!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 would really enjoy visiting Bulgaria.I was there many years ago and always thought it would be wonderful to return someday.

  2. I would like to visit a favourite elderly relative in Alberta,Canada.I would take 2 pieces ,a carry on and a main suitcase.This would provide lots for the length of my stay.

  3. I would like to travel to Rome this year. One pieces of 24″ or 28″ luggage is more than enough for me. Easier to carry and don’t have to pay extra luggage fee to airline 🙂

  4. I am trying to win a few trips abroad, but the chances are very low. I won’t be going away for the winter now, this close to Spring and Summer. If anywhere it would be to our cottage and I would bring at least 2 pieces of luggage as we stay for at least 2 weeks at a time. We both have aging mothers that need our help and time, one is in a Long Term Care home and the other one should be, but is living at home alone. Both are close to our cottage, so we will get much more time with them soon.

  5. my husband and I are actually going on our first all inclusive next month. we are only taking one carry on each

  6. I’m hoping to travel to Tibet – so one large suitcase plus an expendable carry-on would be best for that trip.

  7. I would love to go to Edinburgh, Scotland this year or any year for that matter. It is a beautiful place with a lot of history and I would love to explore it all!

  8. I’d love to go to Tokyo, Japan with 1 carryon and 2 pieces of suitcase. Because I’d love to go shopping.

  9. I would like to go to Sandbanks, Ontario. I would only need one suitcase because I would mostly be wearing bathing suits the whole time.

  10. I’d love to visit Ecuador as I am considering retiring there. Since that is a big decision, I’d have to stay a month at least to see if is the perfect spot for me. Thus, it would certainly be a 2 suitcase trip!

  11. I really want to go to Iceland. I would just bring one carry on and a backpack for hikes. I’d reuse a lot of my sweat pants and just need layers for keeping warm!

  12. i would love to go to Disneyland. I would take only one carry on piece of luggage, for i pack clothes that will suit each other for quick changes, so i need way less to take with me. AND also because i do NOT want to have to wait looking for my luggage at the carousel for this wastes time. with my one carry on, i can get off the plane and quickly off to my destination, with luggage in hand! 😉

  13. Back out west to visit my daughter then off to Scotland to visit a friend. One piece of luggage thank you

  14. I would love to and am actually travelling to Portugal and Spain later this year with my wife so I would need 3 pieces of luggage, 2 carry on pieces, and a large bag between us for the excess clothes we would need because of the length of time we would be travelling, and for all of the memories and souvenirs that we will be bringing back.

  15. Funny enough, as the name of this luggage implies, I’m headed to Rome! I need 1 medium luggage that meets the airline requirements of 50lbs max for clothes, toiletries, shoes… A carry on as well; even if I don’t fill it leaving home, the extra space is always needed for purchases I make when on vacation.

  16. RIccione, Italy. Two pieces – a carry-on with my cycling essentials, and a mid or large bag with everything else

  17. I would like to go on a cruise this year and would bring two suitcases. A carry on and a larger suitcase to fit everything

  18. I would like to travel to Croatia this year and would need 2 suitcases – the smallest to carry on and the largest to check in. I need to pack enough to go for several weeks as it’s a long way to travel, need to make the most of it!

  19. I’d like to do a multi-stop trip this year, and when I’m in different climates need extra clothes – so I’d probably have to take a set. Would like to go to NY and Bermuda, for starters.

  20. I would like to travel to New Zealand. I would only need 2 pieces of luggage. need some space to bring back souvenirs.

    Thank you

  21. i want to travel to Mexico. I’d bring one piece of luggage but pack light so i can bring home any purchases

  22. Mexico 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.

  23. i would love to do one of those multi European countries tours since i was a teenager ,time to go now !

  24. Leaving for 14 days in Europe soon as a family of 4. We like to pack light and efficiently, hate lugging extras around.

  25. I’m still a bit COVID-shy so I would limit my travel to Ottawa this year to visit friends but avoid big crowds indoors. I would travel anytime the snow is not on the ground and it is reasonably warm. I would bring a few pieces of luggage so I can be prepared for the weather (rain, sun, wind…) and the acivities we would do.

  26. I will be traveling to Croatia this year, and I would take one 24″ or 28″ luggage and a backpack with me.

  27. I would like to travel to Quebec City this year. I would take two pieces of luggage as I like to have options to wear each day.

  28. I would love to travel to Japan this year – a suitcase plus carry-on would allow for the perfect amount of packing space!

  29. I’d love to travel to Prague. I’d take one large suitcase and a carry-on (with some foldable totes packed for day trips)

  30. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d like to take a trip to Japan with 1 piece of luggage (carry-on or a checked in luggage). But for now, maybe only small mini inexpensive trips.

Comments are closed.