American tourister continues its excellence with splash 2 update features from the original splash, the new splash 2 is lightweight, easy to roll and pack, and comes in great new colors. Pack more fun with American tourister splash 2
$ 69.99
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99 of 102 people found the following review helpful
 Comparison: American Tourister vs. Travelpro vs. Eagle Creek, By
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This review is from: American Tourister Splash 2 Upright 21 (Apparel)
I ordered and compared this to the Travelpro Maxlite3 and the Eagle Creek FlipSwitch 22. First of all, if you’re unsure of even which type of luggage to get, here are just some of the reasons you may want a rollaboard style over a spinner or larger bag: luggage with you means never lost, no bag fees, spinners of the same dimensions have considerable less capacity due to sitting fully above the wheels, and yes you can fit everything you really need in a rollaboard (longer trips just mean finding a laundry or dropping stuff off at the hotel desk or cleaners..for still less than bag fees, and much less crap to haul around and worry about). And of course you want a well made bag. I once took a chance on a bag from Target (Embark) because it was convenient and LOOKED surprisingly well made (beefy zippers etc). The wheel came off on the first trip so I had to carry it or drag it behind me. Pick a bag that’s got lots of good reviews, and be sure to read the most recent reviews as well because production runs can really vary. My first roller ever, and longest-lasting one, was an American Tourister. But that was a long time ago and they don’t make em like they used to. This being only a little more expensive than the super-bargain bags has me wondering about long term durability, but it looks reasonably well made. Moving parts are usually the culprits: wheels, handles and zippers, in that order in my experience. It’s hard to predict what’s going to fail first, but the only seeming weak spot here is the side handle. I cut it off, because fully loaded it just does not seem reinforced enough for baggage handlers. It’s still got top & bottom (much better reinforced) handles to yank it around by. The zippers aren’t as beefy as the other 2 bags, but I’ve never had a zipper blow out on a carry on (usually larger bags, and another reason I don’t use them). The biggest advantage to this bag is its capacity. I measured inside main pocket dimensions at 20 x 14.5 x 9.75 deep (bottom of the bag to the zipper). The Travelpro was similar in length & width but nearly 2" less deep. The Eagle Creek is tiny by comparison, an inch or 2 smaller in every dimension, even with the removable backpack straps taken out. This is easily the most stretchable of the bags as well. I stuffed an entire hamper full of laundry into it, and could have fit more. The Travelpro took about 80% of it and was stretched to the max. The Eagle Creek only 50%. The expandability of both this bag and the Travelpro only adds about an inch of depth (don’t believe any hype to the contrary), so it’s really more of a compression zipper feature. Will that front pocket fit your laptop? Probably. It fits my Acer Travelmate, which is a 15.6" (larger than most these days). It is a super tight fit: 3 corners fit right in, and I have to work the zipper and pocket around the corner of the 4th. Once it’s in the zipper isn’t stressed, but it is a bit of a pain going in (not as much coming out). The bright side is no one will be able to unzip and yank it out so easily that you wouldn’t notice. Despite its smaller capacity, the Travelpro does appear better made with larger zippers and a slightly sturdier seeming extension handle. It’s twice the price and I don’t really think it’s TWICE as well made, but quality matters to me so I first decided this was going to be my keeper. Then I took a trip with it. Its fatal flaw for me is that it has a seriously annoying habit of falling over with a laptop in its front pocket. Using the full capacity of this bag (and its larger front pocket) guarantees you will never be able to set it down for a moment without leaning it against something. I also prefer the pocket placement of the Splash, but the dealbreaker here is that you have to keep hold of it at all times or it falls over. I thought I could live with it, but it may prove more annoying than you think too. I got home and tried testing it with different loads, and if you’re careful to pack heavier things near the extension handle, and lighter things elsewhere (very light things in the front pocket- no laptop, or even much in the way of books/magazines/etc), then it will stand upright. That is too much of a tradeoff for me, especially combined with the smaller capacity. Eagle Creek makes seriously good luggage, and seems to provide the best quality of the three in this comparison as well. I ordered this because it was marked down to nearly the same price as the Travelpro, I’m confident of their quality, I read that the backpack straps are removable (don’t think I’d ever use them but I suppose it’s nice to be able to add them if you’re young and going somewhere rugged), and without the straps I’ve heard the bag can be squeezed into the somewhat smaller carry on restrictions of foreign carriers. Also it has a lot of pockets providing great organization. But due to a more rounded shape and some extra…
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Best bag for the money I have found anywhere!, By
Fenimore (Mountain Deserts of Southwest US) – See all my reviews
This review is from: American Tourister Splash 2 Upright 21 (Apparel)
You know how you can look and look for just the right suitcase and it seems like there’s always something that could be better? Well, you can stop looking – this bag is AWESOME!
Starting with the outside, the polyurethane wheels work smoothly with skate ball-bearings; the handle extends and retracts super easily; and the bag has nice handles for those times when rolling it just won’t work. The color ROCKS, but if you don’t want anything out of the ordinary (like blue or red),it does come in basic black, too. I like a bag I can ID by sight, more or less, and color helps. The fabric is TOUGH: even my least favorite airline would have trouble poking a hole in this bag. And it has exterior pockets enough (3) to confuse the TSA for sure — and I haven’t even gotten to one of the best parts yet — It’s small enough to use as a carry on and it easily fits in the overheads (even packed full). The interior is great, too. There are elasticized garment straps; the lining of the bag covers over the hardware channels for the handle. While you can feel the channels in the bottom of the bag, they don’t end up taking up your packing space like in some smaller uprights.There are also pockets inside – in the top, there are two, one of which is mesh (very handy). ALL of the zippers work well — very smoothly. The exterior ones are very heavy duty, no nonsense, and built-to-last. It may sound trivial, but they have really nice zipper pulls, too. I have a "no brand" bag from a department store, and the zippers are hard to close because the pulls are tiny straight bars – kind of chic looking, but functionally weird. I’d give this bag more stars if I could. It really has far exceeded my expectations, and has become the only bag I use, really. A week’s worth of travel can easily be handled using it alone – It must be the 5 pockets, really, but not having to check bags is heaven. 0
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful
 `a good review`,
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This review is from: American Tourister Splash 2 Upright 21 (Apparel)
good price , no issues except that if the expansion feature is used it may not fit in the overhead, otherwise it works well. I thought the quality was good for the price, after all its a carry on and your in control of it ,its not like its getting thrown about by the handlers or getting crushed under other heavy baggage.
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