!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
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 would love to travel to Canada’s east coast this year. I would need one suitcase…..but a large one to bring things back

  6. Off to the UK this year. We are estimating 3 checked bags and 4 carry on for my family of 4 on the way out. Will probably buy a cheap suitcase for all the goodies we buy and need to check 4 on return.

  7. I would like to travel to Hawaii this year. I would likely need 1 piece of luggage if I go there because all I’m packing is my swimsuit and sunglasses!

  8. Portugal is where I would like to travel with piece of luggage and a backpack because less is better. If I need to, I can buy another piece of luggage on my travels.

  13. We are planning on a road trip from NL to BC, and I would take one 21″ suitcase each. Save room for more things we may want to bring back or carry with us!

  16. I would love to go to Switzerland this year. One big suitcase and a carry-on would be enough for me.

  17. I want to go to Puerto Vallarta; I would pack with 2 pieces of luggage and bring items to give to the less fortunate in Mexico.

  22. I would love to return and visit moe of India it was amazing and can’t wait to see more of it. I would take one big suitcase and a carry on

  26. I would travel to the USA with the 19″ and 28″ for the length of time, and possibly have room to bring some souvenirs back with me.

  27. I would like to visit Spain and I would only take one bag, a carry on, so I don’t have long lines to wait in at the airport.

  28. I would love to travel to Italy again, and I would only bring 1 suitcase but it would be for 2 of us… the largest that I have. the airlines charge an arm and a leg for bags these days, and I have no arms and legs to spare!

  30. I would like to travel to Orlando this year, and I would take one 28″ suitcase and a backpack with me. That would be more than enough for me.

  31. I would love to go to Brussels, Belgium to visit our son and daughter-in-law this year. I would probably need two pieces of luggage one being a 29″ since I am an over-packer I am always prepared for any type of weather packing cooler clothes plus also warmer clothing..one never knows what the temperature will be. My other suitcase would be a carry on with extra clothing shoes and a few necessities just in-case my luggage is lost when I get to my destination, at least I will have a change of clothes and undergarments.

  32. I would love to go to Newfoundland. And I will bring only one piece of luggage and check it through to avoid the chaos of carry on.

  34. I would love to go to Portugal and would probably need a carry on and 2 suitcases to spend 2 weeks there.

  35. Going to Spain for 4 weeks with a single 21″ luggage. Since there will be a lot of train traveling, I don’t want to embarassed myself with a huge beast. I’ll do some laundry, that’s all!

  38. Costa Rica – i would likely need a huge suitcase on the way home. to bring back all my treasures (coffee, gifts, spices)

  41. I would go to Costa Rica with a 29 inch bag. I tend to travel light so that size would be enough for two weeks for me.

  42. I will be visiting China and I have made the decision to pack only the essential items for my journey. I am confident that I can fit all of these necessary items into a single piece of luggage, thereby minimizing the amount of luggage I will need to carry with me during my trip.

  43. I would love to go to Costa Rica this year. I would probably only need one 21″ bag for a few essential items.

  45. I would love to travel to Paris this summer. I would take a 29″ suitcase and one carry-on luggage. That should be more than enough for a week in Paris.

  48. I would like to travel to London this year for my second visit. I would likely need three pieces of luggage if I go there because I plan to stay two weeks.

  49. I would like to return to Mexico. I would travel with a carry on because you don’t need much for a warm vacation

  50. I would love to travel to Hawaii this year and I would like to try going with just a carry on for the first time

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