Customer Reviews

Samsonite Silhouette 11 Hardside 26" Spinner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My husband is extremely picky when it comes to his luggage... it must be a hardsided spinner from Samsonite. His 29" has been just too large so we chose this piece. The TSA combination lock is fantastic and we like that it came with a suiter. Hubby is happy. As always Amazon shipping was extremely efficient, we have Amazon Prime so with free shipping and an extra $3.99 it was here in one day... in time for our trip to Maui. I absolutely love not having to go to retail store for these kind of purchases, it was $75 less than the luggage shop I called. Thanks Amazon!

I bought the 29" a year ago to carry my long fin that wouldn't fit in this 26". By the time I had my limit of 50-lbs in it, it was still only half full. I use this 26" now for all my travel needs that don't include the fins. My 50-lbs of "stuff" still don't fill it.

My last set of Samsonite Silhouette Hardside I bought twenty five years ago are in service, but with only two wheels they don't compare with these new spinners for ease of rolling along.

Bought this Samsonite Silhoette 11 Hardside 26" spinner specifically for my overseas business trips because I was tired of the contents of my luggage being pulvarized by the time I arrived to my destination. I knew the hardside aspect would keep my items protected over the longhaul. I paid extra for the grey color, to make it easier to identify my baggage during the baggage claiming time. I turned by bag in looking all prestine in Knoxville, but by the time I arrived in Taiwan, it was all scratched and scuffed up. I'm guessing this may be molded in-color, and then a topcoat of paint is applied to give it the shine, but that top coat of paint is not very forgiveable to handling. My trip did include going to Korea before back to the States, and now the suitcase looks like it has been around the world 50 times. I gave it 4 stars because IT DID protect everything inside without cracking/breaking (even though I had a hard time getting the right latch to stay latched - it kept popping out even if I sat on the bag while doing it). I would pick the black and just decorate it up with stickers or something for better identification instead of paying extra for the color, as it does not stand up to the harsh airline industry. My $230 bag looks like crap now, and is less than a month old.

I've been using this suitcase for about two months now for several plane rides, and for the most part I really enjoy it. I can use it either as a spinner or a pull-behind, though spinner seems to be the easiest. The handle extends to a nice height for me, since I'm 6' 8", long enough to set me laptop bag on top which I haven't been able to do before, and the suitcase seems plenty sturdy and lightweight.

My only complaint is the surface of the suitcase - looks real nice when it comes in the box, and I knew it would eventually get damages, but after my first plane trip with it, it already looked like I'd been using it for 10 years with scratches, scuff, even paint transfer on it.

After using our old suitcases many times, they finally bit the dust on a China trip. We bought 2 Silhuette 11 suitcases for our trip to Scandinavia. They worked out very well. I like the hard side (after sending a zippered case back) much better. The clasp works very well and the configuration inside also works well.

One side has a net closure and the other has crisscross straps that snap nicely. I used the suit bag on the strap side in order to hold things in nicely.

The wheels are also very nice. Our old suitcases had 2 large wheels with telescoping handle. this one has 4 nice wheels with telescoping handle and it can be used as a 2 wheeler (outside) or 4 wheeler in the airport.

It is big enough(but not too big) to hold the 50 lb limit in the US or the 40 LB in Europe.

I recommend it highly.

Tom

I travel a lot and have used the suitcase for several trips over the last month or so. The negative - the suitcase has quite a few scratches etc from the travel. Would be nice to have a surface that didn't show the wear quite as much. The positive - the wheels! This suitcase rolls very nicely. The suitcase is balanced and well made. Noticeable difference in build quality from cheaper cases. Inside is nicely done - all in all a quality case. Though it looks the worse for the wear, it is holding up nicely.

I purchased this luggage based on previous Samsonite luggage experience. I have always loved the quality of Samsonite products. This luggage was a little different. I have had traveled with this luggage 3 times. One of the wheels started to wobble severely after the very first trip. The airlines employees are very rough with equipment so I chalked this up to be simply that. Last week I took my 3rd flight and when I received my luggage, the handle to pull the luggage was stuck. I called Samsonite only to be referred to a repair center by an automated attendant. I simply wanted to speak to someone to find out if there was something I could do as I only was in town for a few days. I found no physical person to speak with. I ended up calling a Samsonite store located by my home. They said I could bring it back, but since I purchased it from Amazon, I might have to pay for shipping to have it repaired. I have only had this luggage for 3 weeks.

What I like is that the luggage is light and moves across smooth floors very well. Surfaces like textured cement or door sills cause the luggage to suddenly stall its movement. All in all, if the wheels were made stronger and the handle problem did not happen, I would have been very happy to give this product a 5 star.

NEW UPDATE (4/13/2011)

I took apart the handle system and found that the rod in the button had come loose. I fixed it and put it back together. The luggage now is working great. I still feel a little frustration that I received a piece of luggage that failed so quickly after purchasing.

I've been on two round trips with this luggage piece so far:

Pluses: Excellent wheels - using two or four is a nice bonus; lockable - has the new TSA approved lock, they still rummage thru your stuff but no one else can; ample size - this is not a carry on, it's one size up, but that means it can swallow a week of my stuff; semi-hard exterior - it still gets beat up, but has held up well so far.

Minuses: already pretty badly scratched due to TLC by TSA and bag handlers (that bag fee sure helps...not!); no wet/dirty compartment - the one zippered pouch that is isolated from the rest of the interior is very small.

All in all, 4 out of 5...

Great piece of luggage. Large enough to hold a week of clothes. Arrives with a nice shiny finish, which the luggage handlers at the airport have successfully scratched up. Only change would be to make the built-in combination lock easier to read.

The suitcase looks great. I almost bought the next size up, now I am glad I didn't. This one holds plenty without the added size and weight of it's big brother It weighs in at just under 50 lbs when full of heavy clothing. You want to say under 50 lbs to avoid extra fees at the airport... . Anyway, I actually got compliments on how nice my suitcase was from the baggage handlers! Let's hope it lasts so I don't have to retract my glowing review.