). My wife on the other hand spends way too much time picking colors or fabric, maybe looking at a brand...I just help her control size.

You're right, of course, from a cost/benefit standpoint, its just a container. One of the best (and ugliest) daypacks I had was one I bought for $5 at a street vendor in Cincinnati. Used it for years. I traveled with a guy once, who used a plastic trash bag as his carryon (although it was a fashionable yellow).

There's just something about a good piece of luggage.

Back in 2001, my husband and I were at the flagship store of REI in Seattle. For some reason, they were giving away day packs from Salomon. (Made for snowboarders but the only difference was a way to attach your snowboard to the outside) I took one and made my husband take one. He was totally against this (just more "stuff") It turned out they were amazingly comfortable, durable and light. They have been our day bags on all 8 of our trips to Europe (36 weeks in all) and have been used on many days trips here at home. I still give my husband a hard time about almost passing up the day pack he has loved for 17 years. Free is a very good price!

With regard to "Back in 2001...", and "....Years ago, I purchased...", consider the fact that nothing seems to be made with the level of quality that was present years ago. Glad yours' have lasted so long. Just goes to reinforce the "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." school of thought. We recently sold some of the Rick Steves "Convertible" bags from the late 1990s and early 2000s that were still in great shape despite many, many trips. Only sold them due to physical problems when using backpack type bags.

Thanks to a recommendation by Lee from Colorado, I have used a Campmor Essential Carry-On for 4 one-month trips to Europe. Besides being only about $30, the chief virtue of this (frameless) bag IMHO is that it only weighs 1 pound, 12 ounces (or 4 ounces less if you cut away the backpack straps and just carry it, as I have done).

I love this bag because its size and light weight makes it easy to pack for a month and stay under--usually way under--an 8-kilo carry-on limit. it has also held up beautifully, still seems in basically new condition.

The bad news is that this model is presently unavailable from either Amazon or the Campmor site; I don't know if this is a temporary situation or not. But anyone who does not mind a soft bag that needs to be organized with packing cubes, and does not want to spend much, might try to locate one, or something like it.

Joel....the Essential Carry On is no longer manufactured. It was a great bag. Over the years they made the bag smaller to help with costs but eventually this well made bag cost just too much to keep its price point. And they felt that raising the price would hurt sales.

Frank, sic transit gloria mundi :-)

I'm another fan of cheap luggage, having had a sturdy, hard-sided Samsonite bag damaged in a very ugly way by an airline. I do check my bag, and I much prefer not having to worry about what it looks like (aesthetically) when it shows up on the luggage belt.

However, you need to be more careful about choosing a bag if you're not always going to carry it on. Or if it has wheels and you take long trips. It is a royal (and potentially costly) pain if wheels fail mid-trip while you're in a small European town. While I'm not convinced that all the features you get with a costly bag are really worth it from a functional standpoint, sturdy wheels provide significant extra value.

i once dated a woman named Gloria Mundi. And she had to take dramamine when she traveled. Did you know her too?

I got a $5 roller bag at our Habitat for Humanity thrift store in 2011. It has survived 3 European trips, 2 to New England, 1 to Hawaii, and a couple of dozen to Arizona and California. Still working o.k.

About the Essential Carryon bag -

And they felt that raising the price would hurt sales.

Sad. That bag at twice the price (2x $29,99) would still be a bargain. And how many similar bags can you even find at $60?

IMO, the strength of the Essential Carry-on bag was it's light weight - nearly regulation carry-on size and less than 2#. For me the negative was that it was too big for a light packer. They got the light weight by using lighter material. But that's the ultimate concept of a carry-on. You want a bag that is light, because minimum weight is your objective, and it's ok to be made of lightweight material because you don't give it to the gorillas. You keep it with you and can be sure it gets careful handling. About the only thing I would insist on is good zippers. But even good zippers are not so important if you don't over-pack and put a strain on the zippers.

I now have an eTech Weekender Jr. It's made of heavier material and weighs almost twice what the Essential Carry-on bag weighs. I bought it not for the heavier weight material; that was a negative. I bought it for the cinch straps and for the sternum strap, both features that the Essential Carry-on could have added for little extra cost.

Well, I don't know. My wife has a cheap rolling bag, purchased from a well-known travel author's online store, and I have a Briggs & Riley carryon rolling bag I bought with the proceeds from the time United baggage handlers destroyed my old TravelPro bag. The TravelPro basically arrived in the U.S. from France in a clear plastic body bag, along with most of the stuff I had packed in it. A local bag shop in my then-hometown was running a promotion on Briggs & Riley, so I took the plunge.

Lately, when we take short trips around Europe I've been using a backpack and she's been using the Briggs & Riley. It's just a nicer bag to use. More convenient, better thought-out, better constructed. But not cheap.

Choosing a bag is very personal. Our needs and wants may not be mutually exclusive. The reasons we choose a bag can be anything from size/weight to color to price to what name is on it.

Some people buy a bag because of the name value whether they know the brand or some celebrity has their name attached. They are either loyal to a particular brand or in love with the "celebrity" whose name is attached. They rarely look at anything else.

Some care only about price. They want the cheapest bag possible.

Some care ony about weight. They want the lightest bag possible and are usually willing to give up some features.

And others care only about a bag's looks.

The best thing to do is shop around. If you are actually going to a store, bring along a tape measure and portable travel scale. See if the bag's specs are the same as your measurements. (I have a keychain sized measuring tape that I almost always have with me.)

As for me, I have a list of things I want in a bag--meets most international carry on limits, lightweight, not a lot of extra pockets and zippers, comes in either black or gray, two wheels, and not too high priced. I also look at the construction of the bag to make sure the materials and workmanship are decent.

I was lucky and found a bag that fits all of the above. Unfortunately, it's not available in the U.S. I bought it last year in the UK after my "celebrity" name bag broke two weeks into an extended trip.