UPDATE: After several international trips, flights, trains, subways, busses, hotels, rental cars, ferries, ships, etc, I wanted to provide an update. This bag has now gone many miles over rough cobblestone streets, unpaved paths, and even strapped to the rack of a quad bike. It’s been thrown by bagga
ge handlers, knocked over, dragged, dropped and pulled through rain and puddles. I’ve also used it as a seat when waiting in line. Through all of this, it has performed perfectly and protected its contents. It still looks new and even with cobblestone streets, unpaved paths, etc, the wheels still roll silently and smoothly just like when they were new. The lock and zippers are holding up great. I have not had any problems and can say that this has truly held up to the rigors of travel. TL;DR - Buy this bag. For everyone else, I’ve included a lengthy review because I’m a research nut and I always appreciate detailed reviews from others. I have been looking for a new suitcase for a while. It was harder to find the right match (within my budget) than I expected. However, with this 25 inch Delsey Clavel, I think I have found the perfect fit. For the 25 inch (Medium-Sized Checked) suitcase, the specs are as follows: Overall size (Handles, Wheels, etc): [27.5” Tall] x [18.75” Wide] x [11.25” Thick] (12” Thick Expanded) Packable size (Internal Dimensions): [24.75” Tall] x [17.75” Wide] x [10.75” Thick] (11.5” Thick Expanded) Internal Volume: 78L or 84L Expanded Weight: 7.7 lbs First of all, let me explain what I was looking for in my search for a new suitcase. I have used a TravelPro and a High Sierra suitcase for many years depending on my needs. Both bags were soft sided with internal frame. Those bags served me well, but there were a few issues that I was starting to become frustrated with. Both bags were too heavy when empty. This meant more weight to lug around and less I could pack and still remain within airline allowances. The High Sierra bag was just too big. In my case, it was only appropriate for a winter sports trip where you are going to bring bulky things like snow suits for skiing, snow shoeing, etc. On the other hand, my Travel Pro suitcase was a 22” and it was often too small for a longer trip covering multiple types of activities. Finally, both bags started to show excessive wear. The Travel Pro would sometimes arrive on the belt with a zipper that was burst open and I’d have to spend a lot of time trying to realign the zipper to get it to close. Both bags had abrasions and small tears and bald spots over hard areas like the skeleton frame. So in my search, I wanted to find a bag that was a medium size, in between the humongous High Sierra and the too small Travel Pro. I also wanted a bag that was as light as possible, without needlessly sacrificing durability. I also wanted a hardside bag, both for the durability, and for the fact that when packing or using out of the suitcase, it can be opened like a clamshell and have the contents divided between two sides. This keeps things neater and reduces the amount of digging required to get to things. The big kicker is that my budget was approximately $150 USD, which makes it hard to find good quality. That leads me to this bag. I had done lots of research and found many well known brands like Samsonite and even other Delsey bags that were mostly okay but had some seemingly frequent issues of zipper burst, cracked shell (body), or carry handles that would come loose or break off. This particular bag didn’t have a lot of reviews, and at the time of this review, there were no other reviews for the 25 inch or larger size, meaning no reviews of the suitcase being handled by baggage workers. Yet there were certain things that really caught my attention and I decided to take a risk with this bag. Here are a few observations now that I’ve had it for a bit. First of all, it is very light. 7.7 pounds is really good for a hardside, checked suitcase. The size is PERFECT. Truly a medium; not too big, not too small. I would think that this size will fit almost anybody for almost any type of trip. There will always be exceptions but I’d say in my case, this size will be just right for 90% of my trips. When I saw the picture of the bag on the site, I didn’t care for the look of it. The front reminded me of Iron Man or something. But when I actually received the bag, I actually like the design. It isn’t as wild as it looked to me at first. Also, the combination of the unique look of the bag and the army green color make the bag stand out easily on the baggage claim. It’s sufficiently different to help you notice it easily and also keep someone else from mistakenly grabbing your bag. The top and side handles are nice and sturdy and have a silicone/rubber feel so its not abrasive on your hands. The pull handle is very nice with no slop when extended and no exposed telescoping areas or locking pins that could catch skin or clothing. The wheels are smooth and quiet and seem well mounted. Again, no slop or wobble in the wheels themselves or in the attachment to the case. There are nice details that make the experience better. My favorite detail is that there is a molded recess on the bottom of the case (wheel end) which is a hand hold for when you are holding the bag horizontally like when loading into a car. The hand hold is molded on both bottom edges so that it’s usable whether you are holding the bag front side up or back side up. This is something that is often overlooked but makes a big difference. I’ve often been trying to load a heavy suitcase into the boot/trunk of a car and I’ve got a good hold on one side because of the top handle but I’m searching for something to grab on the bottom end and either end up with an awkward and slippery grip