Titan luggage, an ultra-lightweight, German-made brand, has become something of a cult item in Europe and is now entering the United States. But, fair warning, it is pricey. We tested the 20-inch model of the line called 360 Four, which costs $425. Size doesn’t change the price much: The 24-inch is $475. Think of it as the BMW of luggage. It’s aimed at the discriminating traveler, or the budget-conscious willing to invest for the long term in luggage with a lifetime “for-any-reason” guarantee. And it works beautifully. The wheels swivel 360 degrees and operate so easily that if you give the bag a light twist with two fingers, it spins like a ballet dancer. The bag pushes as easily as it pulls, including when it’s turned sideways, which makes it easily glide down a narrow airplane aisle.
The telescoping handle has three height levels. The exterior is made of polycarbonate, a high-tech lightweight plastic that is temperature- and impact-resistant, as well as being somewhat flexible. One flaw: There’s no handle on the horizontal side to grab if you’ve loaded the bag sideways into an overhead bin. And is it tough? I rubbed dirt and gravel on the exterior: No scratches, and the dirt disappeared with a wipe. I threw the bag down a flight of stairs; it hit bottom, then bounced into a wall. What initially appeared to be scratches wiped away easily, with the exception of one tiny, almost imperceptible mark. The 20-inch bag, at 7K pounds, is lighter than many purses. It comes with a built-in TSA lock – meaning that Transportation Security Administration agents are supposed to be able to open it with a master key, although we’ve had reports of agents breaking locks that they’re supposed to be able to open. | $425-$475, list of stores and online retailers at titanluggageusa.com
– The Washington Post
