Travel Concepts Forge Lightweight 3-Piece Hardside Luggage Set

As a Corporate Pilot, I use luggage like others people use their cars; I'm on the road at least three days a week. I was in the market to replace a more expensive set of Titan Manhattan luggage I'd been abusing for the past four years and reviewed the TC Forge set. After considering several other makes and models, what sold me was the the two-wheel setup and the depth of the shells. I have had a ridiculous number of trolley wheels torn off bags by the airlines, which necessitates a long trip through Chicago's traffic to the repair shop and usually three weeks to complete the repair. I also was intrigued by the depth of the TC Forge shells. Most luggage utilizes very shallow shells to incorporate the sliding handle mechanism and remain within airline carry-on standards. These bags are DEEP in spite of the low interference of the sliding handle mechanism. I was able to pack for a four day trip to Mexico with four pairs of shoes, several dress shirts and clothes for a variety of conditions using just the small carry-on sized bag (and was able to carry it on my totally full American Airlines 737). For the eight day domestic trip I'm on right now for work, I used the mid-sized bag loading a variety of dress and casual clothes and tipped the baggage scale at 42 lbs with about 1/6 of the space left. One could easily hit the normal baggage limit of 50 lbs with this one. I have not used the large one yet, but it it well suited to hauling light bulky items such as Christmas presents of samples along with normal clothes and valet items. The shells appear to be impervious to the usual baggage handler applied abuse. Very tough, yet giving under point load pressure. The diamond pattern on the shells should hide scratches and avoid tears under abuse. I do have a couple of long-term concerns about the luggage. Though still secure, it is possible that the grab handles could be a little under-sized given the capacity of the bags. I have not had any problems, mind you, but I'll be taking it easy on vigorously hauling via the grab handles until I gain a little more confidence in them (would liked to have another set of handles on the long side of the bags, too). I have not utilized the expansion zippers in any way yet, though all the zippers appear to be of robust quality. The sliding handles appear to be adequate to drag any weight contained in the bags, but are not exceedingly robust. Time will tell how strong they are, but they are a simple replacement item. Instead of being equipped with a set of TSA Approved zipper pull locks, these bags were delivered with very cheesy padlocks, that deformed under minor pressure, allowing access to the contents. I have found that the shell-mounted zipper pull locks provide enough of a deterrence to keep casual thieves out my stuff. This locking system is lame. In spite of the criticism above, I am really happy with my Forge luggage. The stuff I can carry and the ease with which I can roll it around really makes this set worth far more than the $179 retail price that existed when I bought it.

• How accurate was the sizing? Very accurate.
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Very high quality shell, handles and zippers have acceptble durability.
• Was the product free of any manufacturer defects? No defects noted.