This!

To the OP, if you could engineer a bag that adjusted from 22" to 27" (with a stop at every inch in-between) that looked good and performed as well (and was extremely durable) as my current LW 22", I would be first in line to purchase it. For a telescoping bag, I'd pay $500, +/-$100, for it since its multiple bags all in one.

I'll say this, my absolute favorite part about my LW stealth bag is the one-piece handle. No plastic and no telescoping parts, just a solid, durable handle that's long enough to prevent me from having to stoop over when dragging my bag lest it hit my heels.

This is a very interesting suggestion. My only concern is that just making a telescoping handle has proven to be a failure prone part. Most bags expand in girth where as this would expand in length. Very interesting concept.

One of my favorite things about the LW/PNT bags that I have not seen anyone mention, and that I have not seen in any other crew rolling bag, is how nicely they counter balance when the flight kit or computer bag is hooked on. Just my 2 cents...

No doubt, that's a concern. LW got rid of the failure-prone telescoping handle and it was a huge selling point for me. I believe there is tremendous money in this for you if you and your R and D team can develop a sturdy, dependable telescoping bag. Keep in mind the bag may not have to telescope "easily." By that Im not expecting to push one button and have the bag grow or shrink. Because I want it solid and durable I'm willing to have to remove pins (for example) to adjust the frame. Just don't require me to travel with any tools to make the adjustments.

That's a good point, it's always a pleasant "drag" with something hooked on the J hook.

Got my first PNT bag in '96, lasted 10 years before passing it on to family, solid, took a lot of abuse, one zipper repair, 2 sets of wheels, one new handle - pretty good value. Still working in it's 8th year on the second, but obviously the lesser bag, 3 wheel changes, very early handle change, 2 zipper repairs, but the frame side rails bent badly inward (been straightened out multiple times), kickplate much weaker, corner junctions loose and sloppy, and of course, screws that back out all the time. The hollow handles were a weak part - the solid steel replacement handle is...solid, though it weighs a ton.

Don't need the side pockets either. Balance was great with a flight kit, but not so good now that we are slick.

Spend some time coming up with a good computer bag - less materials, still can be premium. I still can't find the perfect replacement for my well laid out QuickSilver computer back with its nice wide flap that just slides perfectly over the PNT handle.

Love to see what you come up with, but don't get too carried away with the price - this is no longer the "profession" a lot of us started in, in many ways it's now just an adequately-compensated job and can't see blowing much over $400 on a bag unless it had gobs of style and sense, and perfect use of carbon, leather, canvas, felt, Liquid Metal, titanium, etc

Ya, what he said.

Yea and next time you look to make a round of cuts the sherpa will be gone! To expensive to operate, sounds familiar?

I paid $500 for a Tumi roller bag 18 years ago.

I had one problem with one of the wheels, the company gave me a replacement bag while mine was repaired and it's worked perfectly since. I did have to put in Locktite on all the screws after 2 years.

I also have a Tumi Flight bag that's lasted 18 years as well. You get what you pay for...

18 years ago, Tumi were among the best, and 100% US Made... today their all Made in China and marginally better than many cheaper brands.... I made the mistake of paying big bucks for a Platinum Series bag three years ago and it began falling apart after my 2nd trip.... I returned it and sent a nasty note to TUMI about their shipping production to China.

Guess I should consider myself lucky - bought my Luggage Works bag in 1997 - still does fine after 15 years, nothing broken. Just an occasional shot of WD40 to the wheels.
I don't commute, and generally take good care of my stuff though. :)

From an international 121 supplimential guy who checks his bag alot:

The 26" needs a cross support half way up the bag. Everyone I see has the side frames bowed in. A cross support would fix it. I don't see the shorter 20" bags having the same issue.

My 20" had that problem a few times.

A cross support would help this a bit for sure. I have created a composite frame for the bag that does not bend or fatigue. It looks really badass too. I actually could never pinpoint the exact cause of that bowing but I have to say I would be sad to see it go. It makes me a lot of money;).

Aren't Luggageworks bags all made in China now? I know their duffles and smaller bags definitely are. I called over to the HQ in Missouri and asked them about it. They said they outsourced them a few years ago. I noticed that the fabric on the new LW suitcases has changed to a finer weave nylon fabric, it almost looks shiny if it was next to an older style bag, so I assumed that the suitcases have also been outsourced...

I have had my Travel-Pro 22" bag for about ten years now. The only problem that I have ever had was the cheap wheels that came with the bag. One of our F/Os does some side business in replacing the original wheels with premium rollerblade wheels, and I had this done six years ago. Works like a charm, much easier to pull. Not quite a drop-in replacement, as some different bushings are required.

