In today’s review, I am going to review one of the most popular luggage bags on Amazon. To be specific, this review is not just for one item but for two. It’s a 2-piece set, 1 carry-on and 1 tote bag. The name of the item is American Tourister Fieldbrook II Softside Upright Luggage Set, Black, 2-Piece.
This kind of deal is popular on Amazon. 2-piece sets sell better on Amazon just because of the appearance of a discount. These deals are usually cheaper than having to buy the items separately. For instance, if you bought the two items in this deal separately, you would have to spend close to $60. Contrast that to getting it for less than $40 and the selling point becomes apparent.
I will be lying if I say that the pricing isn’t what caught my attention the first time I saw it. It’s the first thing that comes out of the page. It doesn’t help that the design is pretty boring, if I may say so. This review is for the black colorway but the other options does not really change the appeal that much. If anything, the other color options make it looks cheaper than it already is.
This bag definitely doesn’t hide the fact that it is the cheaper option. It is priced that way and certainly looks the part. The only thing that is left for me to discuss is if this bag is worth your money. Even though it’s cheap, I wouldn’t want to recommend something that’s worth less than what you pay for.
At the time of this writing, this bag is rated 4.4 stars. Not that high but certainly is a good rating considering the amount of reviews it has – ~5,000 reviews. This is already a good indication that it’s a solid product, but don’t just take the rating for what it is.
In this review, we’re going to look into what makes this 2-piece set special. Never mind that it’s cheap. We’re going to evaluate if this is worth your money, still. Let’s start with the pros and cons.
Pros & Cons of American Tourister Fieldbrook II Softside Luggage Set
Pros
2 Bags For Less Than $40
This shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing the way I’ve referenced the pricing in my product overview. In fact, this wouldn’t be my last reference to the price inside this article.
This set is impressively cheap. This is their selling point and they don’t shy away from it. They don’t make it seem like their product is worth more than what it is. In a way, that is sort of endearing since they are honest about their items.
American Tourister Is A Reputable Brand
Although American Tourister isn’t exactly a household name, it remains to be the go-to choice for many Americans looking for cheaper luggage alternatives. Many buyers do not know that this brand is owned by Samsonite (only the most popular luggage makers in the world).
And while they do maintain the fact that they operate as different entities, there’s no denying that the great craftsmanship that Samsonite is known for has spilled over this little company. Their bags are well made and can sometimes even be mistaken for something more expensive.
Tote Bag Comes With Sleeve
This is a 2-piece bundle which means that you are getting two bags for the price of one, basically. What’s great about this is the complementary tote bag isn’t just random bag. The tote bag is designed to fit perfectly at the top of the carry-on bag. It has a sleeve that slides perfectly on the handle of the bag.
You can simply stack the tote bag at the top of the carry-on, completely secured.
Cons
This is where I put in the negatives of this bag. I won’t lie, this bag has plenty of cons. However, you need to keep in mind that this is a cheap bag. As such, it’s sort of expected for it to only have rudimentary features that makes a bag functional.
Most of its features only go to help the functionality and never the comfort. As I’ve said, this is expected from a bag in this price range.
No Built-in Locking Mechanism
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is a feature mostly reserved for mid to high range bag. But still, it would’ve been nice to not purchase a separate lock when using this bag.
Heavier Than Expected
This comes in at a standard 6.6 lbs. It’s not that heavy, but when you contrast it to its size 21”, it’s heavier than expected. It also uses inline skate design which should’ve decreased the weight a bit but failed to do so. And this brings us to the next con.
Inline Skate Wheels Design
Spinner wheel design is the superior set up, in my opinion. It may be considered as asking too much for this luggage bag to have spinner wheels but I’m really just a fan of that wheel design.
Uninspiring Design
This may seem like I’m picking on this bag already but trust me, I’m not. I’m just saying that this bag has the most basic design I’ve seen on Amazon. Once again, that’s perhaps the direct cause of the pricing. They don’t want their cheapest offerings to be looking all premium. That will eat up the sales from their other segments.
Quality Rating
The quality of these bags is comparable to items double the price. The bag is not as durable as more expensive bags but that’s to be expected since you’re not paying for that privilege.
Remember that these bags come from American Tourister, a known brand related to Samsonite. They are using the same techniques that Samsonite uses albeit cutting back on some aspects.
The obvious things they cut back are in their material choice. Their materials don’t compare to those used in premium brands.
The fabric they used for this set is pretty thick. It looks strong and durable but it’s pretty heavy.
