Gear: Not a Black Bag

Product name: http://www.hideostore.com

Made by: Hideo Wakamatsu

Web Site: www.hideostore.com

A few weeks ago I had a flight that landed during the busiest part of the week, and it seemed like everybody working at the airport had the day off, because it took over 45 minutes for 5 flights to get any luggage. So there we all were, hundreds of us standing around glaring at the luggage carousel, which was going around and around, and beeping, but not producing anything. Finally after much complaining (from us) it started spewing one little stowable in the overhead compartment sized black suitcase after another. Everybody has the same suitcase now, you know the one, in fact you probably own it, it’s black, it’s square, it has 2 pockets on the side, it rocks alarmingly at high speeds while dashing across the airport, and it’s impossible to tell yours from everybody else’s.

That’s why I’m still really, really happy with my suitcase purchase from 2002. It’s a candy apple red Hideo Wakamatsu 20” carry on suitcase. I can’t find mine online anymore, but they do make several that are similar, the easel, the basic 20” or the wave, and they come in lots of cheerful colors and patterns. (they also have a 26” check in size.) I’ve taken dozens of trips with it, and I’ve never had trouble telling mine from anyone else’s. It is roomier than it looks from the outside, I’ve stuffed about 5 days to a weeks worth of stuff in it, and it handles well, as it doesn’t rock when you walk fast. Also, despite the best efforts of the baggage handlers (throwers) all of its handles are still working. It has a lot of scuff marks, in fact it currently looks like it was in a traffic accident, but the scuffs buff out. And it’s great for starting conversations at the luggage carousel, because all the black suitcase owners want to know where they can get one.