The evolution of the trolley case

Guess whether humans invented the trolley case first, or landed on the moon first?

Guess whether humans invented the trolley case first, or landed on the moon first?

Most people probably don't know that the invention of the trolley case was much later than the moon landing. Yes, humans have been on the moon, and there is no suitcase that can be carried away :)

Early suitcases were usually made of leather, rattan or thick rubber cloth wrapped around a hardwood or steel frame, and the corners were fixed with brass or leather, with handles on them, and buttons to close them. This kind of traditional luggage can only be carried or carried, which is very inconvenient to use.

This phenomenon did not change until 1972. A buddy named Bernard Sadow put wheels on the suitcase, and the wheeled suitcase finally came out!

In 1972, Bernard Sadow applied for a patent, patent number 3653474, patent name ROLLING LUGGAGE

Bernard is an executive of a suitcase company in the United States (all worked as executives, and was still in the front line of product design, with full marks). Once shopping with his wife in the supermarket, he was bored when the prodigal ladies wanted to buy again. A young guy pulled the shopping cart behind him and threw it in whenever he saw the goods he liked. Bernard felt that this young man was so innocent and unpretentious, and was completely different from the coquettish bastards outside, so he took a serious look at the young man and got the inspiration for the wheeled suitcase.

But Bernard's design has a big flaw. The center of gravity of this wheeled suitcase is unstable, and it will fall when it encounters a turn, uneven road or sudden stop. Therefore, Samsonite made an improvement to the design of the box, replacing the cord with a storable one, widening the box, and also won a design award in the 1980s.

Obviously, this design is still very stupid. You need to lift one end when towing, which is very laborious to use. So another buddy named Robert Plath pushed the wheel of history. This buddy is the captain of Northwest Airlines. After retiring, he has nothing to do. When playing with boxes at home, he stood up the box and installed wheels and trolleys to create the prototype of a modern trolley box. This year is 1987.

The brother Robert, who is well versed in the essence of micro-business, sold his invention to the old colleagues of Northwest Airlines, and the evaluation was surprisingly good. So in 1988, I opened a leather bag company, specializing in the production of bags, the brand name is the famous TravelPro.

In the movie "Up in the Air", George Clooney's brilliant trolley case is TravelPro, which also makes the film the most successful brand promotional film for TravelPro.

How much time can a good suitcase save? To quote a sentence from the hero in the film persuading his men to buy a good box:"(Unusable suitcase) 35 minutes (delayed) once, 270 days of business trip a year, or 157 hours, which is equivalent to a waste of 7 days. Do you want to spend a week to tow the suitcase?"

Having said that, how should I choose the suitcase?

1. Size
The first issue that needs attention is size. There are many sizes of suitcases, ranging from 16 inches to 30 inches, and you can choose according to the number of travel days.

It should be noted that if you need to travel abroad, according to IATA regulations:

Carry-on case size: the sum of the three sides of length, width and height does not exceed 115cm (generally 21 inches);
Shipping box size: the sum of length, width and height does not exceed 158cm (usually 28 inches);
If the sum of the three sides exceeds 158cm, it needs to be transported as cargo.
IATA is the abbreviation of the International Air Transport Association. It is an international civil aviation organization with members including more than 260 airlines worldwide and headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Responsible for coordinating and managing issues such as ticket issuance and luggage transportation in civil aviation transportation.

It will be easier if you are only traveling domestically:

The size of carry-on luggage: length, width and height shall not exceed 55cm, 40cm, 20cm respectively;
The size of checked baggage: the sum of length, width and height shall not exceed 200cm;
Some low-cost airlines such as Spring and Autumn, the upper limit of carry-on baggage and checked baggage will be smaller. If you travel by these methods, you need to pay special attention.
Therefore, we say that the big box is not necessarily good. If the box is big, you have to check it. You have to wait in line for your luggage. Waiting in line for your luggage means that the car will have to wait for you to pick you up. The luggage you get may be violently checked If you open a broken suitcase, the contents will still smell like a cargo compartment. Ah, why should I embarrass myself so much in life.

2. Material
As mentioned earlier, big is not necessarily good, but light is also very important. The metal box is of course cool, but the heavier the empty box, the less luggage you can carry, and the fewer souvenirs you can hold on your return journey. Take a 21-inch cabin as an example. No more than 5kg is the upper limit we can accept. You don't want to exercise your biceps during travel.

The most important thing is that the money you need to pay for checking overweight luggage is more expensive than SF Express and may be enough for you to upgrade.

Therefore, the material of the box is also a point that many people will struggle with. In fact, it is good to distinguish between soft cases and hard cases. Soft cases are made of leather, nylon, canvas, PU leather, etc.; hard cases are made of aluminum-magnesium alloy, PC, PP, ABS, etc.

leather
The leather box exists solely for style. The strength and durability of leather are completely defeated by plastics, and the price is still the most expensive. But just because it is so expensive and useless, it satisfies another concept of consumption.

If we don't have an assistant when we go out, don't buy leather suitcases.

Nylon, canvas, PU leather
The performance of these materials of the soft box is not much different. The box is malleable as a whole and can hold more luggage, and it will not be damaged if it is squeezed during the check in. The scratch resistance of the outer surface is also very good, and daily use will not leave too many marks on it.

But the disadvantage is that the waterproof effect is not as good as the hard case, and the soft case does not protect the internal luggage well, and it is easily damaged by external extrusion.

