Lipault Paris Plume 22 Review

The Lipault Paris Plume 22 is a soft-sided, unstructured, 6 lbs 6 oz bag, whose dimensions are 21.5 x 14 x 8 inches. It has four swivel wheels, a top and side carry handle, one external pocket, and two internal pockets.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Transport

The Lipault Paris Plume 22 scored fairly high in this metric. The four swivel wheels maneuver easily in the airport or down a plane's aisle, and the top and side carry handles allow for easy removal from the overhead bin or trunk of a car. When it came to using this bag on uneven surfaces, however, the thin wheels did not fair as well as the wider split-wheels on the Samsonite Silhouette Sphere.

Storage

Lipault states that this bag has a 48 L capacity. While it did pass our "wintertime long weekend" pack test, it did not hold the same amount of clothes and shoes as the 44 L Briggs and Riley Baseline Domestic. This bag does not have the ability to expand; however, the unstructured design does make cramming odd shaped objects into the bag, like shoes, much easier than a more structured or hard-sided bag. It is also easier to store, so if you have limited storage space at home you may prefer a more unstructured bag.

Features

It seems like the main feature this bag has to offer is its color. The internal compression straps are basic, as are the two interior pockets. There is a padded exterior pocket, however it was too small for our 16" laptop and seems better suited to smaller netbooks or tablets. The one unique feature on this bag was that the telescoping carrying handle zips into its own pocket, though we are not quite sure why that would be useful.

Durability

The Lipault Paris Plume 22 is made of a high-sheen nylon, which, according to the manufacturer, is easy to clean. While this material most likely won't snag like the fabrics on some of the other models that we tested, the bright colors will show marks or dirt more readily than a darker colored bag. The wheels are sturdily constructed and held up fine even after dragging this bag down a flight of stairs with a heavy load. The telescoping handle is not quite as sturdy as some other models. One side of the handle was sticking slightly in the housing, preventing it from fully extending unless we manually lifted it up. We noticed this happening after only one flight, which is discouraging, considering that the telescoping handle is one of the most used features on a carry on bag. If you are looking for a sturdier handle, check out the Samsonite Silhouette Sphere 2 21.

Weight

The lack of framing and structure on this bag keeps the weight down. It weighed 6 lbs 6 oz on our scale (6 lbs stated manufacturer weight) and combined with the four-wheeled design means you hardly notice the weight of this bag when pushing it through an airport.

Style

We didn't rate this bag highly in our style metric because frankly, the look just wasn't for us. People who like to make bold statements in life, and luggage, might prefer this bag more than others. While the bright colors are fun, the 'tangerine' model that we tested easily showed the dirt on the wheels. Orange everything, including wheels, is one thing, but dirty orange is another. The espresso color would probably not look as dirty so quickly.

Best Applications

This carry on bag is best suited for general airline travel, though probably not business, and we'd recommend against checking the Plume if you have fragile items inside and/or don't want it to get dirty.

Value

This bag retails for $199, both on the manufacturer's website and popular online retailers, which makes it quite a bit more expensive than the equally chic Samsonite Winfield 2 20. For $30 more you could get our Editors' Choice winning Samsonite Silhouette Sphere 2 21, a much sturdier and more versatile bag, in our opinion.

Conclusion