Customer Reviews

Samsonite Silhouette 11 29" Spinner

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I love this luggage. I have it in several sizes. This size is quite large but it still meets the requirements for check in luggage and does not cost anything additional due to size. It is expandable, making it more versatile. Have fewer things-close it up so it is smaller. Buy lots of stuff on the trip, let out the zipper and make it larger. It is very durable and nice looking.

A great surprise is the wheels. I had no idea how nice it would be to have wheels that turn completely around. It makes it 100 times easier to navigate--which is very essential for large pieces.

Another great thing is that this suitcase is made with lighter materials than most. That is advantageous in two ways-one it makes it more manageable and another is that it allows to you pack more things without having to pay the extra fee for overweight luggage with the airlines. I bought it because I liked the idea of it being more manageable and was happier with it when my friend and I went to the airport together. We had similar size luggage and packed for the same trip. Only she had to pay an extra $25 each way because of the weight of her luggage. This luggage started paying for itself on the long trips.

The telescoping handle works smoothly and is very convenient and easy to use. The smaller handles help you when you are lifting it.

I would highly recommend this to everyone.

I would really encourage you to buy luggage with spinner wheels. Once you try them I don't think you will settle for less.

This luggage is worth every penny.

I purchased the silhoutte 10 (the previous model to this) about 3 years ago and it hasn't really shown any wear and looks and works great. In preparation for an upcoming vacation, i went to purchase the silhouette 10 again (because we needed 1 more large piece) and discovered that it was no longer available and it has been replaced with this model. the biggest difference (other than the available colors) that i have figured out between the two models is that this newer one has the dupont nanotechnology that is suppose to make it more stain resistant. i haven't had this newer one long enough to comment as to if that is true, but my older one has never gotten a stain.

Also, just to note that with the other sizes in this series--between the 29 and 26 there is much more flexibilty with the 29 as you can put a lot more stuff in it and yet it is sill very manageable. If i had to choose just one of those sizes, i would choose the 29. I have the 26 as well and it is fine for shorter trips, but i find that i use the 29 much more often than the 26. Most of my trips are 9-16 days long. But even with a 7 day trip, i prefer the 29. Now, the difficulty comes if you have a smaller car trunk. In a nissan maximum, i could fit 2 of the 29" along with 1 26" but pretty much nothing else in the trunk. Many people have smaller trunks than that when it comes to cars. It is nice to have the 26 available to me if i am going on trips of 7 days or less, but i personally wouldn't be upset if i had to use the 29" for those trips.

As for the 22" and the 20"--supposedly the 22" is carry on luggage--however, it does not meet the carry on guidelines of all airlines so you could get stuck having to check it at the last minute and paying the extra charge to check it. Also, if you expand the 22" to put extra stuff in it, it will not fit as a carry on. The 20", on the other hand, should always be safe as a carry on with the current guidelines--even if you expand it with extra stuff. And, the capacity when expanded is just about the same as the capacity for the 22" non expanded.

A week after buying this I took it on a week-long trip from Vermont to San Diego, and it performed wonderfully. It's only an inch bigger than the case I had before, yet it held so much more I actually had to pack a few extra things just to make sure the more delicate items were padded adequately (which turned out to be a boon as I needed warmer clothes than I'd expected). Yet for as roomy as it was (without even using the expansion!) it glides so easily even when full that it feels like nothing at all. Those turning wheels make so much more of a difference than one would expect. The airlines had no trouble with it (and believe me, if Delta could have found a way to have trouble with it, they would have). And I didn't even use some of the extra pockets (though one internal waterproof pocket, which the description doesn't mention, proved ideal for packing bathing suits). Provided this holds up to repeated use, it's an ideal suitcase, and I look forward to putting it to the test (there's a trip to the UK coming up that should really give it a workout).

UPDATE: I have had no difficulties with checking this bag on flights to San Diego, Chicago, and to the UK. And it worked like a dream on all of them. Until... on a train in the UK, one of the feet snapped right off. It wasn't being gently set down but neither was it being treated more roughly than one would expect any luggage carousel to handle it. A small luggage shop in York tried to repair it but didn't have the right part; their repair only held up for part of a day's worth of use.

Getting it repaired officially is a complete nightmare. In the entire UK there is precisely one authorized repair center. Back in the US, the nearest one is about a three hour drive from me, and they think it'll take several weeks. The warranty makes no attempt to cover any of this, even shipping, so it will cost probably $100 to do a repair that amounts to setting four screws on a wheel that probably costs $10 or less. Samsonite's rules about parts are very strict, so no local luggage store is allowed to repair, or able to get parts, even if any of them wanted to do it (they don't).

