Peter Greenberg ROAD WARRIOR

bearings, and should swivel 360 degrees. Swivels make a bag easier to maneuver, and seals keep the wheels from sticking. The collapsing handle should also be encased, and preferably placed on the exterior of the bag for maximum packing space.

son in the store. Of those I’ve tested, the Kiva line is extremely lightweight.

head compartment—and it won’t incite dirty looks from fellow passengers.

Hot
Wheels

4. Compactness Desperate to avoid checked-bag fees, many travelers haul anything on wheels onto a plane—including massive duffel bags. Reality check:

5. Low center of gravity
Cheap bags often have flat,
open pockets in the front.
Once the bag is loaded,
however, its uneven weight
distribution makes it top-
About 40 years ago a guy
named Bernard Sadow was
lugging two large suitcases
through the Aruba airport
when he noticed a worker
rolling machinery on a skid.
Eureka! Sadow invented a
rolling bag: It was large and
clunky, with four wheels on
the bottom and a towrope .

2. Durability As a thoroughly unscientific test, in 2009, for CBS’s Early Show, I stuffed fresh fruit into five top suitcase brands and threw each one into a ring with a five-ton Asian elephant. Most were destroyed within minutes. Amazingly, soft-sided bags seemed to fare better. The bag that lasted the longest? A $320 Vic-torinox suitcase—which happened to be a rollaway! Coming in second was a $99 unwheeled American Tourister, proving that affordable luggage can still be durable. ( You can see my experiment by searching “greenberg elephant” on You Tube.)

ple over if you let go. Look for a bag with a zippered front pocket and, again, widely spaced wheels.

1. Good wheels They should be widely spaced and encased, with sealed

3. Light weight Even if it
has wheels, no one wants
to pull a heavy suitcase.
You can easily perform
your own weight compari-
Just because it’s trans-
portable doesn’t mean it’s
portable. Your bag should
measure no more than
45 linear inches (length
plus width plus height). In
general, a 21-inch upright
fits best into any over-

CONTRARIAN TRAVELER

Many airliners don’t stock enough bottled water. When they run out (and they often do), flight attendants resort to the plane’s own water system. In 2004 the Environmental Protection Agency found that 15 percent of U.S. planes tested positive for coliform bacteria. New regulations have been enacted since then, but unless you hear the “crack” of a new water bottle being opened, I’d say stick with canned beverages.

WHAT YOUR FLIGHT ATTENDANT WILL NEVER TELL YOU

6. Robust warranty Not all lifetime guarantees are equal. Often the fine print excludes “excessive wear and tear” and “transport damage.” Translation: If the airline damages your suitcase, it’s not covered. The most comprehensive warranty I’ve found is from Briggs & Riley, which offers a true lifetime warranty on all of its lines. ;