A Suitcase For Each Journey Problem

Let’s begin this Stage 8 baggage overview by saying that as somebody with extra suitcases than an individual is allowed to have, with 12 of them and utilizing a number of extra throughout my travels over the previous 20 years. I really feel I’m an knowledgeable to find the greatest baggage for Umrah and past.

Once you journey as a lot as I do—particularly for Umrah and with a younger daughter in tow—having dependable baggage is not only a desire, however important.

Not too long ago I’ve been on the hunt for a hand baggage that’s sturdy sufficient, spacious sufficient and enjoyable.

I even requested all my on-line followers for his or her ideas as a result of I used to be fed up with those I had purchased. For the previous 5 years, I’ve been utilizing gentle circumstances as a result of I solely journey with hand baggage, however they by no means stored their form and stored falling over (resulting from my overpacking), making them onerous to push.

Enter Stage 8, who emailed me asking if I want to check out their baggage and provides my opinion. I’ve already seen them on-line throughout my analysis, so I used to be undoubtedly intrigued. So clearly, I used to be joyful to just accept the supply, particularly after seeing their colors.

The Seek for Excellent Baggage

I made a decision to check out the Stage 8 Voyageur vary of hand baggage and the 28″ check-in bag in color Celadon. As a result of should you search for at my emblem, you’ll realise these suitcases might have been designed by me, the colors are fairly shut.

Moreover, I used to be significantly intrigued by the broad deal with, as I had by no means owned a suitcase like this earlier than, particularly for maximising carry-on baggage house for Umrah.

What initially caught my consideration in regards to the Stage 8 Voyageur assortment:

• The beautiful Celadon color (matches my model completely!)
• Distinctive broad deal with design
• Hardshell building (after years of scuffling with gentle circumstances)
• Fashionable, smooth aesthetic

Stage 8 Voyageur Options: Breaking Down the Specs That Matter

Hand Baggage (20″ Carry-on)

• Dimensions:21.3” x 15.1” x 9.8” ‘  (together with wheels)
• Weight: 8 lbs (3.6 kg)
• Materials: 100% German Makrolon® polycarbonate shell
• Options: Vast deal with design, TSA-approved lock, silent 360° wheels
• Capability: 43l

Verify-in Baggage (28″ Suitcase)

• Dimensions: 29.1” x 16.6” x 13.3” (together with wheels)
• Weight: 12.4 lbs (4.9 kg)
• Materials: 100% German Makrolon® polycarbonate shell
• Options: Vast deal with design, high deal with, TSA-approved lock, silent wheels
• Capability: 99l

Guarantee: Lifetime guarantee with registration

Total, for this overview, it ticked all of the bins.

The suitcases arrived on time for my journeys and have been very nicely packaged, together with a mud bag.

The standard of the luggage is excessive, and you may really feel it from the surface all the way in which to the zips used. In all honesty, they’re a number of the nicest baggage I’ve owned. To some extent, I used to be unhappy to make use of them.

Stage 8 Baggage Evaluation Carry-On 20″

I used the 20-inch hand baggage for my 24-hour Umrah. Since they got here on time, they have been the proper bag to take with me.

For this 24-hour Umrah, I packed two abayas, three fabric adjustments, a pj and toiletries plus a pair of Birkenstock sandals, that are my go-to for Umrah.

There was loads of house if I wished to pack for longer journeys, and for reference, I’m dimension 14-16, so my garments aren’t compact.

Not solely is the inside nice, however I additionally love that they’ve a moist pocket. This implies I can put my soiled garments there, particularly socks and underwear, and separate them from the clear ones. A bonus.

It’s a suitcase that can final you years, and resulting from value and high quality, I can suggest it.

I might simply pack for a 3-4 day journey on this carry-on with out compression baggage. For modest Muslim girls’s clothes (which takes up more room), it comfortably matches sufficient for an extended weekend journey.

In search of extra Umrah packing ideas? Take a look at my Full Umrah Packing Record.

The Vast Deal with: A Recreation-Changer

What I liked in regards to the Voyager bag is that the deal with is broad. I used to be very apprehensive and spent a superb 2 hours deciding between the fashions, however I wished to check out one thing new for this overview.

I’m so glad I went with the broad deal with. I believed it might be an issue to place my backpack down and keep, however resulting from its dimension, it match with out me having to carry it.

This additionally offers house inside, making it extra environment friendly when utilizing solely hand baggage in your vacation. That is the primary cause why I picked the bag. I journey largely with hand baggage and I pack for myself and my daughter, so the little additional house within the suitcase counts.

Throughout my Umrah journey, as a result of crowd administration and the time we arrived at 2 am, the roads have been closed, which meant we had a 2km trek to the highest to get to our lodge.

I wasn’t certain how the wheels would carry out, however they did nice. The bag weighed round 19kg, but it surely was simple to push up the hill.

I bear in mind telling my buddy how joyful I used to be that I took it with me as a substitute of my backpack as a result of that might have been very heavy.

The 2km uphill journey in Makkah is about as powerful as baggage testing will get! With outdoors temperatures round 30°C (86°F) and crowds in all places, the wheels remained easy and didn’t catch on the uneven pavement. 

Many cheaper suitcases would have had their wheels broken on this journey.

Total, the bag is superb for travelling and I might give it 10/10. I might most likely go for a darker color as a result of I really feel so unhappy in regards to the scratches.

Stage 8 Baggage Evaluation 28″ Voyager: Gravel and Stones Check 

On the subject of the big 28″ Voyager Stage 8 suitcase, I completely love the truth that it has a high deal with and it is a bit more boxy than the usual rectangular suitcase.

