Review of Travelpro Maxlite 4 25″ Expandable Spinner

(review after 2 months of travel usage)

I read review after review after review. This suitcase was LIGHT! In 2.5 weeks I flew from the US to Paris to Rome. Rented a car in Rome and drive two hours into the country to Deruta. Then drove to Genoa and took a train to Monaco. Rented a car and drove to Nice and then flew back to Paris. From there I rented a car and drove to the Dordogne Region and back to Paris where I caught a flight back to the US.

If you want a lightweight spinner in the 25″ class, this is the one to get. Unbelievably, this 25″ Travelpro Maxlite 4 weighs **exactly** the same as my 21″ Travelpro spinner that is NOT a Maxlite. Capacity is what you’d expect from a 25″ suitcase. I used it on a 3-week land-and-sea cruise in Canada and Alaska in May, so I had a couple jackets, a suit, plus lots of casual wear, and could have taken more. Also, if you’re in the market for new luggage, in my opinion, a spinner is the ONLY way to go (unless you don’t want wheels at all). Even on cobblestones, you can still tilt it and pull it like any other 2-wheeled suitcase, but on smooth roads and floors (e.g., airports!), a spinner relieves almost all the muscle strain of pulling. Better yet, it isn’t prone to tilting over as you turn corners. Any spinner is good, but at this price, Travelpro’s is the best.

Suitcase is a nice size, and very light weight. It actually weighs less (when empty) than my carry on suitcase. After a 10 day trip and 4 plan trips, it was already showing major signs of wear and the zipper was getting stuck.

I was very excited about this luggage. I love the color and it is lightweight as promised. I noticed on my return trip after using this bag once that there was some resistance pulling it. After further examination I noticed that one of the wheels is fraying. I am trying to decide if I should return it for a new one. Other than the one wheel I really like this luggage.

This piece of luggage is light, as advertised, and it is roomy. The problem is a lack of sturdiness. I bought it for a trip to Italy, which I knew would be hard on the luggage, because of all the rough street surfaces. The bag lasted about four hours. The cloth handle broke on the first day–it is held on by two metal rivets, one of which broke. This required me to lift the bag with both hands, for fear of tearing the handle right off the bag. Quite a pain on a two-week trip. When I returned home, I replaced both of the flimsy rivets with a nut and bolt. Not pretty, but much stronger than the inadequate rivets.

Arrived as scheduled. After examination, I found one of the inner clothing pockets was missing its zipper pull tab. I fixed this by looping a key ring thru the hole where the tab should be. It was a quick fix, but still a manufacturing flaw that may irritate future buyers of this product.

After only 1 flight, one of the main zippers was ripped off. I understand that you can have wear and tear with airlines, but I fly every week and the other brand I had never lost a zipper in 10 years. The only reason I bought a new suitcase was because my son left wet swim wear in the larger case and I could not get the sour smell out. Very disappointed in this occurring after 1 flight. they should hold up better than that. My 1st and probably last travelpro purchase if this is the norm.

Very lite and durable, was able to pack even more and still under weight limit. We will be ordering the larger size soon!