Ok so aparently we have a few pilots acting like passengers lol. They want a safe, comfortable, full of food and on time flight for less than it costs to do it. And won't pay a penny more. Fortunately there enough people out there willing to pay for the price of quality to make up for it.

The point here is that the complaints on zippers, bendable frame, crappy foam grip and issues with the skid plate are a product of keeping with in your price range. So those issues will never be addressed unless people want to pay more. There is a reason that not much has changed in almost 30 years with this bag. That's where I stand.

I do know for a fact that many are willing to pay for a much improved product. I was hoping some of them were part of the community here and wanted to chime in.

Don't worry, the $300 Stealth bag that is out will always be available. Some will now have the option of having one with out as many issues and it will have some significant design benefits. Then again, pilots love to complain so that might be a bad idea.

Thanks for the feedback, keep it coming.

On another quick note. For those that won't pay any more for a bag but feel as if the Luggageworks bag does not perform well, what are you comparing this to?

I'm asking this as an honest question since I have yet to find another bag that has the customer service, availability, warranty etc. that compares to the Luggageworks products. At least in my research that is. This isn't necessarily a biased view and I apologize if it comes across as such. I really haven't found anything that holds up as well to the beating. This all for $300.

I have even looked international. I have found that the prices in Europe are insanely high. Some flight crews over there pay upwards of a grand for a good bag.

The LugggeWorks bag I bought about a year ago when my Purdyneatstuff FINALLY wore out after 11 years is good. But the nylon on the newer bag definitely isn't the same thick/durable material they used years ago. But the kick plate on the newer one is a better design than the former. My PNS bag lasted a little over 10 years. Pretty sure back then it was $200 or $225 and it was the metal frame bag.

I know it sucks to have to spend MORE money. But I bought the nylon velcro handle cover with my first bag as the foam seemed like an obvious weak spot. Still going strong on my second bag.

I've never used the plastic frame PNS/LW bag. Guys seem to say it's nice because it's lightweight. I've heard that if you commute or deadhead a lot the plastic resin frame won't last long. As well as the mounts for the handle can be a weak spot and wear quickly.

Heyas Afterburn,

The irony of your post is that the Purdy Neat, as it WAS, was the premium product.

I bought mine in 1998, replaced one handle, two sets of wheels and had the main zipper resewn once. In 14 years, that's pretty good. The PNs older than mine are even sturdier.

The problem with the current LW units are, actually, that they're the current LW units. 14 years of trimming material has left you with a bag that seems no different than the other roller bags that fall apart after 3 years. I tap on the frame, and I can't tell if it's metal or plastic.

For example, The striker plate on the bottom of my PN finally wore through. After 13 years of getting pulled over curbs, I thought it that it had performed well. I got it replaced with the the current part, which was a complete joke. The old part was at least 1/8 thick, and it's no wonder it lasted that long. It was clearly designed to take a beating.

The new part was so thin I can't believe it was meant to do anything other than be decorative. I told the guy who fixed it that it won't last a year, and he agreed. We were both wrong...only made it 8 months. Since there's no way I'd trade my current bag for a new unit, I got ANOTHER new striker plate, and bolted on some thick L channel on the corner.

If you want to go back to building a "premium product", go back to building them the way they USED to be built. The dang things were tough, which is why people bought them.

BTW, I never saw the point of making them light weight. It's a ROLLER bag. If you can't heave up a bag that weighs a pound or two more than a bag with a plastic frame, you have other issues.

By the way, I spent $200 on mine in 1998. That was a lot of money for a suitcase in 1998.

Nu

They main reason I needed a heavy-duty roller bag was for the hook that would hold my flight kit. No more flight kit; no more need for a heavy duty bag.

TravelPro. Nothing looks better than a TravelPro with a chain for your flight bag and some diamond plate on the corners. If you go to Home Depot you can make a TravelPro last well over 5 years for under $20 in parts!

When it comes down to it, if you had a LW bag with zippers that wouldn't break, a handle solution to the current mess, and a thicker kickplate, I think most of us would drop $400 on one. If you included a loaner bag shipped to the customer while theirs was in for repair, you would probably even get more guys to drop that kind of $$$. The issues discussed on this thread would be a MINIMUM to have fixed before I would think of going to $400 though.

Just curious why you asked for feedback if, when it's given, you get so defensive.

I recommend Strongbags.

StrongBags - Flight Crew Luggage: Homepage

I've had both. Never looked back since switching.

I'm currently using the Costco Kirkland brand bag priced at $99 and it's outlasted each of my (3) PNT bags and still looks brand new. As far as the warranty goes on the Costco bag, that's easy. If not satisfied, take it back for a full refund, no questions.

I have 3 PNT bags (one 27" International Bag, and 2 of the Stealth Bags), all three of them fell apart within 24 months of regular crew use. The cost of shipping and repair was about equal to buying a new bag.

PNT was marketed as a premium bag although it didn't live up to the hype in terms of materials or durability. The list of gripes voiced by others mirrors my experience with the bag(s) and I couldn't imagine paying more for one. My understanding is that PNT and Luggageworks bags are the same, but in all fairness, I did not buy from Luggageworks so I can't say if that would have a made a difference in quality or customer service.

The strongbag vortex seemed like a nice bag until I realized that it has a plain interior, no straps or dividers.

people WILL pay more for quality. I think what people are trying to say is that some of us had not received the quality that we expected for an LW bag. Like I said, now I have a 50 dollar bag from TJ Maxx that has lasted me longer and for 1/6th the price of a LW bag so who wouldn't stick with that if it was working for them? Try out TJ Maxx, you would be surprised the quality name brands they carry and for much cheaper.