How our best-rated suitcase gave me a hard time
6/10/2023
Translation: Eva Francis
Whenever I get the chance to test a product, I’m all in. So I left my own suitcase at home and packed the Soundbox Spinner by American Tourister instead. A decision with consequences, as I discovered.
«It doesn’t happen often that I buy a product and say it couldn’t be better, but this suitcase is all I could ask for.»
«Ideal for short business or city trips. Enough storage space. Suitcase can be expanded/enlarged. Easy to pull and roll beside you – rolls well! High quality. High price, too, but definitely worth it.»
These are some examples of comments under the carry-on suitcase Soundbox Spinner by American Tourister. No wonder it appears in first place when you sort all suitcases by rating on our shop. In September 2023 alone, we sold 610 American Touristers – since the beginning of the year, the total number is 4,007. My, my.
I had no idea that these sales figures would come to be my undoing. Quite the opposite – I couldn’t wait to take the Soundbox Spinner with me on our team trip to Hamburg. By the way, the name is inspired by the circular grooves that make it look like a record. This idea won a Red Dot Design Award in 2017. Having said that, I wouldn’t have objected to straight grooves either.
However, there’s more to this trolley case than the vinyl optics. It rolls over any surface, elegantly and dynamically, on its four double wheels. Measuring 55 × 40 × 20 centimetres, it can be expanded to 23 centimetres by opening a zipper. It’s equipped with a TSA lock, a carrying handle on the top as well as an extendable telescopic handle.
So far, so good. However, what I miss at first glance – and also later when loading it into overhead compartments or onto conveyor belts – is an additional handle on the side. Oh well. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, right? So let’s unzip the hard shell, which is made out of 100% polypropylene and only weighs 2.6 kg when the case is empty.
Not much comes to light. A large compartment on the left with a divider pad and a mesh pocket and a large compartment on the right with a small, side zipper pocket. Both compartments feature x-shaped packing straps. Basically, everything you would expect from a piece of carry-on luggage – nothing more, nothing less.
The danger at the luggage belt
The disadvantage of travelling with a bestseller? High risk of confusion. Although the Soundbox Spinner has perfect hand luggage dimensions, I check it in. Why? Well, it was free and I’d packed various liquids. After arrival, I stand there waiting at the luggage belt. I wait. And wait. A lonely, black vinyl-look case is going in circles until the end, but it’s not mine. I guess that’s my clothes, cosmetics and other stuff gone. Not cool.
Hours pass (during which I panic-buy underwear, socks and a toothbrush) before the other passengers notice the mix-up as well and we manage to find each other in a miraculous but equally laborious way via LinkedIn. It’s not before late in the evening when we have that relieving conversation: do you have my suitcase? And you have mine? How great. The same luggage – what a coincidence. Haha, yes exactly. Well then, good night.
My verdict
If I could give a star rating, I’d give 4 out of 5. The Soundbox Spinner is a solid trolley case that’s wonderfully quiet and beautifully manoeuvrable. All things considered, it’s exactly what it promises to be – a piece of hand luggage.
However, it can’t compete with my own carry-on suitcase, which I bought years ago in a supermarket. It came in a set of two with a large suitcase. What’s better about it? It’s equipped with a second handle on the side, which makes lifting, hoisting and stowing much easier, and also features a removable extra pocket for dirty laundry. And it’s never been kidnapped from me – a definite plus.
If you’re still going to travel the world with our bestseller, I highly recommend personalising it with stickers or a tag to avoid it being mistaken for someone else’s. Or go with one of the many other colours that are available.
Laura Scholz
Senior Editor
Laura.Scholz@digitecgalaxus.chAlways in the mood for good hits, great trips and clinking drinks.
