!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 travellers—and if you’re buying a piece of luggage this large, that likely includes you—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 nowadays—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 safety—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. 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″ luggage today.

Rae Chen
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.

474 COMMENTS

  1. I want to travel to Vancouver with a one piece carry on luggage. I roll everything up and could travel for a year or longer with a carry on bag.

  2. I would like to travel to Dubai this year. I would need one piece of luggage as I like to travel light.

  3. I would like to go to Mexico this year, and use as much luggage as I’m allowed. I think the size , and availability in hard shell make this luggage good.

  4. I would like to go to France and I would take one piece of luggage because I would travel around by train.

  5. I’d like to visit London, UK, for a week, and I would probably need the 28″ case for all the things I’d need to carry.

  6. Would love to go to Central Europe and jump around countries like Switzerland, Germany and Czech Republic. I’d bring a checked bag and a carry on!

  7. I would like to travel to Melbourne, Australia, this year and I would need two pieces of luggage to go there because I need space to bring back all sorts of Aussie delicacies!

  8. I’d love to go to Spain this year. I would need four pieces of luggage because I need to pack lots of baby stuff.

  9. Hawaii is my destination of choice. I have no plans on returning. As such, I would take several pieces of luggage.

  10. I would love to go to South Africa! And I would be brining just me, some clothes is a small backpack and my bike!

  11. I would love to go to Bali or Thailand with two pieces including carryon and larger for me

  12. I would love to go to Europe maybe Spain with two pieces including carryon and larger for me

  13. I would love to go to the Turks and Caicos woth two pieces including carryon and larger for me

  14. I would love to go to Ireland with one piece of luggage and my golf clubs. I prefer one piece as I hate dragging a bunch of luggage around the airport and inbetween destinations

  15. I would be off to Hawai. One piece of luggage would be enough because I wont need many heavy clothes or anything formal clothing..Shorts and t-shirts only.

  16. I would love to travel to Australia and take one large piece of luggage as I would need at least 3 weeks to see Australia!

  17. My next trip will to join my fiancé in Sweden. I will be needing 2 pieces and a carry on. I still don’t think it will be enough, but will do.

  18. I’d like to go to Arizona this year. One of these 24″ cases should be fine for me for a week.

  19. I would love to travel to Hawaii. I only need 1 piece of luggage Because I only need beach clothing

  20. We’re hoping to take our first Caribbean cruise later this year! With two adults and a kid we would definitely need 1 large piece of luggage each, plus 3 carry-ons, to bring enough stuff for the week and have room to bring home souvenirs!

  21. I would love to travel to Hawaii. I only need 1 piece of luggage because if I need something I can always purchase it there.

  22. I would like to travel to Florida where it’s warm and sunny and see Mickey Mouse! And, I would need 1 big piece of luggage in my travels to bring back some shopping back.

  23. I would love to go away to a sunny resort where I would only take one piece of luggage to bring only the essentials of T-shirts, shorts and sunscreen!

  24. I’d love to visit with friends down south and would take just one carry-on as I won’t need a lot of bulky clothes for a week.

  25. I’d love to visit Cuba with just one small piece of luggage since all I need is a bathing suit, a dress and some panties!

  26. Hawaii would be my destination. One piece of luggage would be enough because I wont need many heavy clothes or anything formal clothing..Shorts and t-shirts only.

  27. Next trip to South Africa and I would take hard-sided carry on luggage – much easier to move about.

  28. Rome Italy – 1 piece of carry on luggage because it’s faster not to check baggage when flying

  29. If money were no object, hubby and I would spend a few months in and around Odda Norway. But since the lottery hasn’t yet come through, a trip to Banff/Jasper AB would be amazing!

  30. I would like to go to Arches National Park in Utah, U.S.A. this year – for that trip, I can travel and pack light, I will only really need a backpack and a small cabin luggage suitcase

  31. I would love to explore Europe, and specifically get back to my roots in Italy. I have only been there once, when I was about 7 years old. I’m 57 now, and would love to take my young adult children for their first ‘airpline’ trip to visit their cousins!

  32. I would love to explore southern Europe from Portugal to Italy with my wife and I would take a couple of small luggage’s cause I want to move and moving with big luggage is not ideal

  33. my destination would be Hawaii. One piece of luggage would be enough because I wont need many heavy clothes or anything formal clothing..Shorts and t-shirts only.

Comments are closed.