Bag Fight

Tumi T3 owners are usually well traveled individuals... who don't check bags. In Boston's Logan airport on Monday night last week, a scene ensued over the first T3 bag off the belt. A woman intercepted the first T3 to appear and walked off with it assuming it was hers. Three other T3 owners who also believed the bag was theirs launched off after her, stopped her and literally ripped into the hidden ID pocket. Fortunately it was mine.

Two lessons here: 1) Time for a large unique luggage tag so no one will unthinkingly grab my bag again, and 2) Time for me to stop checking my bag. I'm opting for #2. Now if I could just find some powdered toothpaste...

It is time for a new bag. I'm wedging the "balancing bar" behind the broken metal tab to keep it from flopping around and it's a challenge now for me to get the bar flipped up again when I need to use it... Laurence?! I'm ready to test (and blog) the LXT! (Which I happily note doesn't have a balancing bar!)

Mark

First broken part...

Well the T3 has finally broken. It's not serious. The piece that sticks up in the back to keep my brief from falling off the handle (which I call the "balancing bar") no longer latches down. The problem with this is twofold.

1) It flops open when in the overheads. Flight attendants fuss with it trying to make it stay up so they can close the compartment.
2) When it flops up, cab drivers and people not in the know about the workings of a T3 try to pick up the bag by this "handle"...

It broke before I'd checked on this trip. So far it has just been in overhead compartments... I took a close up picture of what it looks like now, but honestly I don't recall what it is supposed to look like!

After checking it this last trip, it was mashed to the metal hook and after that I couldn't get the balancing bar back up. Took a lot of strength to force it back up!

Now that we're on the topic of the balancing bar, I have two observations about it.

1) I think it needs to be redesigned so that when up it doesnt look like a handle. Possibly keeping the ends (the part that you need to be there for the balancing) as is, but then having the unnecessary center portion be somehow lowered making the bar when upright look more like two upsidedown "U"s with the long plastic strip joining them together close to the suitcase.
2) Look at the size mismatch of the balancing bar and the hole in the briefcase. I would hope in the future that the briefcase cutout in the bottom would be the same length as the balancing bar on the T3. Is that too much to ask?!



As an aside, a colleague recently purchased a Formula T Circuit Brief and I has serious bag envy, until I realized that it had no pass through zipper compartment for this on handle treatment. For me that was a deal breaker. With all of the gear packed into my brief, there's no way I want to carry it around when I could roll it!

I'm back! Another new T3 adventure... checked baggage.

Just looking over the calendar and realizing that since the last blog post at the beginning of May, my Tumi has been to:

Finland (3x)
Boston (3x)
Seattle
Vancouver &
Frankfurt.

This last trip was a first. With the new airport security regulations, myTumi bag was finally checked. (It was either that or toss all of those hair products...)

The thing that suddenly became more valueble to me now that I was checking the bag was the expandable section. I was a heavy shopper in Finland and the bag extended like a champ to fit my new additions... As a checking only traveler I had never used that feature before. It's nice to know it's there if I need it.

Wrist watch

Ok. So I broke down and tried using the handle in the 'free form' straight ahead position shown in the "handle this" post from last week. The first thing I felt when pulling the bag along this was was a strange sense of relief. My hand naturally wants to fall to my side with my wrist facing into my body. This is exactly how the handle fits into the hand when unlocked and turned 90 degrees. I loved it! It was so natural to pull the bag this way that it makes the old way of locking the handle down to the "right hand" position seem antiquated already!

What I hated however was how the handle spun freely when pointed this way. When I went to turn a corner the handle first rotated and then the bag came along later. What I'd love to see is the handle lock down into this position as well. It's sooooo much more comfortable to pull the bag this way. Having it unlocked is not an option since the times the bag needs to get picked up by the handle it completely doesn't work without something rigidly connected to the rest of the bag. But I think those other T3 people are onto something. I'm converted. Tumi - can you design a handle that points at 90 degrees to the bag so that i can relax when I'm pulling the bag throgh the airport? Thanks.

My Tumi has Ears!

One of the reasons I chose the Tumi T3 is the futuristic design and superb fit and finish of the piece. In a world of drab hotel rooms, Dodge Cavaliers and Appleby's, it's nice to have something to remind me of the world I've left at home. Design. Quality. A loving family who sneak in treats or pictures into my luggage before a trip.




As I was setting up the luggage in my beige box hotel room to photograph the dichotomy of my two worlds, I was struck by the my bags 'ears' -- the straps of the computer bag flopping about over the edges of the T3 like Dumbo's flying ears. And I was reminded of how, like on Prince Charles, protruding ears are not a pretty sight. And worse, it's not just aesthetics, it's a practical problem too. As I boarded the plane earlier this afternoon in the mad rush down the hallway and secure storage space in the shared overhead bins, my bags ears were sticking out and catching on the armrests of the seats. Not just once. Twice. The sudden deceleration, fumbling, getting an entire line of people to back up while I detangle the bag. At least this time I was lucky. Both seats were unoccupied. It's worse when the ears have pinned someome's arm to armrest of have whisked out the inflight into the aisle. There needs to be a way to pin back the ears on the brief keeping the whole set built for speed. If anyone's listening and has any ideas, it would be good to know...

