anyone reccomend a reasonably priced suitcase ?

veggie4life

hi all!

I have a three year old argos suitcase but I don't think its strong enough for the trip to New York! Can anyone reccomend a reasonably sized suitcase for under £25?

Thanks for your help

Money_maker

I bought my dad a set of 3 for Christmas from Argos. Gutted cos when I went to Dunelm Mill last week, they had a lovely range of all sizes half price. Certainly you would get a large one for under £25.

Hope that helps.

thatsfabulous

I like the Tripp ones, They sell them in Debenhams- might be some on offer at the moment. If your anywhere near cheshire oaks you can pick them up very cheap there and they wear well.
Enjoy new york, I taken two when i went;)

zanneone

Saw a fab priced one today in BHS. Reduced from £66.00 down to £24. Commented on the price and quality to my Mum. But then realised I wasn't planning a holiday anytime soon...so didn't need to buy it...! It was an expandable one...dunno the size but it was quite large.

Hope that helps ya...!

j-lo1972uk

Just a few tips after having recently come back from holiday. I flew via New York and they aren't very gentle with your luggage at JFK. My suitcase was returned four days later than myself, in bits, held together with gaffer tape, with all my clothes n stuff hanging out. The zips had been broken and the outer part cracked and broken in a number of places. Also, a number of items I'd bought as gifts were broken. When I rang JFK to complain, I was emailed a huge form to claim compensation which demanded original receipts, estimates for repair, estimates for replacement etc etc etc....suffice to say, I didn't bother......

The upshot is....get a good sturdy case, maybe not an ABS one (thats what mine was), preferably without zips and don't put too much in as they don't re-pack as nicely as you or I do. Homeland Security told me that they have the right to search every piece of luggage going through their airports and they weren't gentle with my property at all....make sure you pack anything fragile in paper or bubble wrap (I wrapped mine in clothes) and mark it as so or something and keep receipts for anything you buy (including the suitcase) just in case....you never know you may need them.....I've learnt my lesson with this one as I lost about £100 all told but wasn't able to claim due to not having receipts.....and the messing about it would have taken to try and get all the info HS wanted (which is a GREAT way to put people off claiming in my opinion)

Also, take a bottle of water off the plane with you and make sure you go to the toilet before getting off the plane....I queued TWO hours to get through immigration (nearly missing my connecting flight)...once your in the queue, you don't wanna lose your place by having to go to the loo....even when I nearly fainted, no-one official gave a toss.....

Good luck and happy holidays....

poppyolivia

Argos right now have a big travel bag on wheels for £5 odd.... heard good things about it.

hollydays

if it gets damaged,make sure you ask for a claim form from the airline while you are there,they are obliged to replace it.

www.bags123.com is good for cheaper hardbodied ones and theyve got a sale on,very quick delivery when i used them.I got samsonite-its been thrown around a lot and still going strong

supersol

I bought two suitcases from TK Maxx. They have expensive makes, e.g. Antler, which we bought last year, less than half price. Their suitcases seem to start from around £29 and, as they are all on display, you can compare the quality.

At this time of year, i.e. sale time, they reduce some of their cases even further. These have their price stuck over their original one, on a red label.

SueMaggie

I second the recommendation for Tripp suitcases.

I bought one in a Debenhams sale a couple of years ago and it has survived completely unscathed a month's trip to New Zealand (as well as the flight there and back being put in and taken out of the car every couple of days), a fortnight in Canada and a week in New York (flying in and out of Newark so perhaps a bit gentler than JKF!). It still looks brand new and should last years.

I would also recommend getting a TSA-approved padlock (link to an example below) - US Customs have a universal key so that they can get into your luggage if they need to - if you don't have one these and just use and ordinary padlock they'll just cut your case to get in.

http://www.twenga.co.uk/offer/33609/7936451341631958400.html

I bought my padlock in Matalan for around £3 (this was a couple of years ago so they may have gone up) - US Customs opened my case on the way back from New York, but I wouldn't have known had they not put a label on it saying they'd done so.

Not sure what you'll get for £25 even in the Debenhams sale, but worth a look. And worth considering paying a bit more as you want something that will last for years, and not have to end up paying for another case next year.

Harveycat_2

I gave up paying out for decent quality suitcases after the owner of our local Mister Minit observed that any suitcase is only as good as the baggage handler that hurls it across the Tarmac.

:rolleyes:

fishing-girl

i fly numerous times a year and have had many cheap suitcases that dont last.i invested in a hard samsonite 12yrs ago and it is still going strong.i would buy a good one in the sales as an investment.