Travelpro Crew 8 22″ Rollaboard Suiter Review

2016-09-06 Ken

Carry ons, backpacks, wallets and other bags

travelpro crew 8 22 トラベルプロ

I bought my first Travelpro back in 2010 in Guam.
It was the Travelpro Crew 8 22″ Rollaboard Suiter.

Travelpro now has a Crew 11 out so the Crew 8 is three generations old.

They don’t sell Travelpros in Japan but it’s a well known maker of carry-ons and are used by flight crew members for its functionality and reasonably low prices.

I personally became aware of the brand from the George Clooney film, “Up in the Air” (the Japanese title, “Mileage My Life“).

In the film, George Clooney plays the role of a business executive who flies all over the country and the carry-on he has with him is a Travelpro.

The one George uses in the movie is probably a Crew 4 but it/s an old model and you can’t get it anymore.
After watching “Up in the Air” I wanted a Travelpro badly and when I saw it on sale at the Macy’s in Guam, I got it on the spot.

It was 50% off at $200.
That translated to 17,000 JPY back then so very very cheap.

Too cheap in fact.

Later on I became aware that in the US, Travelpros are always sold at 50% off so the list price doesn’t mean anything.
They are usually sold at Macy’s and you won’t find them at WALL MART or Target.

So how was the Crew 8?

You should start off by looking at this video on YouTube.

The CEO of Travelpro talks about the Crew 8 himself so that should give you a feeling of what to expect.

In summary, I thought that the value for money that I got was really high.

For 200 bucks, you won’t be getting thing any more than this. And the looks aren’t that bad either.
Keep in mind that because it is a low cost model, there is no bling bling or glitter to make the bag look sexy, and low price means low cost material.
You won’t be getting that high end feel and look of a TUMI or RIMOWA.

Design

Not too bad but again, its not a TUMI or RIMOWA so nothing to drool over.

Sound of wheels

Very quiet. No complaints here.

Weight

Very light.

The frame is thin, which leads to the light weight.
When you sit on it, the frame would bend so not a good chair.
The light weight makes it seem unstable.
The ACE would be stable with nothing in it but I was a little nervous that the Crew 8 would tip over (it actually did not).

Outer pocket

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This is a big plus.
Good for taking out laptops and liquid items at the airport.

Handle

This is good too.
Very long so no worry about kicking the bag with the back of your foot.
Metal made and is tough.

Main compartment

Dead space is limited so will fit a lot of stuff.
The lining looks and feels cheap.
The cost cutting shows up most in this area.

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You can fit your suits in the built in suiter.
The patented cushion bar prevents wrinkles, though you will get some after a flight.
The compartment is expandable and this should be enough for a one week vacation, unless you have tons of luggage.

Others

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Guess what this pocket is for.

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Drink holder!

Summary

The functionality and the bang for the buck that you’ll be getting with the Crew 8 is very high.
If you do not yet own a 22 inch size 2 wheeler, I can recommend this model to you.

I used the Crew 8 a couple of times and ended up letting it go.

I wasn’t happy using the bag because of its design (or lack thereof).
There was no excitement looking at it and that is an important factor for me.
The Travelpro logo on the outside was a little slanted and that pet peeve also grew on me.

The Crew 8 was my first Travelpro bag.

Later on, I became aware of their Platinum series and eventually their FlightCrew series.

I will write about these later, but because I realized that these were better than the Crew series, I probably would not go back to the Crew series.