Joe

One thing I would like changed, is to make the J-hook strap removable. Mine has gotten caught in the carousel when I had to check it.

I have a 26" Executive. I'm pretty careful with my stuff, in 3 years the only issue is the handle only locks up on one side.

LW makes a detachable replacement J-hook. I had to get one of those when my suitcase came out of the carousel without a J-hook and a clean cut across the strap. Apparently it got stuck and they had to cut it free.

Never had a problem with my wheels. The frame eventually got bowed in, but thats what happens when you DH a lot and check in your bag. What was disappointing was my zippers broke or separated from the bag and the back pocket came off very, very early on in it's use. The same items on my TravelPro bags I've had have lasted longer. The wheels on the TravelPro are terrible tho.

Afterburner, I'd be interested to see what you come up with. If you can come up with something unique enough and worth the premium price, then it will sell. Unfortunately you're not going to be able to make a bag to suit everyone, this career field is too varied. Some people can make due with a lighter bag because the most abuse it gets is rolling down the jetway and stuffed into the cockpit closet. Others need a sturdier one because it gets checked-in for over 100k of flight miles per year on DHs in addition to the normal use. I would argue that the bags you see that are so beat up are that way not because they dont treat them right but because they are probably 121 supplemental guys that REALLY have their bags put to the test.

Ultimately the market will determine what price your bag will sell well at for what is offered, not a small sampling of people responding to your request to tell you what they don't like about their LW bag.

Good luck and please post a link or something when you're ready to go to market with it.

You need a better way to stow that handle. I saw a guy get his bag back after checking it, and obviously the handle accidently extended while out of view. When he got his bag back the handle was totally wrecked/bent. Now what? The flimsy piece of velcro just ain't working. That's my only complaint.

I have had the same PNT bag for about 14 years now. It has been sent back 4 times for zippers, handles, pockets. The grip on the handle is wayyy too easy to rip up. One of our guys has put a golf grip on his and I will probably do the same. Currently I have one side zipper failing but the bag is still going strong. The metal frame is great and in the winter I can overpack my bag with all my cold weather running gear. I actually would like to have a thicker bag so I can pack more when I need to.

When my PNS bag was replaced I went with the "Suiter" model or whatever it's called. The additional compartment on top is great in the winter and allows me to add ALL the stuff I need. I can get 5-6 days (if need be) of the usual socks/tshirts/underwear/uniform plus my winter jacket/hat/gloves in it. If it's warm and I don't want to wear the blazer, I can get it in there as well.

I'd echo the statements about the concern of a better handle stowage system. Every time I have to gate check my bag I always cringe as I'm fastening the flimsy velcro fastener to hold the handle in place and pray it comes back in the same way I left it.

The only things I care about in a rollaboard are...

1) Handles that retract easily and simply never, ever, ever, ever break. I don't want to see screws backing out, and I shouldn't have to apply silicone spray or WD-40 to the mechanism. The system should be strong enough so a drunk supermodel could hitch a ride on it.

2) Straps that also never, ever, ever (you get the idea).

3) Wheels of a quality that force you to guard your bags against theft from skateboard thugs who want to steal them.

4) Polished white rhino horn handles, elephant ivory trim, snow leopard skin lining, and a secret Glock compartment. The wheels should have generators that can recharge an iPad.

I could live without #4, but the others are must-haves.

Yeah although I have yet to come across a bag with a destroyed handle, the little velcro strip could easily be improved. They have eliminated the destroyed handle problem by creating the new SS handle. The old (black) aluminum handle was easily bent or broken. If you can break or even bend the new handle, you have done something with enough force that might have shifted the earths axis a bit.

I have seen what happens to the machine that makes the handles when things are misaligned. They are tough for sure.

If you can make it in the USA, by American -tax paying -workers, I'll likely buy it. Outsource it and I'll eBay source old ones until I retire. I'm an admitted square peg, but I don't buy anything Chinese unless that is the last resort.

I support "Main street" whenever I can, and suggest every one do the same.

There's more to keeping the handle stowed than handle protection. I was commuting home once and when placing my bag into the overhead bin I let the bag tilt. When tilted, the SS handle slid out to full extension and narrowly missed smashing a paying pax in the face. That was almost an ugly deal.

In 1996, I bought a Purdy Neet big heavy Inter. bag, I'm still using it today, but about 6 years ago I ruptured a disc in my back, had surgery, then bought a Purdy Neet "Light Weight" 20" (?) roller bag, as a replacement for my larger/heavier PN Big, heavy, International 24"(?) Bag.

