Samsonite is garbage; warranty is a joke; what are well made alternatives?

"PTRAVEL" wrote:

You can't go wrong with Tumi, but unfortunately, it's not cheap. However,
I've found that, rather than replacing bags every year or two, since I
switched to Tumi, I haven't had to replace anything so, long term, I'm
ahead.

Your Tumi will not last as long as your crappy Samsonite. Tuni screams
to the world, "I'm expensive! Steal me!"

(Alan Gore) wrote in message ...
"PTRAVEL" wrote:

You can't go wrong with Tumi, but unfortunately, it's not cheap. However,
I've found that, rather than replacing bags every year or two, since I
switched to Tumi, I haven't had to replace anything so, long term, I'm
ahead.

Your Tumi will not last as long as your crappy Samsonite.

Not even close. Our Tumi replaced Samsonsite, and is still going
strong. I'm going to guess you've never actually owned a piece.

Tuni screams
to the world, "I'm expensive! Steal me!"

And I'm going to guess I know why. Your post screams to the world, "I
don't have money and I'm jealous." I've never had a piece of luggage,
Tumi or otherwise, stolen.

"PTRAVEL" wrote in message
om...
(Alan Gore) wrote in message
...
"PTRAVEL" wrote:

You can't go wrong with Tumi, but unfortunately, it's not cheap.
However,
I've found that, rather than replacing bags every year or two, since I
switched to Tumi, I haven't had to replace anything so, long term, I'm
ahead.

Your Tumi will not last as long as your crappy Samsonite.

Not even close. Our Tumi replaced Samsonsite, and is still going
strong. I'm going to guess you've never actually owned a piece.

Tuni screams
to the world, "I'm expensive! Steal me!"

And I'm going to guess I know why. Your post screams to the world, "I
don't have money and I'm jealous." I've never had a piece of luggage,
Tumi or otherwise, stolen.

i didn't get that from alan's message. i think if a thief who works the
airport is successful he/she would know jackpot when he/she sees it. you're
lucky you haven't gotten luggage stolen yet. but you probably keep a pretty
good eye on it.

i own a samsonite, and i must admit i was a little disappointed in it. i've
only had it for a couple years, for 2 big trips, it already looks like it's
10 years old. but that's cool. now people on my travels will think i am a
bigtime traveler.
~mioi

"mioi" wrote in message
. com...
"PTRAVEL" wrote in message
om...
(Alan Gore) wrote in message
...
"PTRAVEL" wrote:

You can't go wrong with Tumi, but unfortunately, it's not cheap.
However,
I've found that, rather than replacing bags every year or two, since
I
switched to Tumi, I haven't had to replace anything so, long term,
I'm
ahead.

Your Tumi will not last as long as your crappy Samsonite.

Not even close. Our Tumi replaced Samsonsite, and is still going
strong. I'm going to guess you've never actually owned a piece.

Tuni screams
to the world, "I'm expensive! Steal me!"

And I'm going to guess I know why. Your post screams to the world, "I
don't have money and I'm jealous." I've never had a piece of luggage,
Tumi or otherwise, stolen.

i didn't get that from alan's message. i think if a thief who works the
airport is successful he/she would know jackpot when he/she sees it.
you're
lucky you haven't gotten luggage stolen yet. but you probably keep a
pretty
good eye on it.

I don't know what Alan intended in his message, but equating Tumi to "crappy
Samsonite" and arguing that Tumi (which isn't cheap, but is hardly the most
expensive luggage out there) is an invitation to theft is, at best, simply
silly.

I have a lot of Tumi bags, some of it carry-on, some of it checked luggage.
Carryon bags should always be closely watched -- thieves aren't going to
pass over a "crappy Samsonite" carryon because it is Samsonite. As for
checked bag theft, that it an opportunity crime -- thieves don't stake out
Tumi (or anything else), but simply take advantage of an unguarded moment to
grab what they can.

I've been frequent flying for about 20 years and have never had any bag,
Tumi or otherwise, stolen. I don't think it's luck. My wife likes a
certain kind of designer bag (I don't recall the brand off-hand) that costs
far more than my Tumi luggage. She's never had a problem with baggage
theft, either.

The simple fact is that Tumi makes a superior bag, extremely rugged,
well-designed with a lot of convenience features, and with what is,
essentially, a lifetime warranty. The $400 or so that my carryon cost six
years ago has been easily amortized by not having to spend $100 a year
replacing less expensive carryons as they wore out.


i own a samsonite, and i must admit i was a little disappointed in it.
i've
only had it for a couple years, for 2 big trips, it already looks like
it's
10 years old. but that's cool. now people on my travels will think i am a
bigtime traveler.
~mioi

"wheel" wrote in message
t...
I have a 12 year old large samsonite hardshell that has been everywhere
and is in good shape. I have a new large samsonite hardshell that has
been on three trips and is ruined. The difference is that the new
samsonite has a thin plastic latch "hook" where the old one was metal.
Unsurprisingly the new latches didn't take any stress at all and don't
hold the suitcase closed at all any more. What is surprising is that
Samsonite considers this "wear and tear". What a joke, with a 10 year
warranty. The repair person said that samsonite makes trash now, and
that they've been told about these latches, and they just don't care.

