When it came to packing for my trip to the US, I must admit I felt totally out of practice. It used to be second nature, but a couple of years without an international trip left me constantly wondering what I’d forgotten. It turns out, the only thing I did leave behind was my CVS loyalty card (US pharmacy where I stock up on various items I can’t get in Australia) so there was no great packing tragedy. If anything, I probably overpacked, but Covid did have me in my hotel room isolating when I was supposed to be out exploring, wining and dining. If you missed it, you can read about my Covid experience while travelling here. Anyway, on my return I thought I’d write about the suitcase I was gifted which convinced me of the benefits of hard case luggage.
Victorinox Werks Traveller suitcase review
For an over packer and shopper like myself, I love the baggage limit available to me when travelling to the USA. Two suitcases up to 23kgs each (50lbs) is a dream. On previous trips, when I’m not carrying magazines, I take one empty bag inside my main bag. For my recent trip I was gifted the Victorinox Werks Traveller large suitcase. I travelled with the new suitcase and my old faithful pull along black Antler bag. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see how they compared.
A friend summed it up when she experienced both my bags. She offered to take my luggage with her in an Uber when we were swapping hotels. I was staying on at Magic Kingdom for the day so she had my two bags as well as her own. That night when she met me in the lobby to hand my bags over I thanked her profusely and she said, “the blue bag was great but that black one is a beast to wheel!” I would have to agree.
Both bags have their pros and cons so here’s my break down of what I like about both styles of bag. Spoiler, this is heavily weighted to the Victorinox Werks bag based on performance.
Navigating airports and hotel corridors (particularly the ones with carpet!) is so much easier with the four-wheel upright bag. I find it a lot easier on my wrists which tend to get sore pulling the weight of the black Antler bag when it’s packed to the max. The Victorinox Werks bag is so easy to wheel Braeden can do it even when it is packed.
I can place my hand luggage bag on top of the Victorinox Werks bag giving me another hand free for my passport and other documents.
Having two distinct sides to the suitcase allows me to organise my packing and makes it much easier to find things once I am travelling.
The packing cell which comes with the Victorinox Werks luggage is spacious and has a padded spot for a laptop. Although I travel with my laptop in my hand luggage, once I am at my destination and moving between hotels, I often put my laptop in my bag and feel the padded pouch protects it well.
For an avid packing cell family, we love all the packing cell solutions which come with the Victorinox Werks Traveller bag.
I like the added protection for breakables with the 100% pure polycarbonate case which makes it strong yet lightweight. I certainly don’t need a bag starting out heavy when I am an over packer.
Both suitcases have an internal pocket ideal for placing an AirTag (or equivalent) for tracking your luggage. You can read about our experience using the AirTag on our recent trip in this review. And yes, I always travel with some pegs. They are useful for all sorts of things including any hand washing if a hotel room has a retractable clothes line.
Lastly, the inbuilt locking system, including TSA compatibility, saves me searching for padlocks each time I travel.
After using the Victorinox Werks Traveller on both an international trip and a domestic trip I can report it out performed my old Antler suitcase. The only disadvantage I can see is the fact I can’t lay it out on most luggage racks that are provided in hotels. It’s simply too large and this is the same for most hard suitcases I imagine. I had to lie it on the floor which is fine in larger hotel rooms but not as good in tight spaces. The Antler fits on luggage racks as it is a single sided case.
If you haven’t upgraded your luggage in a while, I highly recommend you do so. There has been a significant design improvement in the new suitcases with ease of wheeling being the number one user friendly feature.
You can read more about Victorinox Werks Traveller on their website.
As always, our opinions are our own and if you spot us at an airport, you’ll be sure to see us with the new Victorinox Werks Traveller bag.
You may also like to read the 5 things a wheelchair user should pack for travel
and our tips for Making Air Travel More Comfortable.
