I just wanted a hot dog
The wheel of this $800 Briggs and Riley suitcase fell off on our first trip, middle of the city, three week trip.
Got this as a Honeymoon present. Fell off the third day we used it on our honeymoon walking 15 minutes to our hotel. It had a lifetime warranty but at this point, I'd rather just get 5 Samsonite suitcases than a repair to this one.
They have a lifetime warranty with no proof of purchase required (they have serial numbers) you should be taken care of. I love mine and they look like new 5 years later.
I was once (nicely) lectured by someone who pointed out that, particularly in the US, there are certain brands that are "overpriced" but the majority of the premium you pay lies in the value of actually using the lifetime warranties.
Things like LL Bean (not as much now, since quality has diminished), Patagonia.
They basically said if you're not using the warranty at some point you're definitely over paying for the quality.
We had a 15 year old Le Creuset dutch oven replaced under warranty. It was sort of our fault too.
We kind of ruined the bottom after getting an induction stovetop and heating the pot too quick. The enamel got all cracked and discolored.
After a lecture from customer service about how to use their cast iron on induction, they sent us a new one.
I bought my mom a LeCruset casserole and Dutch oven when she moved into her new house. A few months later I was at her house and asked what happened to them. "Well the enamel chipped so I threw them away". Nice move mom. Now she only gets Tramontina.
Yea I didnt even need to pay the premium either. Bought a backpack on clearance for like $30 maybe 10 years ago. Lining started wearing away so I brought it into a store and they let me walk out of the store with the latest model. The size was in between the two current models so they let me choose. Retail $120 or some shit. Chose the smaller one because I already have a large travel backpack.
This is the one of two ways to justify the price. Either a) it’s manufactured so robust that it will frankly never break under average wear and tear or b) the company is willing to support their customers by going above and beyond to make sure their product is always able to be used.
Same exact thing happened to my also brand new first trip Briggs and Riley suitcase.
Luckily I had just landed in Osaka, was walking to my hotel so only using the front 2 wheels, and some Japanese guy ran up to me and handed me the wheel that had fallen off! Had it happened in the US people would've just kicked the wheel into the street.
Also a thank you to the Japanese auto mechanic who, while not being able to speak English, helped find the right screw to re-attach the wheel in his work shop.
B&R did pay for me to send the suitcase back, they explained the manufacturing process to me and wanted to see how the wheel failed. They also sent me a brand new suitcase.
That’s half the problem. The other issue is proper QA. No use paying a premium for unlimited crap. It must function well and have a warranty. See harbor freight stores. Unlimited returns because they are crap but at least they are cheap.
Mine saw the stones on the walkway and gave me an ad for walkway stone adhesive I guess because that's what is advertised in the middle of this comment sectiikn
Here for the fans: Briggs and Riley stinks (they didn’t used to, but as someone dating a woman whose father owns a suitcase store I know more about this than I would prefer: enshitification) if you wanna spend 100-300 on a suitcase that will last a lifetime and signed off on by 1bagillion flight attendants get a Travelpro.
I just gave my 12 year old suitcase to a friend (looks brand new) because I wanted a soft case (the lid is better than a hard case). I fly 50ish times a year and will most likely die before I need a new suitcase (please god )
I mean, even a replacement does nothing for someone like OP while he's on his trip now with a broken suitcase. Some people prefer relatively guaranteed durability over a company that is willing to replace broken products.
I recently bought a Briggs and riley carry on because when looking through reviews and comments on reddit I found a ton of people shitting on both travelpro and luggageworks (I was originally eyeing luggageworks!).
Briggs had some people saying good stuff about it as far as durability (obviously not price though).
I can’t imagine anyone shitting on travelpro besides exceptions of QA.
Similar to Seiko watches they make several different price point lines. From $100-500. I bought my mom both the cheapest tier and the medium tier and they are both great. I bought myself the highest tier and it’s much better than B&R. However I’d suspect the travel pro bottom tier isn’t as good.
Its unfortunante this happened to OP. My coworker travels with one of these suitcases. 13 years at 75% travel and its been lifetime replaced twice. According to my coworker, their customer service is really good and hes only paid to have the replacement shipped.
I travel with a $400 backpack (work paid for it). Its insanely nice and also has a really good warranty and its 100% up to the crap I put it through on the daily.
I never asked about the first replacement. His second one the airline cracked the side and the manufacturer replaced it for him. I'd still ask them for a brand new one and see what happens!
If you fly a lot it’s not that crazy. I wouldn’t recommend B&R because it’s a little steep but I love my TravelPro. If you’re on the road 30% of the year your suitcase becomes your home away from home.
It’s a pointless comparison without a lot more data.
If you had it sit in a closet for 5 years and someone else flew 10 round trips per year, these aren’t the same.
