This article is part of a series giving you detailed reviews on
a wide range of the major choices of carry-on bags available
today. |
|
Be sure to read it in conjunction
with our related reviews and our summary recommendations (see
links in right column). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Search |
Looking for something else? Search
over two million words of free information on our site.
|
|
|
|
|
Free Newsletter |
|
|
Help this Site |
Thank you for your interest in helping this site to continue to develop. Some of the information we give you here can save you thousands of dollars the next time you're arranging travel, or will substantially help the quality of your travel experiences in other, non-cash ways.
 |
|
Reader's Replies |
If you'd like to add your own commentary,
send me a note. |
|
|
|
|
|
Samsonite Wheeled Carry-On Luggage reviews
Two distinctive products from an
industry pioneer
|
|
Samsonite is probably
the largest of the companies reviewed, being the only listed
public company and multi-national enterprise out of the
various manufacturers reviewed.
Originally founded in
1910 in Denver as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company,
the Samsonite brand name first appeared in 1941.
Nowadays the company
makes luggage under a variety of different brand names,
including American Tourister, Hedgren, Lacoste, and Trunk &
Co, as well as Samsonite.
|
Scroll down or click these links to
jump to the review you wish to read
Sahora Spinners Hybrid
Ultra 3000 XLT Expandable Sideroller
Carry-on Upright Suiter
Samsonite Sahora Spinners Hybrid
Carry-on Upright model 337xxx220
|
|
The Samsonite Sahora
Spinners Hybrid is visually distinctive and has four wheels
that can swivel in any direction (hence the name 'spinner').
This - and its slightly
smaller than maximum size - make it easy to maneuver in the
tight space down an airplane aisle, and its lighter weight
makes it easier to manhandle up into an overhead when fully
loaded.
Capacity-wise, it is
fairly small and it is difficult to over-pack it due to its
somewhat rigid construction.
Overall, we were a bit
disappointed with this bag, feeling that 'look good' design
had over-ridden issues of basic functionality.
|
Price
and availability |
$120
With a 110% low price matching guarantee, comprehensive
product range, and excellent service, we recommend
eBags.com
for purchasing this suitcase.
Special Note : eBags are now giving Travel Insider
readers 10% discounts off many products and free
shipping too. |
Warranty |
Samsonite offer a
limited ten year warranty, which excludes wear and tear
or abusive treatment.
A positive feature of their warranty is that Samsonite
have world-wide repair facilities, although the chances
are very unlikely you'd have enough spare time while
traveling to arrange for repairs to your bag.
The warranty politely says 'retaining the following
items would be helpful' and lists proof of purchase,
product tags, shipping carton, and, strangely, the
warranty certificate which is just a standard
mass-printed sheet of paper with no specific data on it,
but doesn't imply it is mandatory to keep these things. |
Official size |
19.5" x 15.5" x 8.5"
(43.5" total) |
Measured maximum
external size |
21" x 15.5" x 8"
(44.5" total) - an unusual mix of larger, exactly the
same size, and smaller (note my measuring is not
absolutely exact).
The bag is legal in two of its dimensions and total of
all three dimensions, but its 15.5" width places it
outside the typical requirement for this dimension not
to exceed 14". You're less likely to have problem
with this bag being accepted on a plane than with some
of the others that are clearly way over the size limits. |
Measured internal
size |
19" (or less) x
14.75" x 7.5" (or less).
The bag has fairly wide radius corners, reducing the
amount of free space inside and the internal carry
handle takes up a large amount of space in the bag base. |
Expandability |
No. |
Weight |
8 lbs claimed.
Tests to about 8.5lbs, maybe slightly more. |
Construction |
The bag is
constructed of polyester fabric over a lightweight ABS
frame. It is semi-hard sided, with a rigid base
and sides. All parts
were screwed rather than riveted.
Although the corners were generously rounded, and with a
bead running on both sides of the main zipper seam,
there was no additional edge protection.
The zipper pulls have loop holes in the through which
you could place a padlock hasp if you wished to lock the
bag. The bag is lined
inside, although the outside pocket linings aren't very
smooth. |
Color choices |
Black or Grey |
Handles |
Two handles and feet
opposite the handle on the long side.
Note there are no feet on the main bottom of the bag,
just its four wheels. Conceivably, if leaving the
bag on a slope, that might mean it would roll away if
unattended, but in such a case, you can simply put the
bag on the other side which has four feet. |
Towing Handle
|
A three piece
telescoping handle, which locks in two positions at 31"
and 40.5". The handle
seems reasonably solid and has no more than a normal
amount of wiggle in it.