I love the suitcase, but I will never buy Samsonite again.

I ordered 2 of these suitcases - 1 for myself & 1 for my 21-yr-old son. We are going to Europe for 3 weeks & needed something large enough to get us through & still be within TSA guidelines. They arrived very quickly - faster than I was told! They were packaged very well - no damage at all. The suitcases are extremely roomy & the spinner wheels are outstanding! You can pull with one hand...& the expandable handle is easy to use.

They came with TSA locks on each - so I didn't have to buy them..

This style seems very durable - as I had expected from Samsonite. Also, the zippers are very sturdy - I don't expect any issues with them...I went to the Samsonite store in the mall close to where I live & theirs cost about double the price I paid with Amazon. This is a great suitcase for a great price!

Can't wait to test them on our trip....

Thanks, Amazon!!!!

:o)

I purchased a Samsonite suitcase in August 2010 and took it on a trip to Europe.

On its second leg, one of the wheels broke off.

It took Samsonite 3 weeks to get back to me and then they told me they do not have spare parts to fix it.

They offered that I head over to the local agent and replace the case for the price I paid in the US. I found out that the prices in Europe are 2-3 times higher so I could never get the same suitcase I originally purchased to take my stuff back with me.

This is not what I expected from a leading brand that is known for a solid product and a solid warranty.

I have full trascript of the emails between me and Samsonite and am thinking of positing them. Any ideas where I could do so?

The Spinner 29 is one inch too large to meet baggage size requirement for domestic airline requirements. It's height, length, width measures in at 63". The maximum size is 62" to avoid additional charges which can cost more than the price of the luggage. Delta charges $175 for luggage measuring in from 63"-80". (check their web site where they obsure the fee as 175 USD for one way. I purchased two Spinner 29s and their going back. I don't want to gamble at the baggage check in counter.

I have owned two of these Samsonite Spinner suitcases. While they appear to be well made and well designed, let me warn you that they will become worthless after 18 months. I suspect the other reviewers have not reached this point yet and hence the plethora of good reviews. The wheels become so worn down that the suitcase tips over. This happened consistently on both suitcases that were purchased independently from different stores. The rest of the suitcase held up just fine.

I believe Samsonite has purposefully designed this product so that you are forced to buy a new one. Since the warranty expires, they cannot be held responsible for the supposed "wear and tear" to the wheels. I even looked for replacement wheels to no avail. $200 down the drain...

Word of advice, AVOID SPINNER SUITCASES FROM SAMSONITE.

On first trip to airport the pull tab on the zipper to the outside large pocket tore off. It was metal and we cannot understand what would have caused such a piece to break off .

I purchased this entire set of luggage two years ago and I used this size for a little over a year (I travel by plane about once per month) before I began having problems at the check-in counter. The way the airlines measure this bag, it is one inch too big (and that isn't even with it expanded) and they will charge you extra $ to check it. I happened to be traveling AirTran the first time it happened and their fee was an extra $49 (each way), so this bag cost me $100 more than checking the 26 inch version. If I had been on another airline, it could have cost me a lot more!

Also, I find that this bag is still partially empty when I've reached the 50lb weight limit, so the 26 inch is definitely the better choice.

Other than the size issue with the larger bag, I absolutely love this luggage and I am going to purchase two more of the 26 inch spinners.

This is not a cheap suitcase, so we expected durability, as with other Samsonite products we've used. But that hasn't been our experience. About a month ago we bought two of this model, and they received their baptism of fire on a 15-day road trip from San Antonio to several sites in Florida with a side trip to Memphis. Picking up our bags after the very first flight, we discovered that the main zipper of one bag had been badly mangled and could only be partly closed. And no, the bag hadn't been overfilled. Three days later, after the second flight, we found that the destruction of that bag's zipper was now complete. We're still on the road, depending on duct tape to keep the bag closed. Yes, I know, the damage wasn't spontaneous -- it was probably the result of mistreatment by baggage handlers. But surely such an expensive piece of luggage should at least be resistant to such predictable abuse. And no, even though airline employees almost certainly did the damage, the airlines take absolutely no responsibility. I hold them accountable -- but I also hold Samsonite accountable for manufacturing such a vulnerable product. I can't recommend it.

This luggage is so easy to move with the spinner wheels. It held up perfectly during a 16 day Ireland trip. It's roomy and user friendly. We'd like to add other pieces to our set.