If you love to travel, then you know as well as I do that nothing is as important to your peace of mind like having a good luggage set. I recently found out how valuable my high end luggage set was when it got lost for several weeks by the airline (who I will never fly with again). After calling the airline and confirming with them that I was not in fact named Rocco and didn't own a pair of green plaid pants, I was forced to use my old luggage for a trip I had that weekend.
The first thing I realized that I took for granted was my backpack with wheels, which I always pulled behind me without a second thought. The second thing I noticed was the weight of the luggage. It was heavy! Not only that, it offered little in the way of protection, as I was used to my hardsided luggage. Now I was forced to drag an old, heavy suitcase that was on wheels, but didn't have a handle. So I had to tie a piece of heavy duty string to pull it along. Well this of course didn't work out as I had hoped, so I had to carry it along with my normal backpack, all while trying to run and make my flight.
Needless to say, I started to really appreciate some of the recent innovations in travel luggage over the last decade. One of the biggest innovations is the very luggage I own, polycarbonate luggage. Not only is this luggage durable, it is also lightweight as well. The only drawback is that depending on the brand, this luggage can get quite expensive. However, I have found it is more than worth its weight in gold.
Some manufacturers do not use high quality materials in their production process, which is why you can see a several hundred dollar difference between certain polycarbonate brands. However, the major players that manufacturers polycarbonate luggage include:
Pixelcube by Samsonite, Zero Halliburton and Titan. My personal favorite is the Zero Halliburton brand, because they produce what I consider to be the most lightweight luggage around. Their product lines can be quite expensive, think about $1000 or more for a single upright, but they also have more reasonable models as well. This includes the Z-flex line, which is targeted towards the casual traveler.
After going through the experience of losing my Zero Halliburton luggage I now appreciate it more than ever.. Not only do I never have to worry about my possessions being damaged by careless bag handlers, but this luggage simply makes my traveling experience more enjoyable. You can't put a price on that, well actually they have, but in my opinion it is well worth a few hundred extra dollars of my hard earned money.
The first thing I realized that I took for granted was my backpack with wheels, which I always pulled behind me without a second thought. The second thing I noticed was the weight of the luggage. It was heavy! Not only that, it offered little in the way of protection, as I was used to my hardsided luggage. Now I was forced to drag an old, heavy suitcase that was on wheels, but didn't have a handle. So I had to tie a piece of heavy duty string to pull it along. Well this of course didn't work out as I had hoped, so I had to carry it along with my normal backpack, all while trying to run and make my flight.
Needless to say, I started to really appreciate some of the recent innovations in travel luggage over the last decade. One of the biggest innovations is the very luggage I own, polycarbonate luggage. Not only is this luggage durable, it is also lightweight as well. The only drawback is that depending on the brand, this luggage can get quite expensive. However, I have found it is more than worth its weight in gold.
Some manufacturers do not use high quality materials in their production process, which is why you can see a several hundred dollar difference between certain polycarbonate brands. However, the major players that manufacturers polycarbonate luggage include:
Pixelcube by Samsonite, Zero Halliburton and Titan. My personal favorite is the Zero Halliburton brand, because they produce what I consider to be the most lightweight luggage around. Their product lines can be quite expensive, think about $1000 or more for a single upright, but they also have more reasonable models as well. This includes the Z-flex line, which is targeted towards the casual traveler.
After going through the experience of losing my Zero Halliburton luggage I now appreciate it more than ever.. Not only do I never have to worry about my possessions being damaged by careless bag handlers, but this luggage simply makes my traveling experience more enjoyable. You can't put a price on that, well actually they have, but in my opinion it is well worth a few hundred extra dollars of my hard earned money.