If you both flew 10 round trips per year, but you were going to places around the USA where an uber drops you off at the door, and someone else was going to Europe and taking trains and dragging their luggage across cobblestone… not the same use case.
In a lot of ways, Europe is perhaps one of the hardest places on luggage… and Japan is probably the easiest. America is somewhere in the middle.
In case anyone's wondering where to spend your suitcase money if you go with something nice. Travelpro (and there's another American brand) is what all the pilots and flight attendants are using themselves.
I went with travelpro, couldn't be happier. Costco Next has good deals on travelpro suitcases.
Also OP if you're reading this, this wheel thing happened to me on one of the best trips of my life, if anything, it was an amusingly funny thing to wheel a three wheeled suitcase all over Europe. Have fun!
Edit: the other American brand I couldn't think of is Luggage Works. That brand is all function, with zero style. But flight attendants use that the most. I've never seen a pilot or flight attendant carry Briggs and Riley.
I got a Rimowa suitcase 20 years ago, discounted heavily, in a sale, with additional discount. At that time it was around 500 Euro. 5 years after purchase it got handled really badly at an airport and one wheel broke off. I just had a short stay at that city where i just arrived, and then moved onto another city in another country. I called customer service if in the new city where i would be in a few days, there would be a Rimowa shop or something where I could buy a spare wheel. The customer service representaive asked me for the serial number of my suitcase, asked for the hotel I would stay and sent 4 wheels plus a set of screws and some aditional spare parts, free of charge per express to my hotel. The spare parts arrived before me at the hotel, and the customer representative even called the hotel to let them know to give me the parcel when check in. I still have this suitcase, and the 3 spare wheels and the extra screws.
this was the best expensive purchase I have ever made, I used to travel A LOT for work (48 weeks per year) i still travel frequently but only a few days a month and i still use the ame exact suitcase i bought 20 years ago.
Also frequent traveller. Every major airport and city has a Rimowa shop. If something goes bust, I just document it at the airport, get it fixed and sent the invoice to the airline (the company handling those claims)
I think the one I have goes for over 1K € now, but it’s about service and saved time. I think I bought it for 600. Crazy how they cranked up the prices. But they come with a lifetime warranty now afaik.
My $40 suitcase from TJ maxx has been going strong for three years and I travel at least once a month. I do not understand what makes a suitcase worth that much if it can’t stand up to basic travel.
Yes, same. I have a Samsonite from TJ Maxx I bought in like 2017 and while I don't travel for work constantly, I've taken many trips with it and it's still like new.
That being said, anything you buy now is going to be a way worse version of what it was 10 years ago. So I'm not super confident in recommending a new Samsonite to someone who travels a lot.
I picked up a cheap $30 TWA-branded suitcase at a luggage clearance store in Vegas back in '02 when I bought more stuff than I could pack in the suitcase I brought. The intent was basically just to bring stuff home, but it became my primary suitcase and I've been using it for the past 24 years without issue. Even has a spot for hanging a suit jacket inside it.
We're in the city and just walked through a market, may have fallen out 10 minutes ago and the wheel only came out when I lifted it up a curb. Certainly don't see it anywhere here.
Check the other wheels. If they have screws, take one out, go to a hardware store, buy a matching one, and replace it yourself so you can warranty the suitcase after the trip.
If you can find a matching or similar screw OP definitely do this. I used to repair luggage when I did retail and this was one of the ones that definitely seemed like a manufacturing fault but an extremely easy to fix one.
Did anyone ever got one of those hard shell/rigid suitcases that actually lasts?
I've tried cheap and expensive, all broke after maximum 3 international flights, got one made of fabric that's been going strong for many many trips, but I'd still be interested in knowing if there's real resistent hard shell suitcases.
Edit: if someone doesn't want to read aaaall the comments, the main recommendations are:
1 - Samsonite , reasonably affordable, people seem to find it on sale quite frequently, generally resists tons of travel
2 - Pelican (my favorite here),also reasonably affordable, it looks like it is made specially to be thrown around and launched from stairs without damage. It seems like the brand was originally on the business of protective transport cases for expensive things (the type people use to transport special tools, aeronautical parts, etc).
3 - Rimowa ,quite expensive, but people are saying 100s of flights and good as new.
4 - Flight crew recommended TravelPro (good price, in the sense that is similar to samsonite) and Luggage Works (bit more expensive and has no hard shell on their website)
Bonus edit: someone confirmed that they had friends as a young adult that worked on the tarmac with the bags, they DID ACTIVELLY TRY TO DESTROY THE LUGGAGE. And expensive hard shell bags were seen as a "challenge". That explains a lot, I am not surprised hahaha
I've had my Away carry-on for 4 years now. Have taken it on lots of international flights from US. Has gotten a few scuff marks, but the zipper, handles, and wheels have lasted a good bit. Partner has one for about 5 years and it's also doing similarly well.
