Bought the new Stealth Aviator in August. Decent bag. Not too much lighter than the steel framed one. The only 2 disappointments so far have been no padded laptop/tablet pocket and almost every single zipper pull tab has broken. They sent me new ones for free but if a pull tab breaks on a $300 bag going in and out of an overhead something isn't quite right.

I've had two of the LW bags. To add to the list:

The current bag has sharp edges at the bottom corners and where the plate meets the bottom of the bag. Would like it to be a little more refined. Also would like to re-emphasize the screws. My wife's cheap TJMaxx-purchased bag has screws that stay put. I have to re-adjust at least a couple times per trip, especially where it connects the hook strap. That one I can do with my fingers, and I have to do it every day at work.

I won't repeat all the other feedback you got. All good feedback.

Good luck.

FWIW, the Stop Over Store in DTW can no longer do zipper repairs.

I sent mine back to LW to fix the main zipper and some pocket zippers. $60 plus $30 or so in shipping. They tried to upsell a bunch of other repairs, which I declined.

The irritating thing, however....the kickplates they've been using for the past few years are really, really thin. Far thinner than the thickness of the old ones. I replaced the original, and had to replace it again 8 months later.

When I put the new one on, I drilled out the rivets, and bolted on some aluminum L channel on the corner of the new plate and used bolts to put the whole thing back together. It was in-de-struct-able.

When I sent it to get the zippers fixed, they pulled it off and put the same old thin kick panel on, after I had declined the other repairs. Grrrr. I'll be charitable and assume they thought they were doing me a favor, but sheesh....I'll be doing my "field mod" on this one again in a few months.

Nu

So would you recommend sticking with the original stealth 22" computer bag 106ng I think it is? Or is the aviator an actual upgrade?

So would you recommend sticking with the original stealth 22" computer bag 106ng I think it is? Or is the aviator an actual upgrade?

Eh I would go with the original if I could do it over again. By the time I load it up with 6 days on reserves worth of crap you aren't going to notice the 2lbs. Plus the old style zipper pulls, plus the padded pocket.

Roger, thanks for the input.

Second biggest airline purchase regret (after being told I need/and then buying 6 long sleeve shirts... which I have never worn)... buying my int'l LW bag. It weighs 16.5lbs empty! Once I pack it for a 10+ day trip it becomes crazy heavy (good thing I lift weights!).

And as far as paying $400+ for a bag?... Puhleez! Maybe the same guys who bought the $500 in ear headset/mic's, of which I see none on the line.

But good luck... seriously. :)

P.s. pretty sure every one shops price these days... including you. Internet pretty much changed every thing.

What would you recommend? I am going to the 7ER and unfortunately the guys at Indoc can't make a rec.

Strongbags makes a solid quality metal frame bag for under $300 and the service is pretty good. What makes yours so much more expensive? I don't think you can bag the quality of a Strongbag too much. Pretty solid bag.

How about an update? I have a Strongbag 22" roller and do like it. I've had issues with the pull handle but nothing that would prevent me from recommending it. My only dislike is how heavy it is and that its a bit narrow but the size is certainly by design.

I have friends who still love Luggageworks. How are the bags holding up and what would you buy today? I think I want a 22" roller since that's what I am used despite doing 2-weeks on the road at a time.

sorry to necrothread but afterburn81, any suggestions on dealing with wheel spacers seized to the axle bolt on a 22 stealth?

The luggage works bags are pieces of ****. They are heavy and low quality. I bought the $100 costco bag. It was cheaper than the repairs to fix my 2 year old luggage works bag. Still trying to decide if I'm going to buy a briggs and riley or tumi bag. Costco bag is a nice bag, but the wheels are a little cheap. I might try and replace them with roller blade wheels like flight attendants do to their travel pros. I will say the weight difference is astounding compared to the luggage works. There is no reason to carry that heavy of a bag around. Nevermind that it damages everything it touches (car paint, trunk liner, hardwood floors in house.)

Take a hack saw to them between the wheel and the frame of the bag. Obviously, you'll have to replace the bolt, bearings, etc that you destroy, but it'll get everything off the bag without snapping one of the ears off the frame. The replacement parts were available last I looked a year or so ago. Also, make sure you've broken the bolts loose from the frame so you're able to grab the nub that's left and unscrew it after you cut the rest out. Good luck. Maybe somebody else has a less drastic idea, but that's what I had to do.

If you want to make a great bag look at the original ebags bag.

ok thanks, i'm giving it a two day, two shot pb blaster soak right now to see if it'll come apart like normal first

Hopefully that works, but I wouldn't bank on it. If yours are stuck like mine were, you've got no choice but to cut them out. I actually soaked mine in glass full of pb blaster for a solid week after cutting everything out to see if I could get everything separated had I been more patient. With two men pulling apart as hard as we could, nothing budged but our egos. Without regular lubrication, those parts literally fuse together.

Try heating the bolt...

Mine is going on year 9. I wouldn't dream of carrying something else. That handle on the LW seems like a first class POS.

I'm silently chuckling when I read this about replacing wheels. About a decade ago, I replaced the wheels on an old Travel Pro. The axles were welded in tight. I have a pretty well-equipped shop and ended up using several thousand dollars worth of tools--rivet gun, punch set, band saw, drill press, torch, etc. By the time I finally replaced the wheels, it looked like a tornado passed through my shop!

