The Vine: January 7, 2015
Submitted by Sarah D. Bunting on January 7, 2015 – 12:57 PM20 Comments
I would love to ask the readers how I can find luggage that fits the following annoying criteria:
- sturdy so I don’t have to replace it for at least a decade
- vegan (I’d consider leather if the pieces were used)
- one wheeled garment bag, one big wheeled suitcase, one small wheeled suitcase; wheels are critical on at least the first two
- the three pieces don’t have to match exactly or be from the same set, but should at least coordinate
- preferably not available only in black so I can actually recognize it on the carousel
- but also not only Disney characters or something — I do a lot of business travel and it needs to be relatively sophisticated in appearance
- cheap is obviously preferred, but I’m willing to pay quite a bit for something that fits all of the above
Google has failed me repeatedly. It’s the vegan part that’s really tripping me up here. Same problem with vegan shoes: not all people who aren’t into cow skin necessarily want olive-green canvas moccasins and woven-hemp carryalls.
Thanks – the readers have helped me before on watches and books, and I’m confident!
Daisy
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I’d suggest two retailers and a website; my apologies if I’m missing the boat on the vegan components. I
Mandarina Duck has a lot of options, and most come in colors other than black (although I’ve had good luck with a bright luggage tag when I need to identify mine). Their material holds up extremely well – I have purses from 10+ years ago, and I am very hard on them. One option: http://www.mandarinaduck.com/us/shop/travel/14153VB308Q/WORK-BAG-WHEELED
LL Bean. I know we’ve got canvas/nylon totes from the dark ages that still hold up to the rigors of international travel. This set is, I think, vegan-appropriate, and in two colors besides black. http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/48311?feat=903-CL1&page=quickload-luggage-set.
Finally, fab.com. They have good sales on their items, and they carry good pieces that are bright and colorful but not too childish. Some are made of tarpaulins; some are hard-sided Japanese goodies. The caveat is that I’m not sure you’ll find a full set there.
Take a look at the Heys.com website. Tons of soft- and hard-sided options. I adore my Heys wheeled carry-on suitcase (the particular model I have is discontinued as I bought it years ago) — seriously, it is one of my favourite possessions. It’s a lovely turquoise colour so I can always find it on the carousel if I do check it. They’re a bit spendy but not outrageously so. There are tons of colours/designs, they are vegan (nylon or polycarbonate mostly), and they come with a 5- or 10-year warranty depending on the model. Mine is super tough, really well-made (*great* zippers), and I love the expandable feature (although mine’s too big for carry-on once it is expanded).
Oh, I recommend polycarbonate! Super lightweight hard sided luggage, comes in all sizes and colors, wheeled to your specs. Rimowa is the expensive brand, but I’ve found delightful pieces in Samsonite at deep discount with only a wee bit of googling. Lots of other brands in the world, as well. Mine’s gone around Europe with me with only minor scuffing.
What’s wrong with hemp? I LOVE HEMP.
That said, it sounds like a synthetic, like ripstop nylon, would work for you (I try to avoid plastics, but to each his own. Like I said, I love hemp.) I haven’t tried them myself, but I was recommended Best American Duffel: https://www.badbags.com/
I’d try eBags. They don’t have a vegan category but you can select fabric, hard-sided, manmade, and other relevant subcategories, and they have an amazing range.
For the luggage, look at Delsey (www.delsey.com). It seems most of their luggage is made of polycarbonate, so you may be able to get everything you need there. Lots and lots and lots of companies don’t yet put vegan in their search terms, because they’re not vegan on purpose, just by accident (cheaper to produce fake leather than real, fine by me).
For shoes, Lifestride (for work stuff) and J-41 (for sneakers and other athletic shoes) have tons of vegan options and are available at DSW.
Good luck!!
I’ve been using Kipling for a few years now and have been very happy. I’m not sure whether it’s necessarily vegan, but it’s definitely not leather. http://www.kipling-usa.com.
A friend of mine has a great-looking Tumi AND LOVES it. She refuses to check luggage and has taken that sucker all around the world. I don’t see her exact suitcase on the Tumi site, but they have plenty of non-leather ones to choose from (again, not vouching for the vegan-ness of the brand).
Seconding the Tumi recommendation. I bought a Tumi backpack 10 years ago and it still looks brand new. Tumi is very pricey though.
If you go hard case the vegan issue is resolved no? Also, you should totally go hard case luggage if you can afford it, especially if you check your bags.
