Antler Tourlite II Medium Suitcase > Reviews (2)

We are lucky enough to travel quite a lot as a family and our old suitcases were looking a little worse for wear so we decided it was time to invest in some new ones which saw us taking a trip to our local John Lewis.

I had various criteria for our new cases; they needed to be light, spacious, colourful, easy to manage and a size that I could handle well as I am not very tall.

We seemed to look at lots of cases but we ended up choosing the Antler Tourlite II as it fitted the majority of our needs and since none of the cases on offer were 100% what we wanted this offered the best compromise.

Colour

I particularly did not want a black suitcase. We have all been there, staring at a luggage carousel after a long flight as hundreds of similar black bags go trundling around whilst people desperately try to read the tags in the hope that it is theirs. Our last cases were an unusual shade of blue and were always easy to spot.

These cases do come in red but unfortunately they were out of stock and since we had left it a bit late to buy our new luggage we were stuck with black being the only option. If I am honest they are not completely black, they are made of more of a two-tone black/grey hard-wearing polyester fabric but they are still quite dull. Luckily we have a couple of colourful luggage straps which we have never used before but we have now brought these into operation to make our cases easier to identify. The one advantage of the dark colour is it does not show the dirt after baggage handlers have thrown it across the floor like our old cases did.

Size

Both the large and the medium cases appealed to us and in the end we purchased one of each so that we could adjust to different trip lengths. The medium case is 65cm x 44cm x 32cm but it does have an expander zip that gives an extra depth up to about 35cm when full. The manufacturers say that it has a 72/83 litre capacity. I find the medium case is a great size for me to manage as even when it is full I can still lift it which means that I know it will be under the weight limit for Virgin and BA (I can lift about a 19kgcase).

Weight

Having picked up most of the cases in John Lewis I was most impressed by the weight of this case. It only weighs 3.5kg but unlike several other lightweight cases I looked at it didn’t feel flimsy or at all fragile. I want to carry my weight allowance in clothes not the case weight so this was ideal.

Manoeuvrability

I have found that 4-wheeled cases are quite easy to move around so I wasn’t sure when I saw that this was only a two wheel case. However the wheels turn well and I have had no trouble manoeuvring the cases through busy airports or across bumpy roads. The telescopic handle has a good quality grip and locks easily after pulling it out, it doesn’t slide back into the case at all until you press the button, it locks at two heights which is ideal since hubby and I are quite different heights and it suits us both. The case also has sewn in handles on the top and side. These feel secure and they have enough room under them to allow a good grip but lie flat against the case the rest of the time.

One strange thing about the case is the fact that there is no handle on the bottom but there is a fold out stand to help keep the case stable when storing upright. It does state that this stand should not be used for lifting or moving the case but it is in such a position that it is an obvious thing to grab hold of when the case is lying flat on its back. I am sure that luggage handlers would automatically grab it and probably break it and I couldn’t blame them but using luggage straps does mean that they are not accessible whilst we are travelling. The case does have little legs at the front and we have found these sufficient for stability whilst waiting at check-in etc.

In Use

We have now been using these cases for the best part of a year; they have been by train to Paris, on a cruise ship around the Med and a long haul plane trip to Orlando so we have tried them in various conditions.

I have found that the zips are very good quality, they do not jam at all and have good sized tags which make them easy to use and they have interlocking loops which makes them easy to secure with a lock. The cases also came with TSA padlocks which we find useful as we travel to America every year and have previously had to leave our cases unlocked.

Packing the cases is a very pleasant experience. They are lined in pale grey so it is easy to see what is inside. At the one end there is a large zipped mesh pocket which I find handy to keep all the little bits that I lose amongst the stuff in my case like camera chips and contact lens cases. There is also a mesh zipped pocket inside the case lid which is useful for all the paperwork I take when I go away in case of emergencies! What is really great is the space, the design seems to give a huge amount of luggage space, the corners do not seem to curve in and the retractable handle doesn’t seem to take much space. This case is a similar size to my old one but it definitely can take more clothes and holiday paraphernalia than my previous one. The expander works well as it covers virtually the full size of the case rather than just part of it and I found that particularly useful when coming back from the US with all my bargains.

Final Thoughts

In general I have been happy with the performance of these cases but they are certainly not perfect. They have rubberised corner protectors to help protect against damage but I have noticed that they already have a few chips missing out of them and the material is looking a little frayed along one of the edges. Considering that they are supposed to last 10 years according to the guarantee I will be keeping a close eye on this part. Also if the case is not terribly full the front part seems to cave in a little and it looks a bit messy, the one case seems to do this more than the other and although it is not a serious problem I do like my cases to look neat. Although these cases do not feel quite as sturdy as heavier cases they still seem robust enough to cope with normal travel.

The medium sized case cost me £89.

I think it looks very smart (as long as it is full enough) and it certainly ticks most of the boxes of what a good case should have. I do wish it was a brighter colour although I think my other half does prefer the more sombre shade. I find the balance stand at the base unnecessary and it may prove to be problematic if it breaks but I will take the case back if that happens. The 10 year guarantee is against poor workmanship not wear and tear but if the damage is caused due to the flawed design I will certainly be complaining but since everything else is pretty much perfect I do hope that this does not happen. All I need to do now is plan my next trip to test them out some more.