Luggage Porn

A friend of mine says that she’s into luggage porn, which means she keeps the Levenger catalog in the bathroom.

Preparing for some upcoming trips, I was looking for a large suitcase, one that would hold everything I needed for a long trip. Normally, I carry a 22″ carryon and that’s it, but that’s not suitable for trips where you need business, formal, and tourist attire for an extended period.

I have two pieces of luggage, a Samsonite Silhouette series satchel, which is an older, slightly different model than the ones currently made. It was my first good piece of luggage, good enough that it’s spoiled me off the cheap stuff forever. After having it for four years, it looks new. All the zipper pulls are intact. However, the 26″ piece would have run $180, which was more than I’d prefer to spend.

The other piece I had, which is definitely better than the piece it replaced, is an L. L. Bean Carryall rolling pullman. I’ve had it about two years and all its zipper pulls have broken off because they were substandard. This annoys me greatly. Nevertheless, it’s a bright royal blue (sadly discontinued), so it’s easy to see on the luggage carousel. However, it has no interior organization at all. Oh, and it was $169. For that, I’d spend the extra and get the Samsonite, you know?

My mother asked me for some advice about luggage, and got some Skyway pieces in a discontinued line that’s better than the current offerings. So I couldn’t just buy a piece in that line.

After considering several other options, I finally settled for the Ricardo Del Mar 3100 for several reasons.

1. It comes in distinctive colors. When I did a luggage survey, 2/3 of all luggage was black. Of the remaining 1/3, 2/3 of those were some dark neutral shade of grey, green, or blue. I wanted something easy to see.
2. The bag has wonderful organization including a separately zippered suiter.
3. I didn’t want an expanding suitcase, because the expansion is commonly a point of failure.
4. It was at a price point I was more comfortable with. I bought it on sale.

So, all that said, the luggage inspector has pronounced it fit for duty.

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