+1 for Heys. I have a light-weight hard-sided set and adore it. Mine is emblazoned with a giant maple leaf on each piece, which makes it extremely visible on the carousel, and got tons of laughs from my work colleagues who frequently traveled with me (not to mention my tour group in Europe last year; as the only Canuck on the coach, there was no question of who the case – “THAT ONE WITH THE HONKIN’ BIG RED LEAF ON IT” – belonged to). The only thing missing is a wheeled garment bag, but perhaps Heys has one on its site.
Plus I love their packing cubes, which are made from recycled water bottles :D
I have Diane Von Furstenberg luggage. You can buy it on ebay, luggageguy, there’s a small amount on zappos.
I can vouch for it’s durability as I have taken my mine all over the world for the last 15 years. It’s a faux suede in grey and is easy to spot on the luggage carousel and still looks like new. Plus it looks good for the business traveler.
I bought used Wenger luggage at a thrift shop, and it’s done wonderfully for me for ten years. Wenger is one of two companies allowed to call themselves “Swiss Army,” Victornox being the other one. They are not vegan, since they have leather accents, but you did mention that being something you’d consider used. Since it’s older, it has a different shape than everything else on the carousel. It’s a true red.
When you do find your luggage, I’d suggest getting a coordinating laundry bag, to take with you. And you can make, or have bag, cloth bags to put your shoes in. Then nothing dirty touches the clean.
Quilts & More: Winter 2010 had a particularly good pattern, which I can not find online. Used copies of the magazine are available through Amazon and other places.
Good luck.
LL Bean makes luggage that is as sturdy as their backpacks. I use an older model of this http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62132?feat=506074-GN2&page=carryall-rolling-underseat-bag
I can fit it and a small purse under most airplane seats.
I 2nd Dayna’s DVF luggage reccomendation. My luggage was a Christmas present from my father a few years back, really durable. And, it’s a classy black/white pattern that the airport gate agent even commented on how unique it was. I don’t know where you are located, but my Dad got it at TJ Maxx, and I know it was a good deal. I would suggest looking at TJ Maxx or Marshalls if you don’t need to buy online.
I’m a road warrior, and in my experience nothing cheap is going to last you a decade. I recommend Briggs & Riley because they have a lifetime warranty (which they really truly do honor) and will last you until you get sick of the pieces. http://www.briggs-riley.com/.
I hadn’t realized vegan luggage was so hard to find. None of my luggage has leather on it. Are there other components that may not be vegan that non-vegans may not realize are problematic?
So sorry for the long delay here, guys. I REALLY appreciate your responses. I’m in Chicago buried in piles of snow at seven below zero so I’m a little behind on life, but I appreciate all your suggestions and will begin perusing what you’ve recommended.
Thirding the DVF suggestion and the find it at TJ Maxx note, that’s where I got mine, it’s brown and pink with the DVF logo on it, not that I cared, but it is distinctive enough to find on the luggage pick up and it’s not leather and has no leather accents. It’s held up really well, I’ve had it for at least 10 years.
I don’t know if it qualifies as vegan, but Bric’s makes really high-quality nylon and ballistic nylon styles of their luggage in a variety of shapes and styles and colors, and my stepmom swears by it (she both works in fashion and travels CONSTANTLY). It’s normally pretty expensive, but you can often find it on super-deep sale at One King’s Lane and sometimes you can find some pieces at sierra trading post for even less.
I actually got a ballistic nylon rolling duffel in carry-on size from sierra trading post for about 80% off the normal list price just two months ago.
I’d actually recommend looking at sierra trading post generally – I also got a really good Dakine rolling duffel (not carry-on sized) that’s super sturdy. Again, can’t speak to its vegan-ness, but they have a lot of adventure-type luggage choices at super-deep discounts.
Tumi Tumi Tumi. My mom bought two Tumi bags in 1997 and used them hard for more than a decade, then gave them to me, and I have used them hard for eight years and they’re still going strong. I make regular international trips and no other luggage I’ve used has been remotely comparable in terms of quality and sturdiness compared to those two Tumi bags.
As for recognizing my black luggage on the carrousel, what I did was buy a good-sized piece of colorful printed fabric, cut it into strips about 1.5 inches by 10 inches, and tie one onto each handle (that means two strips per bag). All from the same fabric, of course, with a distinctive colorway (mix of colors).
I also tie the strips onto cabin baggage – it helps me find my bag in the overhead bin at the end of the flight. I bring along some extra strips on every trip, which has served me well the times when my purchases overran the luggage and I came home with a bag more than I took on the trip.
All of my family (husband and children) have strips from the same fabric on their luggage, and it has been very helpful when we took a trip together. We’re just looking for one single color mix on the carrousel instead of a variety of different ones.