Pros & Cons
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- Pushing luggage is easier than pulling it.
- Suitcases can clip onto each other if you're traveling heavy.
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- Very expensive.
- Heavy.
- Has trouble with steps and curbs.
Upscale baby stroller company Bugaboo has decades of experience with moving precious cargo. Its strollers are known for being stylish and flexible, with huge wheels that make light work of stairs, padded handles, and convertible layouts that grow with your child. The Bugaboo Boxer system ($1,490 as tested), the brand's first venture outside the stroller world, brings some fresh ideas to luggage. But it misses key elements that make Bugaboo strollers so functional, and it risks being a mere status symbol rather than a quality travel choice.
Price and Pushing
This is some seriously pricey luggage. The least expensive option costs $1,030, and is just a polycarbonate carry-on with a wheeled chassis; Tumi charges $600-$700 for a wheeled polycarbonate carry-on. The model we reviewed, with a chassis, a carry-on, and a larger case, runs almost $1,500. You can push that up to $1,685 by adding a laptop bag. As a tech writer, I acknowledge the social purpose of luxury brands, but I can't let that justify their price.
Of course, Tumi's carry-on isn't part of a "system." The Bugaboo Boxer is: It's a 7-pound wheeled cart onto which you can snap an 8.2-pound checked bag, a 4.4-pound carry-on, a small "organizer" (that holds magazines or a laptop), and an additional laptop bag. Everything piggybacks onto everything else, and you push it instead of pulling it.
The big polycarbonate case comes in black or white; the smaller one in black, white, or red; and the leather laptop bag in black or gray. The organizer is black.
There's a handy elastic strap to secure your coat to the wheeled chassis, and the organizer (which fits on the inside of the chassis) doubles as a handy little shoulder bag on your trip. (At one point I had two laptops and all my documents in the organizer, and it looked like a stylish flight bag.) Load all three bags full, and they push along quite smoothly. Yes, pushing is indeed easier than pulling, and you're less likely to trip people behind you.
It's a great idea! Until you encounter a curb, or worse yet, steps. One of the most glorious things about the Bugaboo Buffalo stroller is that it's basically a monster truck. There is no terrain it can't handle. But the Boxer chassis has hard little wheels that tip the case over or simply choose not to move when you have to pull it up something. And then, when you're pulling it all up the stairs, the two core cases plus the chassis weigh 20 pounds, empty. That makes this system harder to handle over stairs than a simple wheeled case.
The cart portion also doesn't have a brake or a wheel lock. That means it starts rolling all over the place on bus and monorail rides. Ordinary wheeled cases do that, too, but this system is bigger and therefore has more inertia, and also, Bugaboo strollers have brakes.
Cases and Conclusions
The cases themselves aren't that special. They're smooth shiny polycarbonate, with TSA-friendly locks on the top and no external pockets. Inside, the larger case is divided by a pair of fabric liners that hold the contents of the two halves in place when you open it. It has two pockets on each liner, but no compression straps in the main pockets. The carry-on has compression straps in its main pocket. Both cases are water-resistant enough to withstand a downpour.
The cases also don't have wheels. Let that sink in for a moment. There's no good way to transport them without the chassis. The idea is to put both of your cases on it, check the larger one, and carry the smaller one with its chassis on your plane. The chassis is designed to be exactly the maximum carry-on size when it's attached to the carry-on suitcase. But if you ever have to carry the cases separately, well, you don't have wheels on one of them. And the combination of cart and carry-on, at 11.4 pounds, is very heavy.
Bugaboo has a lot to contribute to the world of luggage. Its basic idea of the "power of push" is the most disruptive kinetic idea I've seen in a while. But its chassis needs to be both lighter and springier, more able to handle steps, and the cases themselves should probably get some wheels. Unless you're interested in the pure wealth signaling of the Bugaboo brand, it's hard to recommend these cases over humbler lineups, like the Raden A22 Carry ( at Amazon) .
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Final Thoughts
Bugaboo Boxer
The Bugaboo Boxer is an innovative luggage system that needs to take more inspiration from the company's stroller line to justify its high price.