Aluminum-magnesium alloy：

Aluminum-magnesium alloy is powerful, and the favorite Rimowa of Internet celebrities is the representative of aluminum-magnesium alloy. Due to the high ductility of the alloy, it is resistant to fall and exercise, and its strength is against ground handling violent consignment. But the disadvantage is that it is self-important, and it is very easy to scratch and dent, and it is also expensive.​

PC（Polycarbonate）：

The full name of PC is polycarbonate, which is the main raw material for the production of hard cases. It has stable chemical properties, high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and good deformation toughness. But the disadvantage is that the surface is not rigid enough, it is very easy to scratch and destroy the overall beauty, of course, it can be pasted.

The biggest advantage of suitcases made of PC is impact resistance, not the impact resistance of aluminum-magnesium alloy. But when an impact occurs, the excellent toughness of PC can easily cope with it and can be restored to its original state. Of course, this will not protect the luggage in the box in place.

PP（Polypropylene）：

The full name of PP is polypropylene. Its performance is similar to that of PC, but it is lighter in weight and less flexible than PC. The corresponding surface rigidity has also been improved, and the protection of luggage is better.

The production process is mostly heated and shrinked, and the color inside and outside the box is the same. The cost of development and production is relatively expensive, and the unit price of the product is also high. Therefore, luggage made of PP is rarely used in the market.

ABS（acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene）:

ABS resin is a copolymer of acrylonitrile (A), butadiene (B) and styrene (S). The advantages of ABS can be regarded as masters, including the heat and corrosion resistance of A acrylonitrile, the elasticity and strength of B butadiene, and the ease of processing of S styrene.

By changing the composition ratio of the three components, the various properties of ABS can be changed. Therefore, ABS is widely used in all aspects of our production and life. It was also featured in the keyboard purchase guide we introduced earlier. Luggage cases made of pure ABS have the advantages of high strength and scratch resistance, but heavier weight and less elasticity.

alloy? PC, PP or ABS?

Therefore, how should these four hard case materials be selected?

The number indicates the ranking of the corresponding material, the smaller the number, the better

Therefore, if you are not bad for money and have great strength, you can buy aluminum-magnesium alloy directly, which has first-class durability. Considering the price and material performance, we recommend buying a suitcase made of PC+ABS material, which can achieve the effect of complementing each other. It has the advantages of scratch resistance, while also ensuring portability.

3. lock
This is a problem that many people have overlooked. Did you know that a normal zipper box can be opened with a ballpoint pen?

Since the zipper is so unreliable, is there any way? Aluminum frame box is a better choice. Aluminum frame has better anti-theft performance and better supporting effect; but it will weigh more than zipper.

Of course, the so-called better anti-theft is only relative, and it will not be too difficult to pry open.

Aluminum frame luggage, the lock used is TSA customs lock

However, in pursuit of lightness, the zipper has not been abandoned. The luggage company has come up with various methods of reverse zipper and double zipper to solve this problem.

Delsey's double explosion-proof zipper

Regarding TSA locks, I would like to mention a little bit here. Many businesses will claim that their locks are the so-called "TSA certified locks", which is the strongest posture that I have certified me. In fact, TSA means the US Transportation Security Administration. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US Customs required that all luggage cannot be locked for security inspection, but the people were unhappy and wanted the safety of their luggage. Therefore, the luggage manufacturer negotiated with the customs to come up with a TSA lock, the key is only in the hands of the customs, and at the same time meets the needs of luggage safety and security inspection. Therefore, if you do not travel abroad, TSA locks are useless.

4. pull rod
Now the tie rods of the trolley case are generally built-in, so the overall structure of the case is more stable, and the performance of anti-fall and impact resistance is better. The external trolley case is very easy to be damaged during use, and has been eliminated by the market, but it is not guaranteed that you will not encounter profiteers. If you really encounter it, don't buy it.

The selection of tie rods is very simple. The aluminum alloy is the best, which is light and solid.

As shown in the picture, it is the aluminum alloy trolley case

At the same time, it is best to buy a double pole. Although a single pole is stylish and beautiful, it will be more strenuous during the dragging process, and more effort and effort are required to maintain balance.

5. wheels
The wheel is the most important part of a trolley case, and it is also the most wearable part. The weight of the box and luggage must be supported when it is still; it must be rolled when towed, and it must cope with all kinds of strange roads; it is also most vulnerable to bumps when checking.

The points to note when choosing wheels are as follows:

Two-wheeled universal wheel
Compared with the fixed built-in wheels, the universal wheels can be towed upright more conveniently, and the trolley box is born to go straight! But the disadvantage is also obvious, because it is completely exposed, it is more likely to be bumped and damaged during handling.

The left picture is a double wheel, the right picture is a single wheel

The universal wheel needs to choose two wheels, which are more stable and easier to drag than single wheels.

Hard material
Generally speaking, hard wheels are better than soft wheels. After the same use conditions and use time, the life of soft wheels is much shorter.

Secondly, the wheel must be firmly fixed to the bottom of the box body as a whole, and the wheel itself will not shake left and right.

Low noise
As far as luggage is concerned, it is convenient for oneself and for others. Yueheifenggaoye quietly went out to play, it is always bad to disturb the neighborhood.

Therefore, it is very important to keep quiet when dragging the suitcase. The empty box is generally not loud when it is being dragged. In the trial selection, you can add some heavy objects to the box.

size
From the perspective of daily use, the bigger the wheel, the better. The big wheel slides more stably, and it is easier to cope with various road conditions; but from the perspective of durability, the big wheel is also easier to break. Some people say that the wheels need to be big, and some people say that the wheels should be small. We will sell you how to choose. The report next week will tell you.