or grab a wheel which spins around and is awkward to hold. Having this hand-hold on the bottom eliminates the frustration and you don’t even think about them because they are just there and they work. There are also molded bumpers on the long side of the bag so that you can lay it down on its edge and not have it fall over. This comes in handy some times when you are standing somewhere sloped and if you were to let go of the bag, it would roll away because of the spinner wheels. In this case, you just set the bag on its side and it will stay next to you while remaining clean and upright. There is also a built in privacy luggage tag on the back side which you can fill in. I appreciate the TSA zipper lock. I know that any TSA zipper lock is hardly real security and can be easily defeated. But it does deter a passing opportunist or baggage handler who might want to take a quick peek. To me, the biggest perk is knowing it will keep the zipper pulls closed so that they don’t snag on a conveyor belt or something along the way and open up the bag causing the contents to be dumped. I also appreciate that the bag is expandable. I never use a bag in its expanded state, but I sometimes expand it in order to be able to close the lid easier when really full and then once the lid is zipped closed, I zip up the expansion too, which compresses the contents into the normal size. I love the material that this is made from. Many hardside bags are polycarbonate(PC). I believe this bag is polypropylene(PP). It’s true that PC wins in terms of pure resistance to impacts. However, PC is also heavier than PP and often PC bags are made thinner to compensate for the added weight. The result is that many PC bags (even though PC might be the superior material on paper) are actually quite brittle, especially in areas like the corners or where the wheels are secured. PP (like this bag) can be made thicker without being too heavy. Furthermore, PP has better fatigue resistance than PC. This means that when your bag is repeatedly squished in a cargo hold under many other bags, the flexing that the bag goes through won’t cause fatigue cracks in this bag nearly as quickly as with a PC bag. The finish is also quite cool. It is matte and bumpy like an orange peel. I imagine this will cause it to show less wear than some other bags, although any hardside bag will show minor scratches and scuffs very quickly, but with no loss in strength. Also worth noting is the main zipper. The main zipper is actually two zippers layered right on top of each other with a single zipper pull that opens/closes both zippers simultaneously. This is to make the bag more theft resistant as a normal coil zipper can be easily opened even when locked simply be pressing something like a pen into the middle of the zipper, causing it to split open. The theft resistance is nice, but even better in my personal opinion is the fact that having a layered zipper will greatly reduce the chance of a blowout where the zipper bursts as the bag is being tossed around during loading/unloading. It makes the connection much sturdier and reduces the stress on each individual zipper. I’d say it removes the need for a luggage strap. The downside to this is that when you first get the bag, the zipper is very stiff. I mean really, really stiff. It was a challenge to close the bag and I really had to work the zipper little by little. This would be a deal breaker, after all, you constantly use the zipper on luggage. BUT, don’t worry, it’s not a deal breaker! When I first got the bag, I worked the zipper open and closed over and over for a few minutes. This loosened things up and the zippers and fabric got used to the shape of the bag and the corners. Now it opens and closes easily and smoothly. You just have to give it a workout for a minute and it will be good to go. If you had a particularly difficult zipper, you might try a graphite lubricant (usually marketed for lubricating locks). It comes in a little can like a mini WD-40 but it sprays graphite powder instead of oil so it won’t leave behind oil. But in my case, simply working the zipper open and closed for a minute or two was good enough. The inside of the bag is very basic. There is a full mesh zip flap over one half of the bag and an adjustable elastic cross strap on the other half of the bag. You can unzip the liner if you should desire. There is also an internal zip pocket for small items. I don’t really need or want anything else inside the bag, with the possible exception of a shoe pouch, but I normally pack shoes in a grocery bag anyway. I’d also like to mention that this bag comes with a 5 year worldwide warranty which I easily registered on Delsey’s website and uploaded a PDF of my Amazon receipt within about 1 minute. In view of all of the above, I feel like this bag, combined with the $130 price tag, makes it just about the perfect checked bag for me. I’ll try to update the review with some pictures. I noticed that the listing doesn’t show the back of the bag at all and I’d like to show a couple features up close. I’ve got a major international trip coming up next week which includes multiple flights, high speed ferries, overnight car ferries, rental cars, many hotels, long walks on rough pavement, etc. I will be taking this bag and if I should have any concerns regarding durability during or after the trip, I will update the review. At this point, I can’t comment on the longevity of the bag, which of course is one of the most important aspects. However, based on my travel experience, including my previous life as a pilot, I would feel very comfortable recommending this bag. As with everything, time will tell. Happy travels.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 9, 2021 by CCBuilder
