LuggageWorks Frame Material
 

Perhaps an over-asked question, but I've never seen one of the LW "Executive" roller bag. It swaps the traditional aluminum frame of the "Stealth" model for an ABS plastic frame It is 2.5 lbs. lighter, but other specs are identical. Wondering if the ABS is robust? The weight savings, bend resistance and somewhat lower price are considerations. From owrking with tons of ABS pipe, it's pretty sturdy when it's young (like me), but can get brittle with age. Not an issue with aluminum, but it's virtually certain it will get bent sometime that I'm forced to check my bag. Looking for real-world experience. Thanks!

ABS will deteriorate if exposed to UV (sunlight) or oxygen (air).

Obviously UV should not be an issue.

ABS pipe lasts for many decades in indoor applications, so the oxidation issue is probably limited to the exposed surface... a rollaboard frame would be thicker than a schedule 40 pipe wall, so probably nothing to worry about there.

From a materials science perspective, I'd prefer carbon fiber for impact resistance, assuming I need lighter than steel or aluminum. That's for commuting by air, if driving to work ABS should be fine.

I've had the ABS for almost a decade and it's been fine, and worth the weight savings IMO. The rest of the bag will wear out far earlier, and if/when you send it in to get refurbished, they'll replace the frame anyway.

I had the same thoughts regarding ABS, except I would hypothesize commuting by air (forced bag check sometimes) might turn out better with ABS. My experience with aluminum is that the airliner below-cabin baggage handling experience WILL bend one of the vertical frame members, without fail, with say 10 exposures to that environment. I had one "go" on the very first occasion after a full rebuild. I just sent-off my 10-years in-service aluminum frame bag for rebuild. I managed to limit the checked experience to maybe four or five times, but it got bent and twisted. Before I even asked you folks for insight, I was thinking ABS would do better under abuse, barring age-related brittleness. 100% agreed on carbon fiber. Thus far, not on the option list, nor likely very affordable if it were.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Great to hear an actual use story. I have the option to rebuild the aluminum version for about 75% of new cost, or trade-in for several different models at a decent discount. The ABS new works out to $50 more than the rebuild. Seems like the way to go.

BTW, since I needed a loaner bag, I tried the Solgaard "carry on closet." It's kind of gimmicky in my view, but no doubt it does lead to better organized clothes packing. However, a rush-pack is much more difficult. As I suspected, I missed the external pockets to a point of fault. The Solgaard is a quality product, but it's not for me. Back to Costco it goes.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Did they fix the telescoping handle mount?

On the older ones, it used to fail rather quickly, the way it was mated to the horizontal cross frame was terrible.

In my experience:

It's not the frame, it's the wheels that give out.

Fortunately, they're easily (and cheaply) replaced. So easy a pilot could do it.

Zippers break though. The pull tabs, not the actual zipper architecture.

I gave up on the side pockets a decade ago. Tear too easily.

LuggageWorks is great bag, period. Made in MO. Where Sam Clemens was born in 1835. Asked about overzealous censorship, this is what he said fwiw;

Every LW (three thus far) that I’ve owned have fallen apart.
Go with B&R or Rimowa, and never look back…

Yeah right. FO Bean checks in at ORD. Brave.