I'm not looking to travel light...

April 4, 2012 4:56 PM

Suitcase recommendations. It needs to take a beating. It also needs to have 4 wheels.

The 4-wheel "spinner" thing is non-negotiable, unfortunately otherwise I'd probably go with a Pelican case. Can be hard or soft sided but can't bust a gut when it's loaded with anvils and dropped on the tarmac. 26" - 30" size. I don't expect it to last forever, but I'd like to get a few dozen flights out of it. (I know that durable + spinner is something of a contradiction, but walking around the airport I can see that some are obviously much better made than others.)

Specific models or just bands appreciated.

posted by Ookseer to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

I have the two wheel and smaller version of this larger (30 inch) four wheel Crumpler soft case. So I can't speak to the qualities of that exact model. However, I've had my case for about six months and I travel extensively (a few times a month). It has been heavily loaded, dragged on boats, planes, trains, up escalators, hauled along kilometres of sidewalk, dragged up stairs, checked in, carried on. It looks brand new and there are no signs of any wear, except some small scrapes on the plastic around the wheels. I got the black one, my colleague got the red one which shows the dirt a bit more.
posted by AnnaRat at 5:13 PM on April 4, 2012

I own and enjoy a Samsonite xSpace Spinner. Has taken a lickin' tickin' and all that.
posted by atomicstone at 6:01 PM on April 4, 2012

I adore my Victorinox Spectra. Amazingly easy to lug around, very light when empty, solid and dependable, and has kept my stuff very well protected (and, importantly, dry during those fall and winter trips to rainy/snowy places). I don't think I'll ever buy another brand of luggage.
posted by halogen at 7:19 PM on April 4, 2012

I own a (now discontinued line) Samsonite hard shell spinner. Love it to death. You can't overpack it because there is minimal give, but there is no wasted space inside the case.
posted by thebestsophist at 7:22 PM on April 4, 2012

Best answer: I travel every week (M-Th) with this (Victorinox - Avolve 26)

4 great wheels (not that those listed above are bad, but there are 4 wheeled suitcases that are awful). Soft sided which I personally find easier to really stuff when needed due to it's excellent, sturdy zippers. You can tell as soon as you handle it that the material is going to last "forever" like basically everything else Victorinox makes.
posted by Patbon at 7:31 AM on April 5, 2012

Sorry when I say "soft sided" I mean it's made of a fabric-type material, and that it's not the bulletproof stuff you find in the Spectra, for example. It still has reinforced sides, not like a duffle bag. Just clarifying in case I misunderstood the terminology.
posted by Patbon at 7:34 AM on April 5, 2012