I’ve had a luggage works, currently have a strongbags. Strongbags has been much better than lugggae works, but every Briggs and Riley I have seen looks like it holds up much better than everything else. Honestly I wish I bit the bullet last time I replaced my bag.

Why has Strongbags been better than Luggage works? I’m in the market for a new bag.

I switched a year ago from LW to a Strongbag. I like it way better.

It has cleaner lines on the outside that don’t snag clothing, overhead bins, curbs etc. it’s has held up better in terms of exterior fabric and zipper wear. I didn’t like the external frame on the LW. The strongbag is an aluminum box and very strong, I use it as a seat from time to time. The handle retracts flush. My favorite thing is it doesn’t scream “I’m a pilot”, it’s a bit more subdued. The negatives are that it holds less, I turned that into a positive by bringing less, which makes packing easier anyway.

For starters my luggage works frame bent like a banana after about 3-4 months. Heavy as crap compares to the strongbags.

The wheels in the the luggageworks needed replacing but while unbolting the axle the housing around the wheel cracked rendering the whole bag useless.

The strongbags are way more user friendly for replacing individual parts. You can even just buy a replacement material outer if you needed to.

That heavy cast metal base piece is the Achilles heel of the whole bag. Drop it from 1.5 feet onto pavement and it cracks and it's so expensive to fix you might as well buy a new bag.

They have a super expensive carbon fiber version but it's not nearly as light or rugged as it should be because the cast base plate is the same.

Another vote here for B&R

I’ve commuted for 9 out of 10 years of my airline career. I am currently on my second LW metal frame bag. It is getting to be about time to replace my current one though. The biggest issue I have seen on both bags is the zippers. Supposedly the newer(more expensive) LW has fixed the problem. Occasionally do need to tighten screws. Takes 5 minutes once or twice a year. I know the stealth bags get a lot of hate but I like them.

I bought a Briggs and Riley for the lifetime warranty that covered everything, even airline damage (I commute in on a flight that requires valet checking roller bags). Figured it would be my forever bag but I knew at some point I’d have to send it in for repairs and would need a backup bag while I waited. In less than a year, one of the expansion locks would pop loose frequently. I could live with that until a more major problem. Then the part of the hook attachment that is fixed to the bag broke. Even that was still usable if I was careful so I lived with it. About a year and half after first buying the bag, the top handle broke.

That last one, I couldn’t live with so I bought the cheapest LW bag I could get to be the backup bag (Aurora). BR fixed two of my problems but for some reason didn’t fix the broken part on the hook attachment so I sent it back for a second attempt. They fixed it. But in the mean time I was getting used to using my LW bag which rolled smoother, held more stuff, and the zipper expansion is much more robust than the mechanical expansion on the BR.

The BR is now my backup bag.

I don’t mean to say that the BR is a bad bag or cheaply made. Valet checking bags for my commute is rough on the bags. I have since had to repair my LW Aurora bag as well. I prefer to use my LW though.

I don't remember the different names/models of LW bags. But I've had the model that has the stainless steel handle and all metal frame that's built like a tank. Been running strong for nearly a decade. It's taken a beating and it's seen better days from a cosmetic standpoint. But I've had zero problems with zippers, wheels or any other hardware.

I have that same LW bag. Prior to it I had a LW stealth (the $300 bag), then switched to a TravelPro crew pilot for about three years which became my wife's, and purchased the 22" Aurora for $120 open box from one of their stores. At the time it was $150 retail, now it's $170 and they got rid of the expandable one.

However I will say I absolutely love it. Lightweight, fits a decent amount, and it's built well. Much better than the equivalently priced TravelPro. The only thing I've done with it was replace a wheel set, believe it or not it wasn't the bearing but the actual wheel that was squeaking. I ordered four off eBay for $8 shipped.

I view bags as expendable/wear items and budget $50/yr on them. I noticed LW now has a $600 carbon fiber bag...insane.