So I'm not going to repair it and I sure as heck am never going to buy
anything make by samsonite again. I'd like some advice from people here,
what they use and like and which companies will honor warranties. It
doesn't have to be hard shell but I'd like recommondations for hard and
soft. I'd prefer not to spend an arm and a leg if possible.

It's dissappointing if this is a general drop in quality.

But I have had excellent service from Samsonite (bought mostly in Europe). I
have a soft wheely case, their top heavy-duty model when I bought it nearly
10 years ago. It is looking battered after perhaps 150+ trips mostly as
checked airline baggage in Asia, Australia & Europe (over 50 flights in one
year). The wheels wore out after a few years (I tend to walk with it far
further than I think most people would). Samsonite sent me a new set free,
no postal charge and did not ask about warranties. It is now on its 3rd or
4th set of free wheels. The bag is near the end of its life, simply worn
out, but I have no complaints about its durability and Samsonite's
no-questions replacement service (in Europe) has been excellent.
My Samsonite hardcase is also about 10 years old, used for maybe 20 long
trips, and looks like it will go for ever despite being rather scarred. It
has plastic catches but very heavy duty. Several other bags over the years
have been good. Some other brands of suitcase (Marks and Spencer, Delsey?)
were far weaker and died after a couple of years.

The only unsatisfactory Samsonite bag I have bought is a smaller one I
bought a couple of years agao and use as a weekender and as a large
briefcase. It has plastic strap clips which are badly designed so that the
clips can open and the strap can detach from the bag too easily, so I have
dropped it a few times - worrying with a PC inside. This does seem to
confirm your opinion of declining standards. Still, I have had such great
products in the past that I will still look at Samsonite again for my next
bags but will check the catches etc more carefully.

Yeah, it's good if you're still making it work with samsonite. Two local
luggage shops I've talked to recently say that while they have to carry
samsonite because people ask for it, they always recommend other
options. They've been over and over the bad latches issues etc with the
samsonite reps, for years, and the only changes have been in the wrong
direction. All the money goes into advertising.

In article m,
says...

"wheel" wrote in message
t...
I have a 12 year old large samsonite hardshell that has been everywhere
and is in good shape. I have a new large samsonite hardshell that has
been on three trips and is ruined. The difference is that the new
samsonite has a thin plastic latch "hook" where the old one was metal.
Unsurprisingly the new latches didn't take any stress at all and don't
hold the suitcase closed at all any more. What is surprising is that
Samsonite considers this "wear and tear". What a joke, with a 10 year
warranty. The repair person said that samsonite makes trash now, and
that they've been told about these latches, and they just don't care.

So I'm not going to repair it and I sure as heck am never going to buy
anything make by samsonite again. I'd like some advice from people here,
what they use and like and which companies will honor warranties. It
doesn't have to be hard shell but I'd like recommondations for hard and
soft. I'd prefer not to spend an arm and a leg if possible.

It's dissappointing if this is a general drop in quality.

But I have had excellent service from Samsonite (bought mostly in Europe). I
have a soft wheely case, their top heavy-duty model when I bought it nearly
10 years ago. It is looking battered after perhaps 150+ trips mostly as
checked airline baggage in Asia, Australia & Europe (over 50 flights in one
year). The wheels wore out after a few years (I tend to walk with it far
further than I think most people would). Samsonite sent me a new set free,
no postal charge and did not ask about warranties. It is now on its 3rd or
4th set of free wheels. The bag is near the end of its life, simply worn
out, but I have no complaints about its durability and Samsonite's
no-questions replacement service (in Europe) has been excellent.
My Samsonite hardcase is also about 10 years old, used for maybe 20 long
trips, and looks like it will go for ever despite being rather scarred. It
has plastic catches but very heavy duty. Several other bags over the years
have been good. Some other brands of suitcase (Marks and Spencer, Delsey?)
were far weaker and died after a couple of years.

The only unsatisfactory Samsonite bag I have bought is a smaller one I
bought a couple of years agao and use as a weekender and as a large
briefcase. It has plastic strap clips which are badly designed so that the
clips can open and the strap can detach from the bag too easily, so I have
dropped it a few times - worrying with a PC inside. This does seem to
confirm your opinion of declining standards. Still, I have had such great
products in the past that I will still look at Samsonite again for my next
bags but will check the catches etc more carefully.