30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Undone by flimsy Handle, December 7, 2009
This review is from: American Tourister Spinner (Apparel)
I was initially quite impressed with this suitcase. A vivid blue, it is easy to spot on the luggage carousel. The spinning wheels are amazing and the suitcase traveled effortlessly through the airport. It is quite light and deceptively compact. It holds a considerable amount of luggage and has convenient pockets.
Unfortunately, I can only give it two stars as the flimsy metal handle broke on its maiden voyage (a flight from Colorado to New York). This was a major inconvenience as the suitcase was fully packed and heavy and I landed at a small airport with minimal amenities (such as carts). This may be a product flaw as I have a larger version which did the exact same thing. However that occurred after two or three years of very heavy use and some extremely rough handling in airports. This is not cheap luggage and I was quite annoyed. So despite a number of positive attributes, I cannot recommend this product.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The American Tourister Spinner - Great Luggage For General Travel Needs, December 4, 2008
This review is from: American Tourister Spinner (Apparel)
The
American Tourister Spinner is a great bag and has become the piece of luggage that I use the most for general travel. For the features and durability offered by this bag, it's a great product. The 360 degree spinning wheels let you pull this in any direction without having to tip it over. While this is too large to carry on, if you are planning on checking bags anyway this one is almost the perfect size to get most of your key stuff inside for a two week trip.
STORAGE AND FEATURES
The interior has the standard main compartment as well as a mesh cargo area in the lid. The front of the bag has extra storage compartments to allow you to store a few items. There is also a small area to expand the capacity with a zipper, though based upon the size of this bag that is almost always expanded on mine.
The large main storage compartment is really the key to this bag. It is missing some extras like a garment storage feature many more expensive bags have started to add, even to this style of luggage. Still, that's a trade off I will take for a bigger interior.
The outside is made of a high durability fabric which has held up to me taking it all over. But even though it's not a hard shell case, it feels very sturdy and has to have some kind of reinforcement. The result is that the shell of the bag is very thin and allows you to use almost the fully capacity of the bag's internal area for storage.
The only drawback to this bag is that it does tend to tip over when fully loaded. Even though you can't see it clearly in the picture, the bag is slightly wider at the base than at the top. It's still not enough to fully load this guy without the risk of it tipping forward, so I tend to leave the front of the bag propped up against the wall when it's fully loaded.
PROS:
+ Perfect capacity for checked baggage
+ Spinner wheels rotate 360 degrees and let you move the bag in any direction with ease
+ Nice quality fabric is reinforced (I think) for light durability
+ Nice extra storage compartments
+ Large interior storage capacity
+ The metal handle can be extended to short or long lengths
+ The cloth handles are strong enough to lift it even when full
CONS:
- Steep price - this isn't budget luggage
- Does tip forward when top heavy
- Missing some higher end extras such as "Garment storage"
- When overstuffed, the zipper can stick a little
Conclusion
This is a good durable bag for general travel needs. This will fit a nice amount of stuff so that, hopefully, this will be the only bag you need for trips up to a few weeks. Then again, some people pack more than others. Despite the cloth fabric, this bag has held up well for me and is very durable. Just try to load the heavier items in the base and watch out for it tipping forward.
Enjoy!
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sturdy bag, September 6, 2009
This review is from: American Tourister Spinner (Apparel)
I have two of these, they have made the trip to Australia and back four times so far. The airline handlers have not managed to destroy them yet. I have been thru many luggage sets and individual bags, expensive, and economical, and these have held up as good or better than the ones I paid more for. I would recommend to anyone who travels much, get the bags with Spinner wheels, I am a 5'2" woman in her 50s and I can roll in 2 of these with no problem.
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