Suitcases - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

When you travel often, you eventually just want to invest in luggage that works and has moved with the times. The times in my case, were retractable handles and two wheels. In fact the first piece of luggage I owned was a black single zip suitcase. I remember how ahead of the pack I felt when I first rolled up to camp in my wheeled suitcase, I was the envy of all the teenagers, soon my suitcase became a relic as travel luggage like cellphone’s made impressive leaps and bounds. It was no surprise in 2005, when as an employed travelling adult, I purchased the latest and sleekest looking Cellini suitcase. I decided on a Cellini because I loved the colour and it was light. A year into my happy relationship with my travel boo the handle broke. As I stood at the carousel at OR Tambo and watched it come around with its broken handle, there at that moment, I saw the R1500 I had spent on the case disappear. One year felt too short a time to spend with such a treasured companion.

I then invested in a Fancy state of the art (well at least at the time) clip locks Samsonite Suitcase. Reflecting on my Cellini I thought perhaps I had not invested enough money into my first purchase. Maybe with the latest hard cover suitcases I would be leading the pack again. The ideas I had in my head of me sashaying into Incheon International Airport with my express red suitcase shattered in less than 5 days of purchasing the thing.

All it took was 1 trip long haul trip to South Korea for me to find out how not so durable the Samsonite would be. I picked up a suitcase with some of my clothes peeking out at me, my saving grace the plastic wrap/ anti-theft device we apparently use for protecting our suitcases from izinyoka zase airport. It was broken the “R3000 on special” felt like a kick in the groin I was now miles and miles away from home being interrogated by the migration police and all I could think of was “I wonder if this case will manage to hold up until I finish the rest on 32 hour journey.

I finished my journey but my case still sits in the corner of my room, I have never used it since that trip. Suitcases are supposed to be sturdy and reliable, not flimsy and easy to break. When you arrive at your destination you should not be worrying about if you will make it in that suitcase. My red Samsonite remains my biggest travel disappointment and every time I look at that corner I’m reminded that “new and latest” is not always the better option because I have eventually gone back to zip up suitcases that have role in any direction wheels. Moral of the story is go for what works for you if it’s not broken don’t upgrade just because the latest thing looks hot.