As anyone who has dragged a battered old bag with a wonky wheel across cobbles knows, the right luggage choice can make or break a trip. Especially if that trip involves difficult terrain, rushing to make connections, or plenty of outfit options. Carl Friedrik’s Core Set is a good entry point into the London-based brand’s luggage options.
The set comes in three standard colors: a Sand/Chocolate version (which is the one tested below), Navy blue, and black. At the time of writing, a limited-edition Atlassian Williams Racing option is available for the F1 fans amongst you who like a plucky underdog with a blue and white color scheme.
I tested this luggage set over several months and numerous trips, so it’s definitely been thoroughly put through its paces in that time. Here’s what you need to know.
The capacity is amazing
According to its specs sheet, the Large Check-In has a capacity of 90.9 L. The Core Carry-On, with a capacity of 38.5 L, is a little under half the capacity of its big brother. These numbers are also only a touch above average on paper, but you don’t do your packing on paper.
You can cram an enormous amount of stuff into these cases. The smaller case and a backpack have gotten me through a week on the road with a couple of outfits for most days. That’s around 10 shirts, a couple of dinner jackets, and five pairs of pants, along with underwear and an extra set of boots.
The larger bag is excellent for extended or specialist trips. I managed to cram extra layers and snow boots for a trip to Wyoming in there, and I’ve breezed through a two-week trip to Europe (with Christmas presents taking up a good chunk of the space). I also firmly believe you could pack for two people using this case, though I have yet to test this theory. Either way, you can cram a lot into it.
So how is that capacity achieved? Well, the case’s walls are pretty thin, so you’re saving a small amount of space there. The zippers are high-quality, too, so you can really squash the thing down and force it closed if necessary.
It’s so incredibly light
The Carry On weighs just 7 lbs, and the Large Check In only weighs 11 lbs, which is very little for a large capacity suitcase. As always, quoting numbers is fine, but it’s important to paint a picture of what this means in practical terms. First, consider luggage allowance. If your bags are even a fraction of a pound overweight, you could be in for a hefty penalty at the check-in counter. If you can save a pound or two before anything even goes into the bags, then that’s a few extra items of clothing you can fit in without risking a game of airport dress up.
This also helps with storage. When you aren’t traveling, you can do the standard thing and pop the smaller case inside the bigger one. Even when lifting both cases at once, throwing them on a high shelf in a closet isn’t particularly difficult.
Durability seems fine
I travel a lot, and while I’ve only had the full-sized case out on a few occasions (because avoiding checking a bag where possible makes sense), the smaller “carry-on” bag has accompanied me on over 20 journeys.
As things stand, there was one minor zipper issue that I fixed by fully unzipping and rezipping an inside compartment. Beyond that, the case is holding up just fine. The wheels are as solid as the day it arrived, there are no major dents or breaches, the locking mechanism still works fine, the lining is holding up, all of the stitches are still in place.
Despite the way baggage tends to be handled, everything inside has stayed safe. This has included a bottle of gin, though that was wrapped securely in some ski pants, too.
The “sand” colored option will get scuffed
Your bags will get knocked around, especially if they’re checked at any point. That’s just part of travel, and it applies to a $2,000 aluminum case as much as it does a $50 plastic beater from Amazon.
The scuffs do buff out to some degree, but any kind of plastic that makes contact with rough metal will end up with deep grooves. Sanding those out seems like a bad idea, and something will still be off on close inspection. It’s best to just learn to live with it or cover particularly bad scuffs with travel stickers if you’re that way inclined. If appearing pristine is really important to you, there’s also the navy and black color options, which won’t show scuffs and scrapes as readily.
This might be what you need from a luggage set
If you own other Carl Friedrik products, like the Traverse backpack (which could be considered part of this set) then you’ll be happy to know that they’re designed to fit together pretty well. As with Apple products, you may be tempted to keep it all in the family for ease and consistency reasons.
There’s also a lifetime guarantee, as with many of Carl Friedrik’s products, which somewhat offsets the price tag. Spending close to $850 for something that lasts a year or two requires strong consideration. But that’s not bad for something that lasts a lifetime. It will likely save you money if you do get a couple of decades worth of travel from the cases.
Getting a set is always a good idea, but if you’re a frequent traveler who often goes on three to four day trips there’s an argument for just getting the Carry On. It provides ample room for a week’s worth of clothes plus a few extras, fits in the overhead bin of standard aircraft, and is durable enough to shake off frequent use.
You can buy the “Carry On” for $395 and the Large Check In for $545 on Carl Friedrik’s website. The pair is available as the Core Luggage Set for $845.