Can you handle this?

Boston bound

Today was a good day for Tumi T3 spotters in the San Francisco International airport. I happened to be in line behind an unlikely owner of a T3. Typically the T3 is the favorite of those favoring high design and a willingness to pay for those beliefs. This person on the other hand was not a typicak T3 totaing fashion statement, and along side a newly mintedT3 she was carrying a tattered, overstuffed backpack. However, the mismatch wasn't what caught my eye. This did.


Her handle was in the free swivel mode. Seeing as how she was right in front me me, asked her if she wanted her handle to lock in the right hand position and she declined, citing that it was much more comfortable for her to pull her bag with the handle in the swivel position. I'd never thought of that and was wondering if the Tumi folks had either since in the midst of this stunning bag, the exposed innerworkings of the handle seemed unfinished and raw. Her credibility was low and I chalked it up to a T3 newbie taking a bug and turning it into a feature. (common in the software world)

About 10 minutes later I passed another T3. Again, this time, the typical 40 year old nattily suited male was pulling it with a briefcase sitting on top. Double take. He was puling his with the handle swiveling too! Is this one of those 'discoveries' that T3 owners have to come up with on their own?

In my risk averse state, (remember, I chose black) I have yet to embrace the swivel. But 2 of 2 today have claimed this was the way to go!

Catching up

What I received
I've had the bag for two weeks so far and have taken it with me to Budapest and Boston. Here's my initial reaction to the bag and my usage model. I will post pictures in the future of the bag and usage situations using my cameraphone.

I was sent a 22" Tumi T3 expandable wheeled packing case with suiter. In black. I immediately unzipped the suiter insert and tossed it into the closet most likely never to surface again. (If I bring a suit jacket I wear it on the plane.) I slipped my business card into the hidden side slot. (Will anyone ever find that slot if the bag is goes missing?)


My first observations
My first thought is that this seems deeper than the 22" non-expandable T3 that I returned previously. (How do I even know whether I've been sent a 22" suitcase? Is there a 22" suiter?) This bag is to have an improved handle design that won't break. I'm doubtful since i've had so many of then break in the past... The bag is beautiful. I wonder whether I should have tried out a new yellow color.

There's not much to say on packing for the first time. I am relieved at the zipped expandable option however I am concerned whether this has added any appreciable height to the bag making it harder to stow in the overhead... Time will soon tell.

I use the bag with my Tumi Gen 4.4 Expandable flap computer brief. I am a true believer in the Tumi stacking solution and even appreciate the small flap that flips up to keep the brief balanced on the T3.

Budapest
Three legs. Traveled first class to Budapest. The bag was a dream. Only two comments from the entire trip.

1. On a London to Budapest flight the overheads were very small. My wife has an older model 22" Tumi and it slid in without much difficulty. Mine on the other hand was far more challenging. In the end, after some careful squeezing, it made it into the space.
2. The handle started squeaking after the third leg of the trip. Not much. But hopefully it won't get worse. There's nothing worse than a bag that squeaks with every step.

Boston

This current trip, I've planned to be gone for two weeks. It's a tight squeeze in the bag but it all fits. Commentary.

1. The squeak stopped!
2. The handle started roatating at random intervals while I was pulling it. The ability to switch the handle from right handed to left handed is nice, however when it decided to change on it own, it's frustrating. It is causes because the ring that holds the handle in place is somewhat loose. Given that most people will never switch the position (and those that do will only do it once), i'd make the fitting significantly firmer to prevent this unintended slipping of the collar and unwanted handle spinning.

More later as there is news or observations to report.

Inspiration for the Tumi Blog

I am a road warrior. I live in my 22" Tumi T3 every week. After my Tumi broke for the 4th time I was at the point where I was about to give up my long time Tumi addiction and find a bag that wouldn't let me down again. But I wasn't ready to quit. I love the styling and performance of the bag when it's working but at the same time don't want to be stuck again holding a broken handle somewhere thousands of miles from home. So I wrote the President of Tumi to plead my case.

He responded. Twice. And offered to let me wear test some of the newer models and put them through the rigors of international business travel.

Rather than try to remember six months of business travel when I return the bag back to Tumi, I thought I'd document the trials and tribulations of the Tumi Bag in a blog. I'll do what I can to track feedback and situations where the bag has worked and where it hasn't.

Tumi is a world class company. I am excited to help Tumi continue to produce world class products. This blog is for anyone at Tumi who is looking for real world information and scenarios for how their products are used...

Thanks,

Mark