A Suitcase for the Littles

Shopping Suitcases for Kids

A few months back, after a family quick-trip to Chicago, we shared a “Packing For | With Kids” post. Since, we’ve been busily planning our family’s next adventure (Paris and Amsterdam this summer, eek! Promise more on this later!) and I really started researching suitcases for Lucy + Greer. In our Packing For | With Kids we shared suitcases that looked appealing, affordable and functional for little ones. However, since researching a TON (stress A TON!) I would like to share a follow-up post. Here’s what went into our research and below I’ve shared the suitcase we ended up buying for our girls. Note, we even ordered quite a few and “tested” them out before making our final decision.

Our top priorities when researching suitcases for Lucy (8) and Greer (5) were:

1. Size - we want our girls to be able to wheel their own bags through Cities and airports with little-to-no help from Mike and I. Our dream is to have 4 “rolly” suitcases, a carry-on bag each and a small purse for me and the girls (one that can be used solely when we arrive in our destination and drop our other bags in our hotel). Also, fitting as a carry-on is some-what important, but not the end all. If they can attach their carry-on bag/back pack to the wheelie, then all the better! Having the expandable capability mattered to us a lot.

2. Function - a suitcase that can be used for International travel as well as a Domestic road trip type travel experience. We thought it would be great to be able to fit their suitcases in the overhead compartment on the airplane, but not absolutely necessary. We need the wheels to move when the bag is upright and tilted, a hard shell seemed the most reasonable and the organization and space in the inside needed to be right.

3. Well-made - we looked for something that wouldn’t get torn to bits by airline personnel after one International flight, but also we weren’t willing to spend a million dollars on luxury bags for them at their ages. If we get 5-10 years out of these bags, then we will be happy! So, we also shopped warranty options. The inside fabric/zippers/etc should be nice enough that the girls can’t break the zippers or clips on our first trip, but they don’t need “Away bag” level material 😂.

The bag we purchased:

Bric’s Ulisse 21” Expandable Spinner

Why we chose it:

• Expandable. I will push myself to fit their stuff in the bag without the expansion open, but it is so nice to have the option - especially since I’m anticipating buying a few things in Europe to bring home!

• has laundry bag

• material inside is nice (enough) - not like the Away bag but decent

• These are “carry-on” size, so if we are not using the Expansion amenity they are great for smaller trips. (I envision us carrying these on en route to Paris and on the way home def using the expansion option b/c of all of our Parisian and Dutch treasures 😜)

• zippers seem sturdy enough

• outer shell seems sturdy enough and the handle is very easy to operate and feels sturdy. It also seems capable of holding a back pack or other carry-on on top if necessary

• our girls (ages 8 and 5) can wheel them (when full) very easily (that was the whole point in this purchase!)

• warranty - 5 year

• the price was right (not awesome and cheap, but remember we were going for quality as well!)

Along with their suitcases, we also gifted the girls cloth stickers (also mentioned in our Packing For | With Kids post) so they would be able to decorate their bags and truly make them their own. They LOVED this and had a ball creating their suitcase designs 😊.

In addition, I/we still very much believe in the packing cubes we shared in our previous packing post. They help us stay organized no matter where we are staying and for how long. I am especially excited to have these puppies for our Europe trip this summer since we will be in 2 cities. Once Paris is done I will re-organize our bags for Amsterdam with the help of the cubes!

Happy Travels!

Image, Bric’s