Let's roll: wheeled suitcases can make travelling much easier ... as long as they last the distance.(REPORT: Suitcases with wheels)(Product/service evaluation)

Publication: Choice (Chippendale, Australia)

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COPYRIGHT 2006 Australian Consumers' Association

Travelling on holiday is one of life's pleasures, but there can be frustrating moments, such as hauling a heavy suitcase around an unfamiliar city or airport. You can end up with tired arms, aching hands and maybe a sore back as well. Not the best way to start your holiday. A suitcase with wheels and an extendable handle (also known as a trolley suitcase) can make that job much easier.

We tested 11 large wheeled suitcases big enough to take a load of around 15 kg, 64-74 cm in height and suitable as checked-in baggage when flying. (The cases themselves weigh 4-6 kg, giving you with 15 kg of contents the usual check-in allowance of 20 kg.) With one exception, they're soft-sided cases with a zippered lid; the EMINENT E016 is a hard-sided plastic case.

On the road

To help you choose a suitcase that's got plenty of room for your belongings, handles easily and is tough enough to last, we put each case through a number of tests.

First, we checked how easy they are to use:

* We packed the cases with kg of clothes and other items, assessing the ease of packing, the internal straps and how easy the zips are to use.

* We assessed the carrying and extendable handles for comfort and clearance.

* Each loaded case was manoeuvred around a course that included carpet, stairs, doorways, concrete footpaths and asphalt. We noted how easy (or difficult) each model was to manoeuvre and how comfortable it was to use.

After assessing the overall ease of use, we put the loaded cases through several performance tests:

* We checked how easily they can tip over, as a case that refuses to stay upright can be very annoying.

* Each case spent 90 minutes on our rolling-road rig, to see how they stand up to long-term use over bumpy paths.

* Each case was repeatedly lifted and dropped by its lifting handle (not the extendable handle).

* We tested their water resistance by packing them with newspaper and putting them under a heavy shower.

* We tested the external material for puncture resistance.

The outcome? Most of the suitcases are fairly easy to use, with the CATERPILLAR clearly topping the list and the SAMSONITE equally clearly at the bottom. All of them will let in enough water to wet their contents in heavy rain, and most also had trouble with the fairly severe drop test, which...

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