Monday
May112009
May 11, 2009 Lightest roller
Thanks to Buzz for this tip - an ultralight rolling bag. The Landor & Hawa Sub-0-G bag is 42.5 linear inches and weighs 4.8 pounds. The low weight is apparenlty achiieved by using aircraft-grade fiberglass instead of aluminum for the frame.
Update on May 14, 2009 by
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
Gadling no has a detailed look at this wispy bag with large and helpful photos. Thanks to Scott at Gadling for acknowledging OBOW!
Reader Comments (18)
After posting, I found it's also supposed to come in a 19 inch version as well.
19 x 13.5 x 7 4 lbs. 6 oz
Not widely distributed.....yet.
Sorry, hard to read the above:
Dimensions: 19 x 13 x 7
Weight: 4 lbs, 6 oz
Costco carries Landor & Hawa bags as of this morning. Just not this one.
There's an absolutely useless corporate site:
http://www.itluggage.com/
...not unusual for a UK company.
A few weeks ago I was at a local luggage store here in Cleveland (that has since closed its' doors after 20 years) that had the zero G stuff in stock. I took a look at it, picked it up and it is indeed light... freakishly light. I was there to look at Briggs & Riley stuff and I'd say the weight was well under half of what a comparable B&R roller is.
However, the case didn't seem quite as rigid as a B&R. Also it wasn't cheap at that store so I didn't feel like spending that much on an unknown brand. I think for carry on use it should be fine. As a checked bag... who knows.
I like the way the handle is placed closer to the edges of the bag, rather than two rails down the center of the bag, which would make packing easier. I may keep an eye out for the smaller one and give it a try. The price is definitely a little easier than the Zuca roller we saw a while back.
I like the handle too, one of the first things I noticed.
Yes, good handle for minimum intrusion into packing space. However, it will be harder to attach another bag to the handles. One will have to resort to using the shoulder strap as a loop, which should work. It's just not as elegant.
I also like the outside material. Nice texture and shine. Exterior pockets seem to have enough play. One question would be what the three extra feet are for on the bottom. They are not needed since the two main feet and wheels stick out further anyway. It would have made more sense to affix a flat pull handle there.
Price and weight are VERY interesting. Anyone have this bag?
I agree the handle looks awesome. That was one of the first things I noticed. I think the handle material was some kind of lightweight tubular metal, aluminum I think.
One thing that turned me off to this bag was I don't remember seeing a "piggyback" strap for it. Although I'm sure something could be rigged to the topside handle. I'd also love to see some feedback from somebody about how the bag holds up to a real trip.
Hello,
The lightest roller that I've found is the Travelite at Lufthansa weighing 2 kg (same as the bag in the post):
http://www.worldshop.eu:80/worldshop/product/wscatalog/1732152/detail.jsf
It's sturdy and of good quality and yet quite cheap. I checked out all the Lufthansa bags at Frankfurt airport during a layover and decided to buy this one just because it's so light.
Gadling posted a more detailed review...and mentioned OBOW!
http://www.gadling.com/2009/05/14/gadling-gear-review-landor-and-hawa-sub-0-g-ultralight-rolling-l/
Thanks Scott - I've appended a followup to the post with a Gadling link.
Basically the bag is constructed like a kite. Nylon stretched over a tubular fiberglass frame. Excellent idea. I'd think that the protection offered is minimal, so if this is important the bag is not for you. The omission of extra handles was likely due to the design. The case probably has a rigid bottom plate and a rigid top plate. The plates take the wheels and handle respectively. Actually, from the photos, it looks as if the handle just has a bar to reinforce the structure. If they attached a handle on the long side, they would need another bar. Because without the bar the handle would need to be attached just to the cloth and the cloth would not be able to withstand lifting the weight of a packed bag. The cloth would tear at the rivets or seams or whatever they'd use to fix the handle to it. That bar would need to be longer and thus not as stable as the one on the short side.
Given the price, I think this is really a bag worth trying out, particularly for people who cannot lift heavy bags and for people who are challenged by 7 or 8kg limits in certain countries and by certain airlines. This bag would allow one to pack 5kg=10lb of stuff and still be within the weight limit. With something like the Travelpro or Delsey rollers, let alone Tumi, the allowable load would be only half of that. Which rules out these models for travel on weight restricted routes.
On the other hand, since the weight limit is 8kg anyway, one can almost as well go with a shoulder bag and perhaps save another pound of luggage tare weight. The Sub-0 will be excellent though for all those who prefer a roller and it should be able to hold a briefcase on top although I wouldn't want to overload it.
The large handle can also be explained in engineering terms. First the bag has an outside frame only, no inside frame, so this outside frame must hold the handle and the handle serves to add rigidity to the frame. Second, the handle being on the outside means that the bag won't be twisted as badly in curves. That explains the large handle and I find it is a very smart solution.
Till
have used the sub-0-g carry-on a few times over the last few weeks and my only complaint is the height of the handle when extended...at 5ft 4in in height i was much more comfortable when wearing flats....i think a taller person would find height of bag a problem.
Hm, that's really interesting. Thanks for sharing. This is one of the most common complaints of people over 6ft that the handles are too short.
Has anyone really used the bag over a period of time ... is it durable? The handle does not lock in place ... does that present an usage problem? Thanks.
Where I entered this blog was a few months ago, after looking at the Landor & Hawa Sub-0-G as a complement to my much more expensive Rimowa Salsa 29-inch wheeled zipped polycarbonate shell case. I actually ended up getting the Redoxx Air Boss, a classic non-wheeled carry-on bag.
BUT, with www.discountluggage.com featuring a two day sale on the 5.5 pound Sub-0-G 24.5-inch, case, for just $60 with free shipping (ends Sunday at midnight), I have decided that ordering one for HER, mainly to use for intermediate length trips by car, makes sense, as a holiday gift. Its somewhat larger size than the Travelpro 22-inch she now uses should make packing it a bit easier. This one should be about half the weight of the smaller Travelpro.
I will have to take a long hard look at the case before deciding if it is one that should be entrusted to an airline check-in. And if she doesn't like it...oh well, she's getting a few other items to compensate.
http://www.practicalhacks.com/2010/01/14/quick-take-landor-hawa-sub-0-g-20-5-upright-lightweight-tough-wonder/