I'm not sure if I'd have the patience to do it again. At the time, a combination of being stubborn and being a cheapskate saw me to a successful replacement.

As for the more general topic of the Luggage Works bags, I still have the one I purchased 10 years ago. It's worn, but still in acceptable condition. The wheel bearings squeak every so often, but I'm not anxious to replace them. It's definitely heavy, but so am I, so who wants to keep score on that front!?! The only failure on the bag is the foam covering on the handle. My plan is to tape the foam back together and then lace on a thin leather cover like folks do to cover a car steering wheel. Just been too lazy to get it done so far.

You can pop the side cover of the bearing and grease it, I've done it a couple times after hearing that squeak.

It's compensating for lack of other "shortcomings". :D

fyi, the axle bolts are 1/4-20x2"

picked up some stainless ones from HD yesterday after hacksawing my existing ones out....
now if i can just get some of the spacer/bushings from LW

well the transplant didn't go as well as hoped
sawed out both wheels, managed to extract one bolt stub with dremel wheel and flathead screwdriver easy enough

other one wouldn't budge (even though i made sure it turned in and out with wrench before cutting loose the wheel)

drilled it out to try to get it extracted with a small screw/nut, didn't work, bought a cheap screw extractor kit, the smaller one rounded off where the wrench is supposed to turn it, and the larger one i tried next snapped off right at the surface level of the housing.
tried dremel wheel and screwdriver trick again with no luck, put a few drops of pb blaster in from other side to sit overnight and i'll try it again tomorrow.

have a feeling i'll be calling LW to see about sending it back for a new bottom casing and general refresh :mad:

Time to get a cutting torch ! :)

See if you can turn it the other way (in) and thread it through into the inside of the bag. Not sure if every generation of the bottom is the same but on my bag i was able to access the inside ends of the bolts behind the liner and pull one stub through that way..

yeah i tried both ways, not sure what happened between breaking the bolts loose and cutting out the wheels

emailed lw/sos see what they say
might just ask if i can buy a new bottom casing and the rivets to replace the old one.

Put something heavy behind the frame part (like another hammer or vice) when you hit it with a big F hammer. The part is probably just bouncing absorbing your blows.
Don't let it win.

Sounds like your attempt to replace the wheels is turning out similar to mine. I ended up taking a block of hardwood and drilling out a hole with a foersner bit. The hole needs to be slightly larger than the axle bolt, but still small enough where the circumference supports the wheel housing. I then chucked up a steel punch in a rivet gun and drove the axle out.

I, of course, applied liberal amounts of PB Blaster and even made up a few new cuss words along the way. I even managed to bang the bejesus out of a finger or two. Ah, memories.

I also tried heat and cold in hopes of taking advantage of a disparity in rates of thermal expansion. Heat is pretty obvious--use a torch. For cold, one easy source is a can of compressed air shaken and turned upside down.

Kids, don't try this at home! :-)

My Feedback.

This is my third LuggageWorks bag. It is the larger bag, 25.5" tall. I've had another tall and the shorter one before this.

In less than two years, deadheading on Delta and American has killed this bag. Both DAL and AA have collapsed it, DAL twice! By collapse I mean they diagonally crushed the bag, making it a trapezoid instead of a rectangle! The zippers tabs on the sides of the bags have broken off. The screws for the top rings on the extendable roller bar have been missing for quite a while.

Also the ring that holds an extra bag (a pubs brief case, or pubs kit, or back pack)... I've had two broken by the airlines. They don't last either.

In short, this bag is way too heavy and it can't hold up to the abuse of the legacies.

I'm not buying a fourth. I'm sorry.

i ended up ordering a new bottom casing, once the old one is out i'll see if some local machinist might have the wherewithal to get the extrator and remains of the bolt out with out damaging the casing threading.
if he can't oh well, if he can, then i'll install it into my first pns bag that has a busted plate on the wheel casing (where the axle bolt head rests)

...and just 2 years later we've got Stealth Premier ;)


&

Meh the carbon has been around for a while.

Nooo, not so much 'meh'.
I am talking about that Premier line they just announced. Much more improvements, so really neat. Not a carbon frame however.
You can see on their website ;)


&

I just returned from a trip with a Luggage Works bag that's been in use for about 15 years. The only maintenance it has required has been new wheels; I use inline skate wheels and bearings, replacing them every few years. It's as solid as when I first picked it up at the stop-over store. This bag always gets checked. It's never a problem. Not to say it wont' be one day, but I've had a lot of mileage out of this bag; the only complaint I'd have is that it's heavy, empty. Otherwise, none. I wouldn't use anything else, personally.

It looks good and improves on issues I have with my current LW bag.

Ive been happy with the plastic frame one, cheaper and lighter.

LuggageWorks Carbon 2.0
 

Has anyone invested in the LuggageWorks Carbon 2.0 Pilot Rolling Bag? There are no reviews and I am debating between it and the Stealth Premier. Just wondering if it is worth the extra $250...

I'm seriously considering it as my first bag. I can't find any information about it anywhere. I thought about going to the AA Academy store to see if they had one in stock to put my hands on.

Ill raise this post from the dead to say thank you! Some penetrating oil and a hammer did the trick for me. Was not looking forward to finding the correct bolts. Cheers

FYI: for those looking to solve the rusting issue, you can order these bolts in titanium for $10 a pop. You can specify how long you want the threads too, I'm getting 5/8". Can get them Here