The handle is mounted inside the bag and is well
protected when closed. |
Wheels |
One of the
distinctive features of this bag are the four wheels on
its base, all mounted on castors that can turn in any
direction. When
towing the bag by its handle, two of the castored wheels
act as you'd normally expect fixed wheels to act, giving
a reasonably directionally stable tow experience.
But if you need to do in-tight maneuvering, this is
possible while angling the bag onto two of the wheels on
the short side, or with the bag resting on all four
wheels. The wheels
are all completely exposed, and measure about 2" in
diameter and 0.75" in width. They spin freely, and
have a slightly curved profile. |
Stair skids |
No |
Outside
compartments |
There is one
compartment on the base, measuring about 9" wide and 12"
deep, with two zips closing the top of it.
There is very little room inside this compartment for
thicker sized objects and all in all, it is of little
practical use. The
lid has two compartments. The first measures about
8.25" x 13" and has two zips around its top and upper
sides. This compartment also is limited in terms
of how thick an object can be easily stored in it.
Above this is another compartment, measuring about 8.5"
wide and 7" deep. This is a very puzzling
compartment - its opening is very tight and narrow and
it is hard to know what you'd choose to store inside.
It has two zips across its top.
In summary, the bag's outside pockets are less useful
than on most other bags reviewed. |
Inside compartments
in base |
The base has no
compartments inside it, although the lining is zipped in
the middle so conceivably you could put things on the
other side of the lining if you chose to. |
Inside compartments
in lid |
The lid, which is of
almost identical dimensions to the base, has a divider
around its entire opening. This zips open or
closed with two zips opening three of the four sides.
There are no extra compartments inside the divided
space, but on the outside of the divider there are two
zipped compartments - a clear plastic waterproof
compartment measuring about 14" x 6" and a mesh
compartment measuring about 14" x 9.5". |
Suit carrier
included |
No |
Other Removable
holders inside |
No |
Waterproof
compartment |
Yes, one, about 14"
x 6". |
Packing Straps |
Yes, one set of
elastic straps in the base and another set in the lid.
Each form an X with a single point of attachment in the
middle. |
External carry
hook/strap |
No |
ID holder |
Yes - somewhat
hidden in a gusset of the back outside pocket. |
Other features |
Includes a free
junky little padlock and keys. Don't use this as it shows no
sign of being TSA approved. |
Samsonite Ultra 3000 XLT Expandable Sideroller
Carry-on Upright Suiter
Product 383XXX301
|
|
This is a large bag
and well constructed.
It does have an unusual
and innovative six wheel base. In addition to the two large wheels
normally found on these types of bags, it has two sets of
two small wheels on each side, enabling it to be tilted onto
its narrow side for rolling in tight spaces such as the
aisle of a plane.
The bag has a vaguely old
fashioned feel to it - or perhaps it feels more like a
downsized suitcase than a custom wheeled carry-on, and there
is nothing much in the way of packing aids inside.
|
Price
and availability |
$130
With a 110% low price matching guarantee, comprehensive
product range, and excellent service, we recommend
eBags.com
for purchasing this suitcase.
Special Note : eBags are now giving Travel Insider
readers 10% discounts off many products and free
shipping too. |
Warranty |
Samsonite offer a
limited ten year warranty, which excludes wear and tear
or abusive treatment. A positive
feature of their warranty is that Samsonite have
world-wide repair facilities, although the chances are
very unlikely you'd have enough spare time while
traveling to arrange for repairs to your bag.
The warranty politely says 'retaining the following
items would be helpful' and lists proof of purchase,
product tags, shipping carton, and, strangely, the
warranty certificate which is just a standard
mass-printed sheet of paper with no specific data on it,
but doesn't imply it is mandatory to keep these things. |
Official size |
22" x 14" x 9" (45"
total). |
Measured maximum
external size |
24" x 15.25" x
10"
(49.25" total) - this is illegally large for most
airlines. |
Measured internal
size |
21.5" x 14.25".
Depth of base is about 6.25" and depth of lid is about
3". Can slightly overpack the lid but not the
base. The bag has
large radius corners on its top, slightly reducing the
overall space inside. |
Expandability |
No |
Weight |
10 lb 6 oz claimed. Actual weight about
12 lbs, maybe slightly more. |
Construction type |
3000 denier Polyester Fibreloc in a thick weave.
The sides and base are solid, made from honeycombed
plastic, covered with the fabric. Similar material
is used on the sides of the lid, with the front of the
lid being fabric.
Almost all components are screwed rather than riveted.
There is ribbing on the outside edge and this thickens
around the corners.
The main zip pair to open up the bag has locking eyelets
and all zip pulls have holes in their handles that can
also have padlock hasps passed through.
Compartments are all lined. |
Color choices |
Black, Dark Green |
Handles |
Two.
