!f Verage luggage review 11

Getting ready to travel? Check out the new Verage Rome collection for high-quality, durable hardside luggage that’s ready to take you anywhere. This piece of Verage Rome 24″ large hardside expandable luggage is featured here in Black, which looks like a beautiful, complex dark silver in person.

What sets and colours can I get Verage Rome luggage pieces in?

Verage’s Rome collection is available in six different colours as well as three different set sizes. You can find them at Best Buy at 19″, 24″, and 28″. They are offered solo or a set of two or three. (The duo features the Rome in middle and largest sizes, which are 24″ and 28″ respectively.)

The colours the Rome line comes in include:

  • Khaki, a sleek gunmetal silver;
  • Blue, a lustrous watery blue;
  • Green, a vibrant turquoise;
  • Yellow, a vivid, eggy yellow;
  • Purple, a pinky-lilac purple; and
  • Black, which is featured here.

Verage Rome 24" hardside luggage review interior

Details that pop out about the Verage Rome collection

The Verage Rome collection is really well-made. I did my product testing for this piece of luggage around the same time as another collection from a different brand and the difference was significant in every detail I looked at. This piece of luggage is sturdy and very well-made, with fine adjustments. The adjustments are hard to see in photographs, but make a huge difference during use.

Those adjustments included things like a firm middle position in the product’s handle. The telescoping handle feels secure in both the halfway and fully extended positions, which often gets missed in product design. Frequent travellersā€”and if you’re buying a piece of luggage this large, that likely includes youā€”will know that luggage handles that slide easily out of position are the bane of one’s existence getting to and from the airport. If your luggage is poorly made, everything kind of gets away from you if you hit a bad bump in the sidewalk or turn a sharp corner in the airport. There goes the purse you had resting below your hand hold! There goes the kids’ stuffed animal that was looped through the handle!

(And there go your spouse’s toes, if they’re hurrying behind you and your handle suddenly extends. Ouch!)

Verage Rome 24" hardside luggage handle

Roman design by Peter Burns

Bumps and turns aren’t a worry with this piece of luggage. Verage’s Rome collection is well-designed and well-built. The Rome exterior is inspired by Roman columns, like the ones you’d see featured in a basilica, and each ridge is precisely manufactured with a smooth, attractive edge. Each of these pieces look great in every colour and size.

The vertical Rome design is sleek and business-appropriate in black, blue, and khaki. It’s playful and eye-catching (sometimes searingly so) in yellow, green, and purple. These pieces were designed by Peter Burns, a Red Dot award-winning designer. He has 15 years of travel design experience for brands like Verage and Samsonite.

Verage Rome 24" hardside luggage wheels

Why choose hardside luggage?

Travellers seem split on the hard vs soft side luggage issue. Hardside luggage, as Verage puts it (most brands use “hard side,” separately, as two words,) is the overwhelming default nowadaysā€”but it wasn’t always the case. From soft leather duffel bags to hard trunks, there have been two options for luggage for decades.

Softside luggage

Those who prefer softside luggage often prefer it for its exterior pockets. While soft luggage materials can take more damage in the cargo hold, these pieces are often made with 1-2 front zippered pockets. For those travelling without an additional purse, those pockets can be very handy! Textile finishes also take damage differently from hard surfaces. While they are more likely to tear, they’re less likely to show scuff marks and are unlikely to scratch or crack.

Hardside luggage

Hardside luggage like this set, on the other hand, is seen as more durable. The high-grade plastics used in them are extremely strong. They no fibres that can snag on other luggage pieces and tear. Hardside pieces almost never come with exterior pockets and usually open into two easy-access halves. (Soft luggage pieces generally open toward the front into one single, extra deep compartment instead.)

Which should you choose?

I personally choose hardside luggage because I like its sleek lines and firm compartments. I opt for models available with a telescoping handle, inner compartments, and 360 degree wheels, like the Rome collection. What makes hardside luggage so handy for me is that its smooth exterior is so easy to work with: These pieces never get stuck going into the overhead bin. You don’t have to worry about them in your checked baggage, they make great footrests during or after long flights, and you don’t have to worry about your luggage getting soaked through if you’re travelling to your destination on a rainy or snowy day.

Verage Rome 24" hardside luggage lock

How are Verage’s zippers?

Verage uses safety zippers with a recessed TSA lock. The zipper pulls slot into the lock perfectly, in a specific order, to achieve a secure fit.

While travel locks do very little to prevent theft (they’re easy to break and must use a universal key for security purposes), I appreciate their inclusion. To me, they’re not really for your safetyā€”they’re for your convenience. Once your luggage pulls are secured in their lock, integrated conveniently along this smooth zipper, your bag isn’t going to pop open from rough handling or mischievous kids’ interference. It’s one less thing to worry about during travel, which is great!

You can also use your travel lock to secure your luggage at your destination. Again, it’s ideal for interfering with meddling kids, but can also be used to evade nosy parents or snooping siblings.

Verage Rome 24" hardside luggage interior

Is the 24″ Rome Expandable Luggage worth it?

