Desertbreh wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:31 pm
wap wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 12:24 pm
How do you define epic
? Mine is totally function over form. 30 years old. Over 2 dozen trips over the pond plus 3 decades of road trips, cruises, etc, and it still looks brand new, still waterproof, zippers still work flawlessly, nothing is torn, frayed, worn, etc. That's pretty epic in my book.
I'm flexible on the definition. I just haven't found luggage that I LOVE, so I await the infomercial.
Gonna type this out on my laptop then post the pics via crapa. So the first pic is my old school carry on, made by Andiamo, a company founded by a group of mountain climbers in California. Sadly, they went out of business several years ago. I bought this thing for $150 at a luggage store closeout sale in the spring of 1989. It was about half price which was pretty
back in the 80's. Built in the days before wheelies were a thing, the lack of rolling chassis and retractable handle makes for maximum interior volume. I have lived out of this thing for 7-10 day European trips, cruises, etc. I can fit a full suit in it easily along with a week's + worth of clothes. The secret weapon is the 2 large straps you can see. They're the same straps and buckles used by the Swedish military, or so said the 1980's brochure. All I know is the hardware is strong as fuck. Anyway, those 2 straps wrap around the bag and when cinched tight squeeze everything down and guarantee the bag will fit into the carry on dimension test thingie no matter how much I stuff it. Granted, the lack of rolling capability can sometimes be a pain, but I usually strap the handle to the wife's wheelie and pull both bags with mine hanging off of hers. This bag has been rained on while sitting on a tarmac and hung out the back of an open taxi trunk in the rain and my clothes remained dry. It's been to Europe over 2 dozen times in addition to many, many other trips in the last 3 decades and it does not show any wear, and I am not gentle with it.
The second, smaller bag is an over night bag by the same company, built in the same
manner with the same over-engineered straps, buckles, zippers, etc. I use this one for 1-3 day short trips, long weekends, etc. Not as old as the other bag, it's still 23 years old and also looks like I bought it yesterday.
I'll most likely never have to buy myself any luggage before I die unless they get stolen or burned in a fire or something. I also own a simple duffel bag, little toiletry kit that also goes with me on all my trips, and a full size suitcase that I've only used maybe 3-4 times since I hate to check any bags so it usually stays home.
These 2 bags are probably some of the best purchases I've ever made since even though they're 2 and 3 decades old they'll probably outlive me.