I have landed back in the UK after many months travelling South East Asia. I actually have over 100kg of luggage of all shapes and sizes. From clothes, to toys, books, ample of shoes, laptops, cameras and four laptops. It’s actually very stressing at the moment. So when Thule turned up at my door step to test its Subterra range, I was keen to repack and test out this collection. The strap line Thule uses was a perfect match, Bring Your Life.
My luggage before Thule arrived
I am in the UK for 4 weeks test driving a range of different cars whilst touring around the country with my two children. From the Subterra range, I am testing three different models of roller bags all with a different size, function and target market.
Subterra 3 In 1 Solution 56L – Mineral
The Subterra 3 In 1 Solution 56L, is a bag that you can split into 2. When split both bags are carry on compliant for must airlines, when attached together you can check it in as one bag. I was going to use this bag as two carry-on for all my electronic tech. My first impressions was that the style, colour and design were slick indeed. The zip concept was simple, and of high quality. The Duffel part of the bag and strap was easy to use as carry on and I used it for my laptops, and electronics so that when I had to go through security with two children. My brain knew that was the bag to focus on and not lose.
Travelling with kids is very stressing and my brain gets fried with confusion. The more organised I am, the less stressed and calm I choose to be. That all comes down to bag design.
There is a separate zip compartment, which is designed for dirty shoes and washing but I did not use it that way. I used it for passports, tickets and wallets. So again when checking in, I knew that was the access I needed, easy small and no need to go through half the luggage to get my passport. Kids arguing at the wrong time can be annoying and it always happens when I am checking in. I used the wheel part of this luggage also for all my jewellery, and valuable items, again less stress regarding security, all items that go off through the scanner were all in this carry-on.
Again, going through the scanner with kids everything and anything will go wrong. I didn’t have to worry about the safety of my valuables. Calm, mum, calm kids and stress free security access.
Wheel Design And Functionality
It’s important that my children can pull my luggage too at anytime I need help. The large wheels made it very easy to pull throughout the airport and into hotels. My children are eight and ten year old girls and it was no problem at all. The wheel design with orange inside is a nice touch regarding lifestyle and fashion image. In fact the latest in car wheel design are the two tone colour inside the wheels, so Thule is bang on trend here.
Bentley prides itself for 2018, on two tone colour usage within their wheels
Rolling Carry – On 36L Ember
The next bag is the classic carry-on roller of 36l in size. Pack more and keep clothes in place? On this occasion, I had high-value designer items, from Gucci, Versace, silk shirts and dresses and suits. In this carry on I put all my high-value items. I respect the clothes I wear and like them to be packed well without damage. The built-in compression panel came in handy regarding my silk shirts and suits. I folded them nicely and used the panel to avoid the least damaged or creases to the items. This function of the bag is super handy for maximising packing in a small space.
The separate compartment at the top was handy again for passports, wallets and documents such as bus tickets and visa entrees. Quick access where I don’t have to think with kids is a stress-free check-in and car pick up. I had this bag in the Ember colour and it looked very stylish indeed.
Subterra 2-Wheels Trolley Mineral 70 cm
This luggage closes with two-way lockable zipper, which is great securing your items as this bag goes through the check-in process. Travel can break and damage parts of my luggage, this Thule Subterra bag felt strong and durable whilst still looking stylish. The handles on the side and at the top of the bag come with a 2 Year warranty. The extra handles are great for when my items needed to be placed in the car, so the distribution of weight was good both for my back and the luggage itself.
Chunky Zips And Durable Exoskeleton
There is nothing worse when you have cheap and nasty zips on your bag, but Thule uses really thick and chunky zips that still pull up and down with ease. I also like the durable backings of the Subterra range, something Thule calls exoskeleton. It protects the bag with a hard-wearing backing and gives it structure, this was especially handy on the 70l carry all as the weight can easily go to 20kg when full and this bag was super rigid. My feeling is this bag can handle a lot of abuse at airports and from general travel. It also makes the handle go up and down with easy and there is no way that is could bend making it harder. Regarding the way airports handle your luggage, time will tell if the Thule Subterra range will endure that beating. But form what I can see, it is very tough indeed.
Car Storage
In the last four weeks, I have been driving luxury cars all over the UK. So the Thule Subterra Collection looked and fitted in easily in the boot of a Range Rover Velar, Audi Q8, Lexus RX350, Jaguar XF and Jaguar I-pace. The design overall matched the latest cars money can buy and was very versatile.
Thanks to Thule, my packing and travelling were a whole lot more easy, stylish organised and functional.
In Thule’s own words bring your life and in this case my whole family too.
Range Rover Velar
Lexus RX450h
Jaguar XF