While this luggage piece is a little on the heavy side thanks to its thick, durable exterior, it’s a great buy. Verage integrated recessed wheels into this design to give you extra interior space and the whole piece just comes together really nicely. Its smooth, 360 degree wheels rotate like butter and are easy to pull over uneven surfaces. (You can chalk that up to their thick, double-wheeled design.) Its zippers work like a charm and the telescoping handle does its job perfectly.Ā The 24″ version of this piece, featured here, comes with side feet for horizontal storage as well as top, side, and bottom carry handles. The combination makes it easy to transport even when stuffed full.

My only complaint with the Rome is the product’s interior organizers, which leave something to be desired. I recommend using these luggage pieces with a set of travel organizers to get the best experience.

Shop the Verage Rome 28″ luggageĀ today.

Rae Chen
Rae Chen
http://thenotice.net
Rae Chen covers everything from handbags to speakers here on the Best Buy Plug-in Blog. They can also be found at thenotice.net, where they've been writing about beauty & wellness since 2007.
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474 COMMENTS

  2. I’d love to visit New Zealand and I’d take two pieces of luggage, because I’d like to stay an entire month.

  3. I would love to go to Italy with my wife and daughter. We would need 3 full suitcases and one carry-on.

  5. I dream of visiting Ireland and would need a carry-on as big as I’m allotted and the biggest suitcase I can check in šŸ™‚

  6. I would love to visit Italy this year and if we go we’d likely stay for at least a couple of weeks so I would have to bring at least two cases.

  7. I would like to travel to France this year and I would take only 1 piece of luggage because minimalism when travelling is key!

  8. Iā€™d like to travel to Korea and Japan and take with me 2 pieces of luggage because I want to have with me everything I need for this trip.

  10. Would love to travel to Ireland. I would need 2 pieces of luggage as I want to do a variety of activities requiring a number of outfits with footwear and outerwear.

  12. I’d like to get to Vancouver BC this year. I would only need one piece of luggage, my carry on. I don’t take much with me when I travel and I never check baggage. This facilitates a quick and easy process when I am deboarding/landing somewhere! I also don’t have to pay baggage fees!

  14. I’d love to visit Maui this year. I would only need a carryon suitcase, as I spend most of my time in lightweight swimsuits/wraps, etc. & hate waiting for checked luggage to show up on an airport carousel.

  16. I would like to revisit Japan this year. I normally travel light with a carry-on and personal item.

  17. visiting Iceland this year and need some heavy and lighter clothes since the weather there can change by the hour so need a larger checked bag…also need a carry on for the smaller items I will need that should stay with me in the overhead bins that cannot get lost.

  18. I’d like to travel to Arizona and would want one larger suitcase and a carry on so I could do some shopping while there.

  19. I was hoping to go to Yellowstone National Park this year, so I’m thinking to bring at least two pieces of luggage.

  22. I would like to visit Ireland. I would take medium size suitcase and a carry on (for an outfit and clothes and important items in case my luggage gets lost.)

  23. I would like to go to Rome and I would take 1 carryon and 1 backpack. I am really trying to be a minimalist packer going forward!

  24. I will travel to Spain in the fall and would take two and possibly three pieces of luggage as one day I would like to stay.

  25. Off to Disney World in October to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and we bring two suitcases as I have lots of Disney dresses and to bring back more Disney clothing

  30. I would like to travel to the Caribbean this year. I would need a carry-on bag for my essential items and a larger check in bag for my accessories.

  31. Florence, Italy and I would take 3 bags in order to pack the proper things and also have enough room to bring back some items.

  35. I’d love to go to Vegas this year and I just need a small 21″ suitcase as I don’t need too much other than a change of clothes šŸ™‚

  36. would travel to South Island, New Zealand and would bring 2 pieces of luggage and a carry on as I would be staying for at least a month

  37. I’d like to go to Florida for a week. One of the 28″ suitcases should be enough for one person.

  42. I want to visit Greece to visit my father and relatives on his side. Honestly I would only need one piece of luggage. Maybe just a backpack as I would have everything I need in Greece and anything I buy there I would just keep at my Dad’s house.

  45. I’d love to travel to Hawaii! I would just bring 1 piece of luggage, it’s less hassle if you bring one!

  46. I’m looking forward to a trip to Osaka, Japan – can’t get enough of that place. I’d need at LEAST 2 suitcases for all the yummy treats, novelty items and beauty products I will bring back.

  47. I have already planned a trip to Germany this year and since I can only be away for a few days at a time I will be taking only one suitcase with me. If I was going on a longer trip I would take more luggage with me.

  48. I would like to go back to New York and I would take one carry on and a backpack because I like to travel light and pack smart. It is actually quite easy to do.

  49. The place I would like to travel to this year is Maui. I would take only 1 piece of luggage along with a carryon as i would plan to do laundry there.

  50. A place I want to travel to this year is japan now that they’ve opened back up. I would take two pieces of luggage, one for my necessities and the other for bringing stuff back home.

    • I would like to visit Tokyo, Japan this year, and would bring two suitcases: a carry-on for clothes and travel essentials, and a checked bag for souvenirs and gifts I would bring back from my trip.

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