Travelpro Platinum 5 22” Rollaboard review - by Till

Sometimes, you will want to have those wheels. Frankly, for business airport travel with decent ground transport and endless airport terminals and hotel corridors, schlepping a bag is not so great. I am both a frequent traveler and luggage nerd and have researched this purchase ad nauseam as I usually do. I am not disappointed. So here is my review.

If you are a business traveler, you are most likely familiar with the Tumi Alpha or Gen4 Briefcase series. The Tumi, in the eyes of many, is the ultimate briefcase of this kind. The Platinum 5 22” Rollaboard can arguably claim the same in its category. Paired these two pieces of luggage are probably quite unbeatable at least for the male business user. Women, casual travelers or ultimate lightweight travelers might not be as pleased. This is due to its high weight stemming from its non-minimalist approach to luggage design.

Durability: To be honest I have not made a trip with it yet. I have test packed it, though. I It seems to be extremely well built. Everything is tight and quite hefty. The very good warranty on the Platinum 5 series should make for a painless process if stuff does break. From other reviews the holder for the extra-bag attachment and the wheels seem to be weak point. I believe both can be easily exchanged. All exposed corners are protected and reinforced.

Design: This category is probably more about the look than the engineering part of it or the functionality. The design is, well, the classic Rollaboard. Travelpro is the pioneer in this field. The ballistic nylon is very nice and shiny. It is perhaps not quite as black as the one on my Tumi briefcase but one has to scrutinize it in order to see the difference. The lining has a ton-sur-ton (jacquard) pattern in it; quite nice and classy. Its color is a bit unfortunate, though. It is a grey-taupe-beige, greenish non-color. A neutral light gray would have been better. In terms of functionality however this color should be showing stains a bit less than a light grey. Great attention to detail has been paid, as is the case only in the most upscale luggage. For example, the zipper pulls, wheels and some details on the handle all have a hammered metal look. In this sense it really rivals the high-end Tumi and Samsonite luggage. Still, this is not a case for the super fashionable crowd who will prefer the more extravagant designs of Tumi, Samsonite or perhaps even Vuitton. Not pretty but solid and functional.

Functionality: This is where the bag clearly shines. Let me emphasize right away, though, that this functionality and durability comes at the price of a relatively high weight (10.6 lbs altogether; probably closer to 9 lbs if you don’t use the suiter and strip all the other details like strap padding).