As a girl, I usually battle with pulling the suitcase out of the conveyor belt, particularly since it appears that evidently chivalry is dying, and the male species is not useful.

So, travelling with a toddler and this suitcase makes issues a bit of simpler as a substitute of me operating to catch my bag on the belt.

Once more, the product is tremendous sturdy, and I used to be actually unhappy I needed to take the bag on a visit as a result of I knew it might get scratched and didn’t have time to order a canopy.

Stage 8 does have covers for his or her suitcases, and I want I had purchased one.

Nevertheless, I did handle to wash many of the scratches, they usually got here off simply.

Inside House and Organisation

The suitcase is massive and, in a approach, jogs my memory of trunk baggage, but it surely has sufficient house to suit a month’s value of garments for myself and my daughter.

The inside is cut up into two great-sized compartments, and since the handles are additional out, there may be extra internal cupboard space, so I can simply match packing cubes or my favorite vacuum baggage, so I can match extra garments in.

There are two zip-up compartments: one for moist garments or, in my case, soiled garments, and the opposite is a mesh model.

Each side of the suitcase compartments even have closed zippers, so the contents of your baggage won’t spill once you open your suitcase.

The fabric is sturdy and well-made.

This capability is ideal for modest dressing or household journey to Muslim-friendly locations. I might pack:

• 7-10 days of clothes for two individuals with out vacuum baggage
• 2+ weeks of clothes with vacuum compression
• A number of prayer outfits/abayas with out crushing them

Each my journeys – Umrah with the hand baggage and Oslo with the big Stage 8 suitcase – put these baggage by critical challenges.

For the Umrah journey, I walked 2km uphill with the hand baggage. In Oslo, I dragged the bigger suitcase over gravel paths to succeed in my buddy’s flat. Regardless of these powerful circumstances, the suitcases carried out admirably.

The suitcases are genuinely trendy—they give the impression of being improbable, and the Celadon color completely matches my Muslim Journey Lady emblem! The wheels rolled easily with none points on easy airport flooring and regular roads.

However let’s be sincere – when travelling, we not often stick with good surfaces. 

My solely minor criticism is with the bigger 28″ suitcase. It felt barely tougher to manoeuvre when absolutely packed at round 19kg than the hand baggage at an analogous weight. I want the wheels have been only a bit bigger, higher to stability the suitcase’s boxier form and heavier load.

I used to be significantly impressed that even after dragging the wheels throughout gravel (one thing I wouldn’t usually suggest!), neither the wheels nor the underside of the suitcase confirmed injury. My cheaper suitcases would have been scratched and dented after this remedy.

My daughter had no issues taking part in her “swing sport” with the suitcase throughout check-in at Oslo airport – the wheels dealt with this impromptu check completely, too!

Regardless of this minor difficulty, I might nonetheless charge the bigger suitcase 9/10. With simply barely greater wheels, it might be good for its dimension and capability.

The Professionals and Cons of Stage 8 Voyageur Baggage

Professionals:

• Gorgeous design and color choices
• Wonderful sturdiness (survived 2km Makkah uphill trek and gravel)
• The broad deal with creates further inside house
• Excessive-quality supplies and building
• Separate moist/soiled garments compartment
• Easy wheels on all terrains
• Excellent dimension choices for each fast journeys and lengthy holidays
• Comes with a mud bag and high quality packaging

Cons:

• Mild colors present scratches simply
• Wheels on the 28″ mannequin might be barely bigger for higher stability
• No protecting cowl obtainable for the 28″ mannequin
• Premium worth level (although justified by high quality)

Stage 8 Baggage: Is it Definitely worth the Funding for Travellers?

Stage 8 suitcases begin from £159, relying on dimension and mannequin.

For travellers who:

• Make a number of journeys per yr
• Want dependable baggage
• Worth each aesthetics and performance
• Have struggled with cheaper baggage failing

The funding is unquestionably value it. Contemplating I’ve gone by a number of cheaper suitcases prior to now 5 years, spending extra on one which lasts makes monetary sense.

The place to purchase

Able to put money into sturdy, trendy baggage? Store the Stage 8 Voyageur assortment on the Stage 8 Official Web site. Present costs: £249 (20″ carry-on), £319 (28″ check-in), as a bundle: £489.99

Conclusion

The Stage 8 Voyageur baggage carried out exceptionally nicely throughout each my journeys, which have been removed from typical journey experiences. I’m significantly impressed with the broad deal with design, which creates additional inside house – an enormous profit once you’re making an attempt to maximise packing capability.

This function is very priceless for travellers who primarily use hand baggage. As an alternative of upgrading to checked baggage, you may match considerably extra on this cleverly designed carry-on.

The standard is straight away obvious – from the sleek zippers to the sturdy shell to the well-engineered wheels. You’ll be able to inform Stage 8 invested critical thought into creating these merchandise, which naturally explains the upper worth level.

The suitcases are remarkably simple to manoeuvre and include TSA-approved locks for safety. In contrast to my earlier soft-shell baggage that might tip over every time I positioned my backpack on high, these stay completely balanced even with further baggage stacked on them.

Whereas these suitcases are actually an funding, they’re a worthwhile one should you worth the mix of favor, safety, and sturdiness. After years of scuffling with mismatched, lower-quality baggage that made journey extra nerve-racking than obligatory, I’m utterly bought on the advantages of investing in high quality baggage just like the Stage 8 Voyageur assortment.

FAQ’s about Stage 8 Baggage

This overview incorporates my sincere opinions after testing Stage 8 baggage. I obtained these merchandise for overview functions; nonetheless, all ideas expressed are my very own.

Have you ever tried Stage 8 baggage? Are you contemplating buying one for Umrah or different travels? Let me know within the feedback!

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