Comments about Travelpro Travelpro Platinum 5 25" Rollaboard Suiter:

For many years I had bought mid-grade Samonite luggage as that was what I could afford; it did fairly well for me. I am a frequent domestic and international traveler and the Samonite wasn't as durable as my needs demanded. The Travelpro brand is well-known in the airline industry... and I can also now afford more expensive luggage.

To the point... I thought buying Travelpro would solve my durability issues... but for this model I have had problems.

My first issue was the screws in the retracable handle (the ones that hold the extension handle) sheared off while I was on an overseas trip. The second issue was the rectrable handle would not easily go back into its stored position. I sent the luggage piece to an authorized Travelpro repair facility and they fixed the screw problem so I could use the luggage for another trip while they ordered the entire handle assembly. Once I returned from my trip I dropped the luggage off... after a few weeks it was finally ready for me to pick up. The replacement parts work fine.

However, I now have an issue with the plastic spline that holds the handle to the entire luggage piece... it is separating from the luggage. I am about to send it in for repair... albeit I might ask Travelpro for a brand new piece as I think this one is a lemon... and I really am hard on my luggage... I'm a true trains, planes, and automobile travel person. That said, I don't abuse the luggage... although I can't say what airline luggage handlers do to it... still, this isn't inexpensive luggage... so it should be able to accept heavy and frequent travel without breaking.

Hmm... with all these problems you are probably wondering why I would recommend Travelpro to anyone else. Well... I really do think that this particular piece is a lemon.

I have 19" rollaboard that is awesome. And, this 25" checked bag is awesome too... because both these pieces have great design features. I like the numerous pockets Travelpro has included in the design... their zippers and internal straps are also high quality... the wheels, external handles are also very nice... it really is as if a team of frequent travelers all got in a room and then listed exactly what features they would want in their luggage... and then the Travelpro folks built it.

So, I do recommend Travelpro if you like the design features it offers compared to other luggage manufactuers.