Normally, heavy fabric equates to better quality but that time has long been gone. The durability of the fabric is now more related to the type of material instead of thickness of material.
Another cutback they implemented is they used synthetic materials on parts that doesn’t receive as much wear and tear. For instance, the build of the interior for both of these bags leaves a lot to be desired.
The interior of this bag, while having plenty of pockets, reflects the price, more so than the exterior. But then again, this the price you pay for choosing something cheap.
To summarize, this is an alright bag if you are not that particular with the overall quality. This bag would last you a long time with normal to heavy use. I’m not sure I can the same for the interior though. 3 stars.
Size Rating
From my research, the dimensions of these two bags are accurate. They are true to size. This is important especially for the carry-on bag since airlines are usually very strict in implementing their carry-on limitations. 3 stars.
Feature Rating
It’s hard to talk about the features of this bag without referencing the price. At the time of this writing, this bag costs a bargain price of $38.59 without discount.
I imagine that they sometimes offer discounts as well, which would make this bargain price even more bargain.
Once you learn of the pricing, it’s hard to talk about your expectations in terms of feature because if there’s one thing shopping has taught us is the cheapest items usually skimped out the most when it comes to features. That’s just how these things go, and there’s nothing wrong about it.
That doesn’t seem to be the case for this bag though. It has some of the features you’d expect from something more expensive. That isn’t even the most surprising thing.
One of my most favorite features here is the fact that it is made from durable materials. The materials they used can be found in some premium bags. All that in less than $40.
But of course, this bag is missing some of the features I’ve come to expect from standard luggage bags. The most obvious feature I don’t see here is the spinner wheels. Ever since I converted to spinner wheels, my view of inline skate wheels changed forever.
They don’t mobilize that easy. To be fair to this bag, though, it is a carry-on, so moving it won’t necessarily be a hassle even if it uses an inline skate design.
Another thing I didn’t see here is the expandable feature. This being a softside bag, it’s easier to include this feature since it is made from fabric. But given the pricing, I can tolerate not having that feature here.
If you compare the features of this bag to something that has double or even triple the size, of course, it will come short. That’s not a fair assessment. The better way to judge it is to compare it to similarly priced products, and on that front, it comes out near the top. 3 stars.
Brand Rating
The company is called American Tourister. It’s one of the go-to brands when looking for midrange bags because of its good pedigree. This company is owned by Samsonite – yes, the most popular luggage brand in the world. As such, it has most of the features in Samsonite bag. It also shares some of the material choice, making it as durable as its high-end brother.
The reason American Tourister is priced the way it is, is the conglomerate wanted to have control in both the higher and lower segment of the market. This is a powerful way to increase brand awareness. Even car companies do this. They have a high-end brand and a more economical brand.
Whenever I’ve reviewed this brand, I always give them 5 stars, and deservedly so. The value proposition is just too good. They may not offer the cheapest bags in the segment compared to generic brands like AmazonBasics, but they do provide the best value, seeing that you are getting a Samsonite level of quality for half the price, maybe even lower.
American Tourister Fieldbrook II Softside Luggage Set: Product Specification
Size: 2-Piece Set
Product Dimensions: 21 x 14 x 7 inches
Item Weight: 6.6 pounds
Department: Unisex-adult
Manufacturer:American Tourister
Final Verdict on American Tourister Fieldbrook II Softside Luggage Set
It’s pretty obvious that the main selling point of this bag is the pricing. This is a deal for 2 bags for the stupidly low price of $38.59, and it’s not even on sale.
No wonder it’s rising at the top of the best seller’s list. It may not have an Amazon’s Choice badge but it looks to be an outstanding product.
I’ve seen single bags that cost twice as much. It’s rated as 4.4 stars with ~5,100 reviews which is impressive. To garner that high of a score from more than 5,000 reviews is a great feat, in my opinion.
I’ve said before that I usually consider ratings above 4.6 great products but this is a clear exception since it has thousand more reviews than average. The fact that it remained top rated speaks volume to the consistency in its quality.
What you may be thinking about is the quality may not be as good as its competition. That’s both a yes and no. It’s complicated.
If you compare it to premium luggage bags, then sure, the quality is clearly below those. However, if you compare it to products with comparable price range, this bag is head and shoulders above in quality. Remember that these two bags come in at less than $40 so it’s kind of unfair to compare it to similarly priced item because they offer no competition whatsoever in terms of quality.
Overall, this bag sure is worth more than its price would suggest. The fact that you can get two bags for under $40 is great enough. The quality being this good is can be considered just a bonus. 3.5 stars.