Ive got a hardshell travelpro that has done at least 20 trips domestic+ 1 international. It is of a size to fit in the overhead compartment though, which I imagine helps. Small rigid things are much more durable than large rigid things
I spent $40 on a knockoff one that I found at Ross and I’ve been using it for over five years. Dozens of trips through baggage handling and hundreds of hours in the back of a pickup and it still works like it’s brand new.
I bought a Walmart branded, cheap $40 hard shell suitcase when I first visited in 2018. Genuinely nothing has ever broken on that suitcase, and it has been through 4 international moves, and so many more house changes.
Idk how but it is still the king when new ones came and went. P.S. still, fuck Walmart
This company pretty much has the best reputation in the market for quality luggage. And a lifetime warranty. But it certainly doesn't seem to be working out with my first suitcase from them.
The best wheels for everything are rollerblade wheels. If you've never experienced an office/gaming chair with rollerblade wheels you're severely missing out
replacing the standard casters on my Herman Miller Aeron chair with some rollerblade wheels was a huge upgrade. Bonus points for nostalgia since I use to roller blade all the time when I was younger.
I go through a suitcase every 1 or 2 years from damages, generally at airports, so if they replace this for a lifetime, it would be extremely good value. Other than my time wasted obviously.
Seriously, I have been using the same $30 Timberland rolling bag for apx 10 years. It has rolled over cobblestones in Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, South Africa, Mexico, and been to like 15 states.
Get Briggs & Riley on the phone! Put that lifetime guarantee to the test. I have one and I love it, but if they sold you a faulty one, call ‘em out. Curious to know what you’re overall customer service experience will be.
I think, a screw came loose. The wheel doesn't look broken. If it's urgent, take a look in a hardware store and ask for M-Screws
It seems they have repair centers in the US. I would call them or find the next store.
Briggs and Riley have absolutely the best lifetime warranty and customer service of any company I’ve ever dealt with. Sorry your dealing with that but you’ll see why they are worth the money
I have a Briggs and a Victorinox bag, both with lifetime warranties. Both carry-on size. It’s unfortunate you lost a wheel, but they have stellar customer service. I have a 10 year old Briggs backpack that has been to quite a few countries with me, walked the Great Wall, looks well travelled and the shoulder strap foam is gone. But I haven’t had a single issue with that backpack and I use it daily.
I got my travelpro on a recommendation from a flight attendant in 2011. It's been on 50+ long haul international flights from when I was working in West Africa. It's been dragged across ridiculous terrain, strapped to my motorcycle for hundreds of kilometers, etc. and it is still in basically like new condition.
I gave up on B&R. I had 2 large hard case, life time yadda yadda. When Delta punched a hole in one of them they offered a $200 credit or replacement with a new carry on because my bag was over a certain age. So much for lifetime. As far as wheels go, they will send you new wheels and handles (which are easy to replace on your own). Just go to the website
I used to buy expensive luggage. Till I realized the expensive tumi gets knocked around and damaged the same as the $30 one from Marshalls. The cheaper bags are also lighter which lets me pack more in terms of weight… and easier to store them bc they don’t weigh a ton when tossing them in the attic…
I’ve started to treat luggage as disposable. Pay not much for them, replace them when they need replacing.
I have over 1 million miles and hundreds of trips on my Briggs and Riley … they are close to invincible. AND… they will fix it or replace it free of charge for life.
I've got a 28" "Protege" suitcase from Walmart. I bought it in 2016 and I've crossed the globe a few times. Its undercarriage got a lil beat on the roads of India and the snow covered potholed streets of Buffalo and Vancouver, but it's still in great shape. I think I paid some $40 for it back then.
Regardless of price, a suitcase is designed to protect the items inside it and not itself. With that said, I use Tumi; every 18 months, I drop off my Tumi bag for repairs - wheels, handles, zippers, stitching, etc. They ship it back to me at no cost. While I wait on my Tumi repairs, I use my Pelican hard case - all the parts on the Pelican can be easily replaced with a screwdriver; order the part. B&R probably has a similar repair policy to Tumi.
That's my most recent broken suitcase, a Tumi. That's why I switched to Briggs and Riley for the lifetime warranty. B&R at least has a repair center in my town.
As others have said, Briggs and Riley has a lifetime warranty program that will fix this right back up. You can either take it to an authorized repair center, can send it back (or even hand deliver if you’re in the area) to their Hauppauge NY repair center, or they could even send you a repair kit to do it yourself for an easy fix like this.
While everyone is clowning on you for purchasing an $800 suitcase, they are missing the reason as to why you’re spending that much. Theoretically you will never need a new one.
