Amen.

I've had my LW stealth for over 4 years and am very pleased with it. No problems whatsoever.

 

I've had a LW bag for 16 years. One "C" check, new zipper and frame piece, a crack had worked up to one of the wheels and I was worried it would break free. Had the zipper replaced another time, it's an old design with the zipper right at the edge of the "top" v. the "porthole" design they use now. Every time it was slung around face down, it was riding on the zipper and final wore out. The thing's bullet proof. It's gone down freighter ladders solo and been wedged in bulk pits. Yeah, it's heavy - so is gold.

 

That alone settled it for me right there. I have a LW bag that is older than dirt and was thnking baout switching... not gonna happen. I'll buy the product made here... thanks for the post BoilerUp.

 

I've had the strongbags one for a year and a half. I've had to replace 2 wheel wells. The CS guy said they had a batch of weak plastic which may account for that. Some rivets popped on the side panels, they replaced those. The zipper pullers come off too easily. CS said they had a fix for that, but after replacing them, 2 fell off on my first trip

 

One advantage of the LW is that if you've aircraft requires you've bag to go in the cargo compartment, the LW is generally recognized as a crew bag and won't get pulled off the plane at the outstations. I've seen many times where the FA's travel pro gets pulled despite having a crew tag while the two other LW crew bags stay on.

If you're lucky enough to fly an aircraft with space in the cabin or cockpit for crew bags then this isn't an issue.

 

USA, USA, USA. Don't be a penny pincher, buy American made, and it's been kicking butt for me for two years now with only one stop at the mechanic for a new foam grip.

 

LW is awesome. I've nearly converted everyone I know. Those that haven't yet will probably do so when their POS luggage breaks (in other words, any day now)

 

That works both ways. I've had times jumpseating or I gate checked the bag and they don't bring it up.

 

The guy that runs Strong Bags is an FO at Southwest, named Ethan. I had all the above issues, within months. The aluminum rivets that hold it together sheared, and the whole "box" collapsed. The wheel wells (plastic moldings that physically hold the wheels on) literally fell apart, leaving a gaping hole where the wheels had been.

Several of the zippers have failed. The slide handle's little, tiny plastic pins that keep it from collapsing until you push the button on top... one side failed. The edges of the stamped aluminum panels were sharp enough to cut my hand. The forward "feet" are just bent over sheet aluminum, that bends easy and scratches my tile floor. (LW uses aluminum cast feet).

Ethan took the bag back, and fixed the wheel wells and riveted it back together. The zippers are still failed, and so is the handle issue. He advertised recently that he now has metal zippers, so that might be better.

I have both bags, as I also own the the Luggage Works bag (the heavy cast aluminum / cold rolled steel handle one). I tend to use either bag, and like the relative lightness of the SB, and the relative robustness of the LW.

If I were to need a new bag, I'd build it myself. Really. I went and bought a sheet of .090" 6061-T6 aluminum sheet to build the box (like SB), but use metal wheel attachment like LW. I would use a more robust handle than SB, but not the grotesquely heavy LW style. It would have rubber bumpers for feet. And it would use steel zippers and flaps with velcro to cover them.



Wheels broken out of Strong Bag



Cracks forming on Strong Bag wheel wells prior to complete failure



Strong Bag "feet"

 

Wow the damage to the strong bag looks worse than anything I've replaced bags for. (how long did you have your bag when this happened?) I've had wheels fall off, but not whole wheel wells before. Seems like handles and wheels are the first to go. I've been using Sampsonite for the past 7 years and have gone thru either 3 or 4 bags I cant remember. Tired of having to buy a new bag just because a wheel or handle breaks and depending on my luck it costs between 50 and 150 bucks a pop. Plus now they seem to make their bags with less pockets and out of cheaper stuff (more plastic compared to metal than older bags I've had).

I was really hoping to go with a lighter bag since I go up and down stairs a lot plus I went heavy duty on the flight kit so its heavy empty and super heavy with all of the stuff I have to carry, but it has lasted me 7 years and is still ticking. Looks like the main way to get the same 7 years out of an overnight bag is to go the heavy metal LW route. Keep the comments coming. I'm still not comitted to a bag yet, but the vote here seems to be leaning towards LW.