A while back I posted a piece about what I thought may have been the most stupid piece of luggage ever.
I was wrong. I found one that’s even more stupid.
This:
Which is exactly where the problem lies.
Trunki, JetKids and the other bags I mentioned are all the size of a carry on bag, or some of them even whatever size can fit under your seat (here’s the list, and my bad; it was last updated a year and a half ago. Gotta get on that…). But these things? You have a choice of 20″ or 24″
So technically you’d bring one of these ride-on suitcases and have to check it as soon as you got to the airport. Or at worst gate check it (although at nearly 20″, how does it even fit into the scanner at the TSA checkpoint???).
But of course, entitled people would insist they not gate check it, because then they won’t get it back until it’s on the luggage carousel after they’ve landed. They’d want to bring it onto the plane and put it into the overhead, so their darling little Jamie can ride it again as soon as they disembark from the plane. And then you’re talking about a Tetris-like monstrosity in the overhead that’s taking up more room than a typical bag. In fact, I found a discussion about these things in one of the travel groups I frequent and a handful of flight attendants chimed in and said they hate them. So yeah, that’s exactly what people are doing.
Of course, there are plenty of people who think the rules aren’t made for them, and they bring carry on bags that are way larger than 14″ x 22″ x 9″, as it is. These babies will just add to the mess. And then the poor shlubs who board last have to gate check their bags.
There are a few companies on Amazon that this style of luggage. They range from less than $100 to over $200, and the reviews (the ones that sound legit, anyway) vary about as much:
- This bag will not survive any airport belt system or travel in the bin of a plane! Because of its odd shape, airlines will not cover the damage to the bag including protruding part (ie Wheels, Handles, zippers) It will be considered conditionally accepted for damage. For the price charged for it, there should be a lifetime warranty. I am a baggage service employee for an airline and have had to deny this bag several times.
- we used it over the weekend into LAX, so many comments from parents and envy from their kiddos! hahhaha my kiddo and me sure has fun all the way to the gate. then had to check it in. on our way back, we carried it onto plane as carryon and it fit! hahah u may want to argue and say someone did use as carryon on United out of LAX and it worked great hahahha (Do you get the impression that someone DID say something to them “hahahha”)
- Our daughter loved riding on it but the airline (American) made us check it at the gate as it was too large to fit in the overhead compartment. It is also considered oversized luggage so you have to pick it up in the oversized luggage area which is separate from regular baggage claim. Overall not worth the extra effort
- I really loved this product at first. It made transporting my son around busy airports and TSA a breeze. I made sure to pack it evenly to distribute the weight especially on the part he was sitting on, but after the first leg of a three leg trip it cracked.
- My grand daughter loves this, when it is unzipped it is a bit wobbly, hope it holds up when traveling. (this was a 5-star review. Why did they review it before they actually put it to use?)
- The wheels and handle were super flimsy. I daughter only weighted 30 pounds and every few seconds the wheels would lock up. Waste of money. I needed up purchasing a regular carryon and placing her on top.
- This thing a so darn cute. He loves it. I think we have to hide it until it’s time to travel because he won’t get off of it. It has really sturdy skateboard wheels too. He won’t be hard to keep track of at the airport on this thing. Plus it has plenty of room inside for all his clothes and things. (Another 5-star review, not because it works well – they don’t know either way – but because it’s cute and their kid loves it)
- DO NOT BUY THIS! The design and handle to pull it leaves a lot to be desired. We have taken this on several trips now through many airports and it has not gotten any easier to drag through the airport. I do not think this is worth $200 by any means. Yes the idea is great but in practical use it is very difficult to maneuver. I would have sent it back but with the $100 stocking fee and my daughter (who rides and not pull this thing) prevented the return. Save your money, do not buy this suitcase.
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Just got this in anticipation of a long haul flight we’ll be doing in a couple of months. My first impression is that it is going to be a great help while waiting in the airport lounge. My 2 yr old doesn’t have much patience.
Note: the images I’ve attached are of the annoying plastic wrap that the case comes wrapped in. The wrap was applied to the molded hard shell case before the case was put together. It is really difficult to remove. I didn’t even notice that there was plastic wrap on it to start with. My toddler started playing with it and dinged the wrap. I wondered why the case had gotten damaged so easily, then noticed that there was plastic wrap all over it. Once I started peeling it away, it became a nightmare to deal with. It is very thin and tears easily, but it’s built into the case, so I’m going to have to try to take the case apart to get all of it off. It looks awful. Some parts of the case are difficult to get to. They really should not have left the wrap on the case before building it.
Crazily, the case comes with a storage bag to keep the case from getting dinged. A dust cover if you will. They could have just removed the annoying plastic wrap and put the cover on the case for shipping.
I would have given this product more stars if it weren’t for the annoying plastic wrap.
I’ll update the review after we’ve traveled with it.
Update (3/30/22: I couldn’t remove the plastic wrap, so tried to return the case, explaining the fault. The seller has refused to return or refund the case unless I remove all negative comments about the product. Very poor customer service.
Update (5/2/22): I am flying Virgin Atlantic, and this case doesn’t qualify for carry-on. The case is 9″ thick, but due to the handles and foot holds, it is actually 13″ thick, and is not going to fit in the hand luggage checker. I’m measuring the whole thing, without main handle extended at 13 x 18 x 21.5 inches. Virgin Atlantic carry-on limit is 9 x14 x 22 inches. So it’s too big in all three dimensions.
So, I’m throwing this thing away now. The company won’t pay to ship it back and won’t refund me unless I remove this review. But I’m not going to do that because I don’t want anyone else to go through this too.
If they made this thing smaller, paid attention to quality control and had decent customer support, it would be great. But they haven’t done that. So oh well.
- It’s cute
- Kids love it
- It wobbles
- The wheels stick
- The components are flimsy
- It cracks easily
- The protective plastic wrap over it peels off
- It’s bigger than any overhead allowance (which doesn’t stop some selfish people from bringing it on anyway. Looks like it’s taking up the space of 2.5 regular sized carry on bags laid on their sides)
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