Globe-trotter Luggage

[kronik]

So.. did a bit of searching here and there and I do believe I see people saying that their stuff is durable, but I've seen some people suggesting not using it for check-in.

I plan to check-in when necessary, but I may only need to fly about 4 times a year.

Is GT a bad idea? I was looking at Tumi and Hartmann as well but I really like the appearance of GT.. I'd also like to have it for 10-15 years.

 

[LabelKing]

Recently I saw a Japanese woman with a beige Globetrotter suitcase which prior to checking in was wrapped up in a plastic bag.

I've no personal experience with the brand have always wondered what it was like to use it.

 

[maxnharry]

Globe-trotter is a British icon and the official luggage of the royal family. I really think they look cool and are probably quite durable. What puts me off is the price and their current fashionableness.

If you like the type of luggage, there are vintage brands of similar construction on eBay.

As for the plastic wrapping, I wouldn't do it. I think a beat up case is more desirable than a brand new one.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by maxnharry

Globe-trotter is a British icon and the official luggage of the royal family. I really think they look cool and are probably quite durable. What puts me off is the price and their current fashionableness.

If you like the type of luggage, there are vintage brands of similar construction on eBay.

As for the plastic wrapping, I wouldn't do it. I think a beat up case is more desirable than a brand new one.
Indeed; I noticed that GQ was touting it, which is offputting to me at least.

Some time ago, you could get vintage Globetrotter quite cheaply on eBay.

 

[kronik]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Indeed; I noticed that GQ was touting it, which is offputting to me at least.

Some time ago, you could get vintage Globetrotter quite cheaply on eBay.

<nods at the GQ acknowledgement> I noticed that in your thread about luggage.. so unfortunate. I anticipate that if I actually do get this luggage, it will be beaten up and as long as it holds up, that's fine with me. Luggage shouldn't look new.

I am quite the fan of the look, and the material *seems* durable.. but I don't want to stink of nouveau riche (I'm poor) either.

 

[LabelKing]

As an aside, I've discovered you can get airline stickers from the Boeing site: http://www.boeingstore.com/catalog/i...&parent_id=136

 

[Bouji]

There was a luggage store selling old GT peices marked down from 1200 to 250 in the City, suffice to say I bought all of them. I've been using GT since 1970, and it has been checked in many times, and my old suitcases from 1970 still last. That is the navy blue hard cases.

 

[kronik]

Wouldn't happen to want to sell any of those, eh?

 

[Quirk]

Originally Posted by kronik

So.. did a bit of searching here and there and I do believe I see people saying that their stuff is durable, but I've seen some people suggesting not using it for check-in. I plan to check-in when necessary, but I may only need to fly about 4 times a year. Is GT a bad idea? I was looking at Tumi and Hartmann as well but I really like the appearance of GT.. I'd also like to have it for 10-15 years.
I was shopping for a laptop bag the other day and came across some Hartmann and Tumi. Some mildly tacky designs, less than impressive quality. Hartmann in particular, seems to have gone downhill quite a bit in recent years. I recently sent one of their briefcases for repair under their lifetime guarantee, and the re-stitching and hardware re-attachment they did on it was embarrassingly sloppy. My local worthless, piece of crap shoe repair place with their reliably shoddy workmanship would have done a better job. Plus in my letter, I asked them to do whatever they could to condition and treat the leather, which, admittedly, had taken a beating over the 10+ years. For that they charged me about $20.00. Fine. But when I got the bag, it didn't look much if at all better than before. I called to ask what they had done to it. They had cleaned it with water. $20 for a wipedown with tap water? Then I noticed that they had completely neglected to do the restitching in one area. So I had to send it back. I was unhappy with the stitching they'd done when they had to take the bag apart to repair the handle, but there was no way to redo it -- the new stitch holes were never going to magically disappear, so I was resigned to live with it. Then after less than 2 months of use the new closure hardware broke. I didn't want to deal with the expense and irritation of sending it back and having to deal with their terrible customer service people again, so reluctantly, I ended up just tossing the bag, despite its sentimental value. Maybe there are practical limits on how long you should expect to be able to get service under a 'lifetime' guarantee...

 

[LabelKing]

That's just awful.

Maybe American companies are really not as American these days?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Recently I saw a Japanese woman with a beige Globetrotter suitcase which prior to checking in was wrapped up in a plastic bag.

I've no personal experience with the brand have always wondered what it was like to use it.

I've seen enough Japanese do this that I suspect it's not directly related to the expense or (lack of) durability of their luggage.

 

[minhi]

Originally Posted by kronik

So.. did a bit of searching here and there and I do believe I see people saying that their stuff is durable, but I've seen some people suggesting not using it for check-in.

I plan to check-in when necessary, but I may only need to fly about 4 times a year.

Is GT a bad idea? I was looking at Tumi and Hartmann as well but I really like the appearance of GT.. I'd also like to have it for 10-15 years.

just to be the voice of reason, 4 times a year is not that much use. i think any bag you can get at marshalls or another discounter would be fine. i picked up a delsey helium 250gx for $45 on closeout at my marshalls. it replaces a 6 year old ricardo beverly hills bag (that didn't really need replacing). i average 8-10 trips a year, and check about half the time--which is also important, do you checkin all the time?

i'm all for expensive bags but seems silly if you only use it 4 times a year.

 

[LabelKing]

One thing I've noticed were that the Globetrotter trolley cases seemed to have an especially shoddy looking set of wheels.

They almost look like an after-thought although given these traditional English companies, an after-thought probably was the case.

 

[maxnharry]

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

I've seen enough Japanese do this that I suspect it's not directly related to the expense or (lack of) durability of their luggage.

It's in vogue throughout Asia. I think it has more to do with preventing pilferage (takes longer, immediately visible)