Semi-OT: Why don't we see more carbon fiber reinforced luggage?

[MattTuck]

Seems that carbon fiber would be an ideal material for structure (not talking hardshell bags here) for wheeled bags and even shoulder carried bags. seems most use plastic.

Just looking at the weight advantages, I'm surprised it isn't seen more often.

[EDS]

Available if you are willing to pay the coin:

https://www.tumi.com/p/carbon-fiber-elvington-international-carry-on-035070CB

[rnhood]

Cost. Travel is hard on luggage, and very few would be willing to spend a lot of money on something that will get beat up. As far as weight is concerned, once the luggage is packed it will still be heavy which means it will have castors and be rolled around. There is just no advantage to offset the higher cost.

[TunaAndBikes]

You also don't really need the stress bearing capabilities of carbon fiber, like it's necessary in bikes or other structures like cars or airplane wings etc.
All you really need is a strong impact resistant polymers (like polycarbonate) do a decent job at task

Case in point;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfzw9JOzyjI

IMHO of course, correct me if i'm wrong!

[William]

I think it would fail catastrophically!! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730






William

[srcarter]

Available if you are willing to pay the coin:

https://www.tumi.com/p/carbon-fiber-elvington-international-carry-on-035070CB

Ouch. My beautiful new (to me) carbon frameset was less than half a suitcase.

[rounder]

I think it would fail catastrophically!! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730






William

I think he might have been one of the luggage handlers that handled my suitcase.

Just retired and replaced the suitcase after about 15 years of occasional business travel. There are about five 3/4" inch rings where there used to be zipper pulls...some of the rings have been replaced again. The wire frame is poking out of three corners from wear and tear and general handling. I originally paid extra for a heavy duty suitcase so that it might be able to stand up to the rigors of the luggage handlers, but it was no match for them.

[R3awak3n]

Available if you are willing to pay the coin:

https://www.tumi.com/p/carbon-fiber-elvington-international-carry-on-035070CB

If I am going to pay $2000 for a suitcase, it has to do more than just transport my clothes, it has to also transport me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HazWCa3huMY

[bikinchris]

I think it would fail catastrophically!! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C-e96m4730






William

Honestly, that's nothing. They would CRUSH a carbon suitcase. Carbon is strong in tension, not compression. The airlines use electric wenches to tighten a net over the bags in the cargo area.
Once when I came back from Europe, my S&S case was damaged. They took the thick steel latch and folded it in two. I couldn't have done that with a chisel and maul. Amazing.

People, don't buy expensive luggage and check it. They WILL damage it. I could see nice luggage as carry on bags, but not checked.

[MattTuck]

Yeah, not sure why the default thinking is that using carbon fiber is going to be multiple times as expensive. I'm talking about using it as part of the internal frame/structure of the luggage (like with wheeled luggage), or providing a solid center span for shoulder carry bags and/or garment types bags.

[Fishbike]

I just spent a lot of time researching new checked luggage. I thought I was going to go with hard shell. Virgin (yup that's what it's called) polycarbonate is the leading material. It will compress and is hard to crack. BUt it CAN crack and is prone to scuffs. Most of the quality hard shell cases open 50-50 book style. The quality hard shell cases can be lighter than top tier soft side by a couple of pounds.

I ultimately went with soft side. It is more stuffable, larger and has a pocket on the outside. And since I stay packed while traveling I prefer a bag that is much deeper on one side 80-20.

Quality wheels are key and are a big upgrade over old luggage. The new stuff is a pound or two lighter but, like adding a water bottle and seat bag, won't really be noticeable when stuffed with a week's worth of stuff.

For whatever it's worth, I went with Briggs & Riley Transitions.

[m_sasso]

Not the right material for luggage to brittle, you will be seeing more things like Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, Dyneema, NanoFly, Spectra......etc. in future luggage. Something like Dyneema has 50X the abrasion resistance of carbon steel, try that with Carbon fiber.

You will also see more of these Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene types of material, added strength with flex, migrating into more and more bicycles to moderate the brittleness of Carbon frames, reducing the likely hood of catastrophic failures.

[dpk501]

No Carbon, only Aluminum Rimowa. Love mine so much and so durable. Love the dents and scratches on them.

[rustychisel]

Have a look at what aircrew and professional traveling staff use. Aluminium with heavy duty scuff guards. Full stop.

[Davist]

Agree with Rusty above, I've flown about 150k miles this year and finally went with the "travelpro" brand the flight crews use (conveniently, it's called "flight crew" :)) after wearing out Swiss Army and a bunch of others. Soft sided, aluminum frame, and you can get relatively cheap through their outlet or the flight crew sites.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Weekly Ruminations with MattTuck.

[MattTuck]

Weekly Ruminations with MattTuck.

You think it's bad now, you clearly don't remember when I was going through my divorce. I think I was creating 2 or 3 new threads a day! :banana::banana:

[tiretrax]

If I am going to pay $2000 for a suitcase, it has to do more than just transport my clothes, it has to also transport me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HazWCa3huMY

That's one way to travel with a (e) bike.