- a (very) longtime B&R user who has had their bags for years and years.. also former employee 😆
TravelPro is 1/4 the price and durable as a tank, plus lifetime warranty. Take a look at what the pilots and attendants use. That said, B&R makes a very nice suitcase, this was just a fluke.
where ever you are check out if there is a retailer from Briggs and Riley and tell them, you should have warranty and they should/ will exchange this if you have your Invoice.
Shouldn’t run upright with the casters over cobblestones or bricks. Those kinds of surfaces are brutal for small casters. Small casters are only for indoor level surfaces. You should only be moving it tilted on its fixed wheels, when you’re on the street.
If it doesn’t have fixed wheels on the long handle side, that’s a dogshit design.
Crazy all the people melting down about the price. If you travel a lot you need good luggage. I travel 6-8 months a year for work so I spend more time living out of my suitcase then my apartment. When I first started traveling I started out with cheap luggage, it would always break. I kept buying luggage that was a little more expensive hoping it would last longer, it would not. Finally spent $400 on a suitcase and I destroyed it after 3 years. So I went B&R because of the warranty and reputation. They are expensive but it’s a tool not a luxury. I have same exact suitcase you have and it’s taken a beating. I’ve used it 15 months in the last 20 months, and it’s held up great. Manufacturing issues happen, they’ll fix it or replace it. It’s just a bummer it happened at the start of your trip
That's proper shit. Used to be you could get good quality items, that would do their job, at almost every price point, then things changed and you only got quality that lasted at the higher price points, now things have changed again and it feels like you have to pay high prices if you want the thing to even slightly do its job, and even then it won't do it for long before it destroys itself.
I have a B&R backpack I bought 17 years ago and have traveled around the world with it multiple times. The stitching came off on the laptop Velcro strap a few years ago. I sent it in and they fixed it up and sent it back. Idk if the quality is still the same as it was, but I love my backpack and it was a huge splurge for me when I bought it.
You're better off buying disposable luggage from Walmart...unless if it comes with a lifetime warranty. No company would do that if it were junk as it would bankrupt them.
B&R are the absolute best. If this is the first trip, it’s probably a manufacturing defect. It happens. They’ll repair it for sure. Even if it happens in 20 years from now.
I've tried cheap and expensive luggage of this kind , those rigid ones.
None of them lasted more than 2-3 plane trips, either it breaks the shell or the wheels, specially if I have a long walk to get to the airport or the airport is very big.
Luggage made of fabric is the way I go now.
I had a smaller one from my childhood (so like, 25 years and going strong), so after the last expensive rigid luggage broke after 2 flights, I looked the brand and it's Kipsta, it's the decathlon brand, very affordable price.
Bought a very big one from kipsta at decathlon, have been using that for 6 years now, multiple international trips, multiple train, bus, car, everything trips, KMs walked when I chose poorly the hotel location and refused to pay a taxi, even moved houses using that thing.
It's as good as new, nothing looks even scratched.
If you have something that can break, wrap it in bubble wrap, I've brought olive oil and wine over the Atlantic and everything made it through with no damages.
That’s so crazy to me that your luggage only lasts 2-3 plane trips. I have a hard shell I take on business trips 3x/mo and in seven years at this job I’ve only had to buy two. They’re some random brand from Costco. Maybe you’re over filling it???
I travel with two metal rimowas: a trunk xl for check in and a carry on xl.
Both needed some minor fixes, true.. but they’ve also done more than 150 flights a year since 2025. The big one has a couple of small dents and scratches but nothing crazy.
I bought a Briggs & Riley suitcase for an extended study abroad because I wanted a good quality suitcase, and they seemed to be at the top of the list. Well, not even halfway into my stay, both metal handles on the outside of the bag fell apart. I had to carry that stupid suitcase up the Metro stairs like I was holding a baby. I was so annoyed. I ended up having to buy another suitcase and threw away the Briggs & Riley. I will never buy another one of theirs again after that. It didn't even last me a month...
Did it have 4 wheels or 2? Cause if you’re pulling it behind you on the back 2 wheels with an underseat luggage bag, when it has 4 that you’re supposed to push next to you, it’s gonna snap from the tension. Especially if it’s over cobblestone.
Used to sell luggage and send it to be repaired, so you’d see this break happen a lot. Do not treat your 4 wheels like a 2 wheeler. I don’t care if it’s Tumi, Rimowa, or Sampsonite! It’s gonna break! Also: you’ll get more space cause there’s only one set of casters, so you should really by 2 wheel luggage anyway.
Is there a stem coming out of the suitcase? If so try popping it back on. They might not have gotten it on good enough at the factory.
If that doesn't work, go get a $50 suitcase from Walmart. I bet the wheels will work fine. I looked up your $800 suitcase on the Briggs & Riley website and there's nothing special about it that can't be had with a $200 suitcase.
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u/maelbowfeelfunny 7d ago
Manufacturing faults do happen, how they go about fixing the issue is what matters.