Voice of experience: It's an outstanding bag that will last for decades.
I’m twice as old as people in TB’s marketing photo. I like the Tri-Star more than any bag I’ve had. 5 years of frequent use and my Steel Tri-Star looks new. It’s stylish but low-key, functional, and durable. I use it for month-long (or longer) trips for work and/or fun with lots of moving/packing/unpacking. I can easily see living out of this thing for a year.
High notes:
--underpacking makes it look smaller. Sometimes I use it as checked baggage if I’m lazy, but as a carry-on I’ve never had to gate-check it.
--love the end handles. Sling it into an airplane bin in 3 seconds, waste no space, and retrieve just as fast at the end. FAs appreciate that, and so do I. Why waste my life trying to handle luggage?
--the slide-out laptop sleeve and the internal rings to strap a clear 3-1-1 bag are brilliant. Airport security is easy, and the agents think those things are cool.
--concealed backpack strap connectors on the corners are elegantly subtle.
It looks serious but not ostentatious and the steel gray hides dirt. It holds its shape and isn’t floppy.
The zippers are excellent. I hated the noisy metal pulls and replaced them with paracord. TB’s plastic ends for the paracord are high quality plastic, look good, stay together, and are easy to disassemble.