The light weight bag frame is mostly plastic, and mine has a cracked frame piece on the side where it hits the curb.

Do you do fix up work on those, or should I send it back to Purdy Neet?

I sent my big bag in for a tune up years ago, and for about $85 they replaced all the zippers and put the SS handle in it. It looked almost new when it came back, but this was many years ago. I would like to send them the small plastic framed bag to get that fixed, so I can use it, and leave my big heavy bag at home.

Do they still do tune ups, or do you do it for them?

I can't indorse the rub rails above the wheels enough...weakest link in my view. I added my own cut from a plastic cooking board from WalMart and a table saw. Plus they protect the back pocket from being ripped off or open. The kick plate I upgraded to 1/8 inch, this bag is easy to up grade by yourself if you are just a little handy.

Oh yeah, the zippers suck...lmao! Other then that first and for most made in the USA is paramount... go offshore, I'm out dog!

Oh one more your wheels suck. You can't tell me there top end mine squeaked from day one. Lucky my kid had a pair of K2's laying around and took hit for the team!

does the pretty neats sell plastic frames? Just had someone ask me about it but I wasn't sure. I don't invest in these higher end names anymore but wondered if anyone knew about the pretty neats?

Anything over $300 is crap. Even with higher-end more expensive luggage you are still just paying for the name. We need the perfect combination of reliability and affordability.

By the way whats the name of your LW service company?

Actually you have no clue what goes into building these bags. You might think so but unless you have spent weeks on the production line working closely with the company addressing issues all while trying to keep it within a price range that applies to people make in 30K a year to 300K a year you would be quite surprised at all of the work and quality assurance that goes into a bag. From start to finish it's close to 5 hours of manufacturing per bag.

That's kind of like a passenger saying I should be able to get anywhere in the U.S. at anytime for $300 or less. They have no clue what actually goes into the operation and base it off of their tiny little experience.

Trust me, they are manufactured right on U.S. soil. All of them. The only part that is assembled over seas is the outter shell. It is partially made in China and finished here in the states. Surprisingly enough it is no cheaper having it done over seas anymore. LW is pretty much ready to have it all made right here in America.

The bags did go through a rough period from about 2004-2009. Just like everyone during that time period they had it tough too. Things have gotten a lot better. And that will continue.

They do. They are called the Executive Series. I don't think Purdy Neat Things Co. ever sold plastic bags. But Luggageworks does. They aren't those most durable bag in the world. Never were they designed to take the beating that the everyday pilot / FA puts them through. They are more for a frequent traveler but not for someone hanging 50lbs of charts and food off the front of. I think people just saw the cheaper price tag and just ignored how fragile they are. I always get them with totally wrecked frames. They really do need a little more TLC than other crewbags.

I called luggage works and verified they are making some of their bags in CHINA. Buyer beware. Definitely the small duffel bags, and the plastic frame roller bags were all she was sure of.

PNS/PNT made the plastic/resin frame bag "back in the day".

Sucked if you were on a ac that didn't have cabin bag storage. Wouldnt last long with the amount of legs combined with a lot of plane swap/bag drag. I don't believe it had the same handle mount issue the the LW model does now though.

So...is PNT and LW the same thing now? Or are they two different companys? And can you, LW, fix my PNT plastic frame?

All it really needs is one L shaped corner piece, about 15" (?) long, which runs top to bottom, on the back, from the kick plate up to the top frame. It snapped where the bottom 2 of the 3 screw holes are.

I'm thinking of taking it to a local machine shop and just have them cut and bend up a couple pieces of scrap metal, drill the holes, paint them black and replace both the plastic frame pieces with the metal.

Yeah PNT and LW are the same now..

PNT Co. No longer exists. Luggageworks bought them sometime around 98-99.

Almost all PNT bags are supported for repairs. Something I think LW wishes did not want to have to deal with. People have bags from 20 years ago that they keep getting fixed instead of buying a new one. I don't mind though.

You can send your bag to us or you can bring it to Crewoutfitters in Atlanta. Or you can drop it off here at the shop. I'm not entirely sure what you are trying to describe but most things can be replaced or fixed with these bags. I'd be glad to take a look at it.

Thanks, I'm a Delta Toad but I don't live in the ATL, so can I drop it off at the crew store in A concourse, or should I ship it to you?

I'm not using it now, but I'd like to park my 50lb. heavy bag and use it once it's fixed.

Stealth Aviator reviews
 

Hey, was looking at the new LW Stealth Aviator bag vs the standard stealth bag 22". Anyone have any feedback on the new bag? They claim it's an upgrade, but don't want to drop $300 on a bag only to discover it sucks.

Cheers,

YJCMTSU