Has four feet on the long side opposite the carry
handle. |
Towing Handle |
Two section telescoping handle that extends to 38".
The two part handle feels sturdy and has little wiggle
in it.
Mounted internally and well protected from external
forces. It also has a protective fabric cover than
can be zipped over the handle when stowed away.
When the handle is up, there is what appears to be some
sort of almost cup holder in the recessed area where the
handle otherwise would rest. |
Wheels |
The bag has six
wheels. Two of them are the main wheels - these
are solid wheels
that turn with slight resistance. They measure
2.75" in diameter and 1" wide, with a curved
tire shape so only a small part contacts the ground.
These main wheels are about half recessed and well
protected.
The other four wheels are very small - about 1.25" in
diameter and 1" wide, with a flat cross-section, and
about one quarter recessed. These are fixed two on
each short side, so the bag can be tilted in the normal
direction (for the main wheels) or on either side (for
one pair of the side wheels) enabling it to roll with
either its wide or narrow side facing.
This is helpful when going down narrow airplane aisles. |
Stair skids |
Yes, and assisted by
the recessed wheels. |
Outside
compartments |
There is one
compartment on the back of the bag, measuring about
13.5" wide by 10.5" deep, with a zip across its top.
This compartment is not gusseted at all so can't hold
anything very thick.
There are three compartments on the front. At the
very top is a small zip compartment that seems to be
good only for storing the external carry loop when not
in use. Below that is
a compartment about 10.5" wide and 6" deep, with two
zips around three of its sides and side flaps to stop
items falling out.
Below that is a larger compartment, with an opening
about 10.5" wide and 12" deep, but extra space inside,
about 13" wide by 14" deep. Two zips go
around three sides and it too has side flaps.
This compartment isn't gusseted but is large enough to
allow a certain amount of overpacking. |
Inside compartments
in base |
There are no
compartments within the base of the unit. However,
there was a very nice surprise inside - a separate
travel organizer kit, discussed below. |
Inside compartments
in lid |
The lid has a mesh
cover that zips over it with two zippers running around
three of its sides.
Inside the mesh
cover is the suit carrier (see below) but nothing else. |
Suit carrier
included |
Yes - a very basic
tri-fold carrier. It
has a loop rather than hanger at the top and nothing
inside and no pockets.
It has wire stiffening around the four sides of the
inner most of the three folding sections to help it keep
its shape. |
Other Removable
holders inside |
Samsonite include
what they refer to as a 'Travel Organizer Kit' in the
bag. This bag measures about 10" x 9" x 2", and
zips closed. Inside is a waterproof pouch (about
8.5" x 6.5" with a zip three quarters of the way up it,
and a pouch in the bottom part with three large elastic
loops, perhaps to hold shampoo, toothpaste and
toothbrush, and something else.
This kit is stiff to zip and unzip, and is not something
I'd choose to buy if offered for sale separately, and
probably is something I'll discard rather than keep.
I already have a toiletries bag (who doesn't) exactly
the size and shape I want.
There are also three drawstring grey plastic bags
provided. Two are recommended for shoes (one pair
in each). These would be more helpful if they were
two different colors, so one could remember which pair
of shoes were in which bag.
The third bag is a large 13" x 20" bag that Samsonite
suggest could be used as a laundry bag and also as a
divider. |
Waterproof
compartment |
Not as part of the
bag, but included in the 'Travel Organizer Kit'. |
Packing Straps |
Two elastic straps
that go cross-wise over the items in the base. |
External carry
hook/strap |
Yes. Instead
of a clip on/off item, there is a permanently affixed
webbing strap inside the top compartment of the outside
lid. Unzip the compartment, pull it out, and slide
the loose end's tongue into a loop on the top of the bag
to form the carrying loop.
Its length can be adjusted, and it is nice that you'll
never lose or forget it. But the sliding in and
out of the loop at the top is not as easy as just
clipping something onto something else, as is the case
with most competing bags. |
ID holder |
Yes, on the back of
the base. |
Other features |
Also comes with a
combination lock with cable - this would be a useful
accessory, but unfortunately it is not TSA approved -
so you shouldn't use this. |

Review methodology
Please note that weights and
measurements are approximate. Measurements in particular
are surprisingly subjective, and almost no bag/case has even
measurements across every part of the bag.
External measurements are
usually taken at the largest possible part - like an airline
would do if trying to negatively prove your bag was illegally
oversized.
|
If so, please donate to keep the website free and fund the addition of more articles like this. Any help is most appreciated - simply click below to securely send a contribution through a credit card and Paypal.
|
Originally published
17 Sep 2004, last update
30 May 2021
You may freely reproduce or distribute this article for noncommercial purposes as long as you give credit to me as original writer.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
 |
|
|