Product Overview

Brand Comparison and Product Review

Choosing the best vintage suitcase for your needs – especially choosing between two popular brands like Unitravel and AmazonBasics – it’s essential you know more about the brands themselves and the general value of any vintage product. The following article compares these brands side by side with nothing but the facts by pitting two of their compared top vintage-inspired suitcases against each other.

Unitravel is a brand almost as young as AmazonBasics, however as a luggage brand their design goals are to produce only vintage-inspired luggage and nothing more. Their designs often take modern approaches to the old fashioned steamer trunk design and apply new technologies and travel logic to make what was old now new again without compromising that vintage style we all know and love. AmazonBasics, on the other hand, is a company which dips its toe into all facets of luggage design – they’re known for developing hard luggage, soft luggage, modern designs, and yes even classic vintage suitcases. From both of these brands we have two 24-inch traveling suitcases that we’ll compare side by side for the best idea of which brand takes the cake.

How we Organized our Reviews

Both brand products are organized below by the following features: Suitcase Storage, Materials/Durability, Additional Features and Size/Style Options. It’s our belief that when readers are given nothing but the facts, side by side, the best person to compare these products is the buyer. After all, no one knows better than you do what your travel needs are, and where one traveler might favor storage over durability, protecting your clothes might be what matters most of all. The listed four categories are designed to focus on all the features that travelers care about so that you can shop comfortably without any second thoughts.

Unitravel has a massive collection of vintage trunk suitcases; this collection includes medium, large, overlarge, and carry-on cases for any traveling situation. This particular Retro PU Rolling Spinner Trunk takes the idea of a large carried trunk and makes it more mobile as well as more stylish for modern travel and modern fashion trends.

Suitcase Storage

At 24 inches and weighing 10 pounds this suitcase qualifies as a checked suitcase for your national and international flights; at this size this particular suitcase offers up to 44 liters of packing space; the design includes a lightweight fully lined interior with a simple roof mesh pocket for added storage as well as a base zippered toiletry kit and tie-down straps. This suitcase is built with all storage located in the bottom of the suitcase when laid flat, rather than in two halves, and it includes an opening lock-in-place metal hinge to assist with packing.

Materials/Durability

When most people think vintage while shopping for luggage, they usually think of one particular material: leather. Well, the original leather vintage design is exactly what you get out of this vintage suitcase from Unitravel which pairs durable microfiber PU leather with a built-in fixed reinforced fiber board for a truly strong traveling trunk. This leather is guaranteed to be high density and waterproof, and the reinforced board on the interior of the suitcase keeps the trunk from warping or being changed by travel throughout the years. Additional durability comes in the form of the stable labor-saving spinner wheels made from polyurethane and screwed into the frame of the suitcase; additionally, the telescopic handle features an adaptive positioning pull rod made from smooth lightweight aluminum. The interior of the suitcase offers a water tight and environmentally friendly polyester lining.

Additional Features

Added features include strong zipper pull tabs, two interior zippered pockets, 360-degree spinner wheels, and a retro 3-dial TSA combination lock. These features help elevate this suitcase from a vintage trunk to an advanced vintage-modern combination.

Size/Style Options

Measuring 24 X 14.2 X 8.27 inches and weight 10 pounds unpacked, this medium suitcase is best checked before secutiry rather than carried on – this is because few national and international airlines accept carry-ons over 22 inches (though check with your airline). The style options for this vintage original include customer favorites such as Ivory, Navy Blue, and light grey as well as 7 other original color options.

At 24 inches this checked suitcase offers the benefits of a design team who know that traveling at a pinch means more storage, less weight, and all sorts of extras to make the journey easier. The one down side is that this suitcase from AmazonBasics – though it is their most vintage suitcase – looks more ‘modern’ than ‘vintage’ when you really boil the basics down. Though what it has to offer might very well outweigh its highly modern look.

Suitcase Storage

At 24 inches and with a slightly rounded look – more rounded than your typical vntage trunk – this suitcase offers 55 liters of packing space; once its expanded it gives an additional two inches (or 15% more packing space) for around 70 liters in total. That’s around 6 packed outfits for a week or more of travel (longer if you’re mixing and matching). Other storage additions include an interior featuring tie-down straps, a divided top and bottom, and two mesh zippered ceiling pockets. At a glance that’s much more room and organizational space than provided by Unitravels’ vintage suitcase; however, one downside is the lack of a zippered toiletry kit.

Materials/Durability

This suitcase uses a unique combination of modern elements along with a more vintage stylish faux leather trim which adds strength, style, and accenting. The body of the suitcase is mainly crafted from durable scratch-resistant hardshell ABS materials; and although these are weaker than PC materials, they’re still strong enough to protect your belongings from nearly all falls and other collisions. Other durability features include agile 360-degree spinner wheels made from polyurethane and screwed into the body of the suitcase, as well as two-pole aluminum telescopic handle. For durability purposes these materials make for a very strong suitcase – a bit stronger than Unitravel’s 24-inch suitcase – though the downside, again, is that the look isn’t quite original-vintage.

Additional Features

Added features include both side and top haul handles for safely handling weight while lowering the suitcase from luggage carousels, as well as a polyester water tight inner lining, strong zipper pulls, and 360-degree multidirectional spinner wheels for wheeling your suitcase in front, behind, and to the side of you as circumstances require.

Size/Style Options

Style options for this suitcase are limited to three basic colors including black, blue, and red; though with the addition of the faux leather trim these colors make for quite a business-friendly suitcase which does have a somewhat old-world vibe. The suitcase itself measures 26.8 X 18.1 X 10.2 inches (not expanded) and is finished with a micro-diamond finish for added scratch resistance and sheen. This suitcase size is a solid choice for any traveler and may even be carried-on to select national and international flights (check with your airline).

Popular Vintage Bags for Any Occasion:

For two young brands just learning the ropes of producing vintage-quality suitcases with the strength and capacity of modern-industry suitcases, these brands prove themselves strong in very different areas. While the suitcase from Unitravel is easily the more vintage looking of the two, the pick from AmazonBasics obviously offers the most durability and packing space; although, it is worth noting that these suitcases are very close in the durability department. Where extra features are concerned these brands come neck in neck and both have different additions to offer the particular traveler. Meaning that the final and only important decision comes down to the travelers needs; if you’re looking for a truly vintage suitcase, the best pick certainly goes to Unitravels leather and board design; but for the comfort perks of modern travel the better choice could be AmazonBasics modern materials and capacity-driven design.