Thoughts on my Rimowa luggage
My Rimowa luggage set, taken right after purchase.
I am often asked if my Rimowa luggage is “worth it” which is a difficult question to answer. Is it the best quality you can get for the money? No. But I personally find it to be the most attractive luggage on the market, which coupled with the quality makes it a winner for me.
After my CalPak luggage failed me while on an extended business trip, I decided that I needed to make an investment in better quality luggage. I did what can only be described as an insane amount of research, reading online reviews, watching youtube videos, and scrolling through pages of reddit reviews. I didn’t want to get it wrong again.
Rimowa was definitely on my radar from the start. It has been called the “Rolls Royce of luggage” and I have long admired the Rimowas that I saw people toting around the airport. It used to be the go-to luggage for serious travelers, but with the acquisition of the company by LVMH in 2016, it started to become more of a luxury status symbol. LVMH changed the name of the pieces from Salsa, Topas, and Bolero to Original, Essential, and Classic and increased prices increased by 25 - 65% from the previous generation models. I wish I had purchased my luggage prior to this change.
My bottom line conclusion from all of the research that I did is that Briggs & Riley is the best quality luggage on the market, and while pricey, is still priced below Rimowa. But Rimowa is also high quality and exceedingly more attractive. I personally could not get past the fact that Briggs & Riley looks like any regular suitcase, because at that price point, I wanted my luggage to stand out. This may not be true for everyone and could even be a deterrent for some who prefer their luggage to blend in and say that Rimowa screams expensive, making it a target for thieves. There are some that allege that baggage handlers are purposefully hard on Rimowas (claims that cannot be substantiated). I wish I could get past the aesthetics, but after a lot of thought, decided that if I was spending that much on luggage, I’d rather spend a bit more to get the better looking Rimowa. Yes, I intentionally paid a bit more for luggage that is a bit lower in quality.
Selecting my Rimowas
Once I had made the decision to buy Rimowa, there came the difficult decision of which model to buy. I decided that I definitely wanted the signature aluminum luggage, but research told me that checking it would cause dents and dings and scratches that I knew would drive me crazy. So I decided to get an aluminum carry on and an Essential medium checked luggage. I chose the rounder “original cabin” vs the more square “classic cabin” because I liked the way it looked a bit better, and also because the rounded edges would match those of the checked size I would be getting. There are two cabin sizes, with the plus size offering substantially more volume but also technically being larger than is allowed as a carry on for most airlines. I see the larger version being carried on all the time, and reports are that it is force checked only about 20% of the time. This was a difficult decision for me, give that the additional volume would make my carry-on only trips that much easier, but I just didn’t want to have to stress about it being gate checked or having it not fit into the overhead compartment. For my checked luggage, I chose the medium size over the more popular large size, since I find that even with a medium I often approach or exceed the 50 pound limit of most airlines. I also often take the train or get to the airport using public transportation so a smaller size luggage would be easier to handle. Given that I rarely check, I didn’t see myself needing the capacity of a large. I never considered the Essential Lite, and it doesn’t have a handle on the side, the pull up bar is a flimsy T, and it overall just seems cheap to me.
Tip: Purchase in Europe for a substantial discount
I purchased my Rimowas in Madrid which meant 1) lower retail price 2) favorable EURO exchange range and 3) VAT refund. After my VAT refund, I saved about 30% off what I would have have paid to purchase in the US after taxes.
Overall Satisfaction
I am happy with my purchase and have no buyer’s remorse. The Rimowas wheel like a dream, which is great for someone that often walks 15 minutes to the train station. They are gorgeous, and I feel chic rolling them around. I was worried about capacity in the smaller carry-on, but it has not been an issue. I do think that the aluminum is more “worth it” than the polycarbonate, but I stand by my decision not to buy an aluminum that would need to be checked (in addition to being prone to damage, they are really heavy!).
I recently stepped on the flex divider for my carry on and snapped the plastic bar inside (oops). I contacted Rimowa, and a brand new flex divider was FedEx’ed to me and arrived the next day. Now that’s what I call customer service!
Note that you can take your broken Rimowa for repair to a shop anywhere in the world, with a lifetime warranty (Rimowa's lifetime guarantee covers functional damage to new suitcases purchased on or after July 25, 2022).
Conclusion
This is a personal decision for each traveler, one that each can only made individually.
