Originally Posted by
Great Cornholio
Any idea how long these guys had their bags? I talked to 2 guys that had to plastic ones this week. I flew with the first guy and was surprised how light it was when I pulled it out of the closet on the 145. He has had his for about 1 year and the other guy was in the crew room he said he had it 3 or 4 years. Both were happy with the plastic and liked the lighter weight. And said they thought it was probably just about as strong as the metal one.
However I've been doing some "scouting" around the airports the past week or so and it seems like the metal one is more common.
One guy was/is a Midwest pilot (who kept his bag up in the cabin). His was aprox 1.5 years old. The other guy is all "regional" guy (whose bag goes in/out of the belly four times per day) whose bag was barely one year ole. His grip handle "pulled" out on one end. The frame was broken down by the wheels. The "lip" (which keeps the bag upright stable while standing) was bent over and no longer did the job it was intended.
Both rollerboard handles were severely bent. I don't know why. I'm not sure if they use a different kind of metal on those particular handles or not.
Overall, the people I talk to that have the plastic ones are not happy due to the abuse our bags take on a daily basis in this regional nightmare. They just don't hold up as well as the metal ones in their opinion.