Rimowa or Halliburton

I'm a big fan of Zero Halliburton attaches and luggage, and have seven or so cases of various varieties. Feel they are a pinnacle of style and functionality -- I never have had anything in a Zero get damaged, and they style suits me to the point that the comments are overwhelmingly positive. Was not familiar with the Rimowa, but seeing them, I find them too busy and the ridges to obtrusive for my taste -- paradoxically, both too industrial and too flashy for me. Best, Huntsman

I've always found Rimowa slightly light-weight in comparison to Halliburton. That could be an advantage in these days of restrictive air travel, though it does give an apprehension of shoddiness. The metal also seems slightly flexible, but I've never really heard of anything breaking explicitly. The prices are similar, and there's a nice retro styling to the Rimowas, which I like. I don't know how they look after use, but as I'm sure you know, the Halliburtons are rather worn after mild use.

Buy the Glashutte Original Rimowa edition and you'll get a case.

I didn't see the pictures before -- neat! As a mechanical engineer, however, I'd point out that, all other things being equal, the Rimowas would be structurally stiffer because of all those ribs/pleating that they have.

Are those the Topas series?

I rather like the Classic Flight series:



I remember seeing a Japanese website that was comparing old and new Rimowa, and declaiming that the new Rimowas were inferior to the old ones, showing broken locks and trolley handles.

The Halliburtons do seem a bit basic in comparison to the Rimowas, which appear to offer a lot of small well-designed details.

No love for the polycarb Rimowas? I am quite pleased with mine. It weighs almost nothing for its size.

I've had some of both for years and I think your initial observations are right. The Rimowa is much lighter and, in some ways, better finished. The issues I've had with Rimowa relate to the much thinner shell so that it is prone to denting and, after much wear, can get bent out of shape a bit so that the frame isn't true. That said, I still use the oldest Rimowa case I have regularly. I've yet to have anything break, but I suspect repair might be harder than with Halliburton. If I had it to do again, I'd have gone with Rimowa for carry-on and Halliburton for checked---which is the opposite of what I did.

I've always wanted to get a separate toiletries case but am afraid of what all that mishandling at the airports would do to the stuff inside. Had they not enacted those absurd laws about no carry-on liquids, I definitely would have gotten a smaller carry-on toiletry case.

Rimowa FTW.

Well actually it just depends on what you want. I wanted something that can take my suits, shoes, modicum of random stuff (including diving equipment) and my straight razor (the reason I have to check luggage). I looked at every brand out there, but just came down to realizing all I needed was a box to put stuff in that would be:

A: Closed
B: Locked (tsa)
C: Light
D: Ugly as sin so I could find it easily

Every brand out there I looked at with internal compartments just showed how cheap their construction was. Total crap in ever line below B+R. Seriously utter crap, worse than men's warehouse crap.

In the end Rimowa offers the salsa, it is perfect. No interior crap to deal with, the hold down straps are made of a proper material and the attachment points are METAL, oh my. Not cheap plastic that slides with more than 2in/lbs of pressure. The only problem I have with it no suit compartment, but so far packing well has my suits coming out fine.

My one piece of rimowa luggage has made tons of international flights and domestic. So far I have had no issues with it. I would show a picture, but my girlfriend, who has her own luggage btw, took it on her trip. She is awesome at packing "small" so she can fit more in that one suitcase than I can somehow, but because the darn thing only weighs 7.5 lbs, that 70lb international weight limit isn't even close.

So why did I go with rimowa over halliburton? Simple, the metal cases are awesome on both sides. Seriously killer stuff, but they are HEAVY for either company. I am not transporting anything that needs that kind of protection. If for some reason I decide to buy something that needs protection, then it is time to find the local fedex/ups and ship whatever it is home. Real insurance and considering the cost of the metal cases... The non metal cases on the other hand just don't feel the same. Rimowa has testing done by all kinds of groups and all the reviews I have seen show it as being heads and shoulders above the rest, including halliburton. I found a dealer about 2 miles from my house.

Sorry the extra 800-900 dollar just isn't worth it for the metal ones IMO.

BTW, the prices you see on rimowa are MAP. Dicker and bargain with the dealer and you can get a better price, fairly significant amounts off are normal. I promised I wouldn't give out what I paid for my stuff but if you want to know who I used, let me know though local dealers are probably the best way to go.

Yes, the deal was better than the deals offered by the "factory seconds" dealer and mine was dropshipped directly from the factory. Brand spanking new.


Do I sound like a shill yet or am I still in the range of "I just had my coffee this morning and really like my luggage"?

(no, i'm not a shill for the luggage or the local dealer. Though I did just get some sartorio suits through ebay. woo!)

I am currently looking at buying some Rimowa luggage. I was looking at the Salsa polycarbonate series however their carry-on trolley is a little too large for many domestic carriers.

Does anyone know if the Tango Light series cabin trolley (meets most airline carry-on size requirements) will aesthetically match the Salsa series if I was to mix-and-match the cases?

I would be looking to purchasing all cases in black.

Throughout the last decade, I've used the largest 4-wheel aluminium Rimowas for almost all of my travels - on average, I do about 30 long-haul flights per year, with few short- to mid-range stuff in between. I've had to replace/repair several of them and, except for the earlier times when TSA had a fetish in ripping the locks off for ease of access, the airline has usually picked up the costs. I currently have four of them: a newest one with TSA locks for U.S. travels, two slightly older ones w/o TSA locks for other travels and a very old one that simply refuses to die on me. On average, at least one of them is usually in local repairs (thanks, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Air France).

I have found that the newer ones are not as sturdy as the earlier ones, but they are slightly lighter as well. With the airline baggage handlers, the wheels and their housings are the first ones to be damaged. The handle on the top is the second one to go, especially when traveling with heavier contents. Also, for some reason, if the case is not packed to its fullest (volume-wise), the rough treatment at airports tend to bend the frame slightly. I've had to replace three cases as they were finally deemed unrepairable and while a small bend in the frame will still allow one to close the case, the seams will no longer be tight ... not a good thing if your luggage has to spend any time waiting on tarmac, in rain.

All in all, I do find the simplicity of the case their best feature - no frillies, just a cavernous space. The cases are generally light and usually easy to spot/identify on the conveyors, except when traveling on LH where most people seem to travel with one or two. Also, while the cases will surely get battered and broken, the items inside the case have never been damaged. But, with the high cost and the eventual need for their replacements, I've started to wonder if I should look into some polycarbonate Delseys or Rimowas instead. At least they should bounce.