Essentials

100 Most Wanted Holiday Gifts: Why the Rimowa Original checked bag is the best luggage for travel this Christmas

By Lily Rose

Updated on: October 17, 2022 / 5:13 PM EDT / Essentials

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The Rimowa Original is the must-have checked bag this holiday season. This Rimowa luggage piece is the perfect upgrade from your old hard-shell and soft-side luggage. It also makes a wonderful holiday gift.

Keep reading to discover why the Rimowa Original is our No. 1 choice for luggage this season, and one of CBS Essentials' most-wanted holiday gifts.

Top products in this article:

Rimowa Original, $1,325 and up

$1,325 and up at Rimowa

Rimowa Essential, $875 and up

$875 and up at Rimowa

Samsonite Stryde 111 22-inch carry-on spinner, $440 (reduced from $550)

$440 at Samsonite

Are you shopping for the best carry-on luggage or the best new checked suitcase ahead of Christmas and Hanukkah? Perhaps you're searching for a unique bag that will stand out amidst a baggage claim sea of black hard-shell luggage and travel backpacks.

Pull out your credit card. It's time to buy a Rimowa suitcase.

Why the Rimowa Original is a most-wanted holiday gift

Reviewers love the Rimowa Original, and we think you will too. It's an absolutely gorgeous piece of luggage, perfect for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas travels. It's also a CBS Essentials bestseller in the category of luxury luggage.

Rimowa pioneered the aluminum luggage trend, introducing them to the market in the 1930s. The company unveiled the very first polycarbonate suitcase in 2000, eventually adding a hybrid of the two materials to its collection. All of Rimowa's designs feature its trademark grooves, inspired by the first all-metal airplane.

Engineered in Germany, the heritage luggage brand prides itself on using only the finest materials, starting with its aluminum-magnesium alloy metal, which replaced the original aircraft-grade aluminum used to make the original suitcases. Rimowa's bags are equipped with finely tuned components, including patented multi-wheel spinners, which make rolling through the airport or cobblestone streets a breeze, and handles engineered to work in unison with the wheels.

Rimowa individually tests every piece of luggage to ensure quality control.

More about the Rimowa Original

The Rimowa Original is one of the most iconic suitcases of all time. Engineered in Germany out of top-of-the-line aluminum, the grooved suitcase is equipped with everything you need. Features include TSA-approved locks, a flex divider for organized packing, a telescopic handle and a smooth, multi-wheel system. While the surprisingly lightweight suitcase (the smallest carry-on weighs 9.3 pounds) might be a splurge, consider it an investment in a long-term travel buddy.

The brand recently added a lifetime guarantee covering all functional aspects, excluding wear and tear. Rimowa also offers in-store repairs and even in-hotel repairs at participating international locations.

This Rimowa suitcase is available in three carry-on sizes, two check-in and a large trunk version in titanium, silver and black.

Rimowa Original, $1,325 and up

$1,325 and up at Rimowa

Best Rimowa Original alternatives

If the Rimowa Original isn't exactly what you're looking for, we've found some suitcase alternatives that will fit the bill.

A less expensive Rimowa piece: Rimowa Essential

The first polycarbonate to hit the market in 2000, the Rimowa Essential remains one of the brand's best-selling collections. It's also less expensive and the Rimowa Original.

Available in a bunch of glossy and matte color options in a carry-on, check-in and trunk version, the sleek suitcase comes equipped with a TSA-approved lock, telescopic handle and smooth, multi-wheel system with a weight of 7.1 pounds and up.

Rimowa Essential, $875 and up

$875 and up at Rimowa

A budget-friendly suitcase: Samsonite Stryde 111 carry-on spinner

Sticking to a budget? The Samsonite Stryde 111 is under $500.

Sold exclusively on the Samsonite website, the Stryde 111 offers sleek, luxury styling and next-level technology, like a handle system equipped with LED lights to make you stand out in traffic at night, multiple USB charging ports for charging gadgets and a luggage tag that magnetically fits flush into the suitcase.

The interior makes packing and organizing easy, with a removable wet pack and multiple zippered sections. Smooth gliding dual spinner wheels and a precise handle system make this a suitcase worth investing in.

Samsonite Stryde 111 22-inch carry-on spinner, $413 (reduced from $550)

$413 at Samsonite

More top-rated luggage to consider

We've found more top-rated luggage pieces for you to consider this holiday season. Shop Rimowa, Away and more must-have luggage brands right now.

Rimowa Classic Check-In

The Rimowa classic looks very similar to the Original but with a few tweaks. The primary difference is that the handles are wrapped in premium leather. Other features, including the TSA-approved locks and spinner wheels, skew a little more retro.

It comes in silver and black and in three carry-on sizes, two check-in and a trunk size as well.

Rimowa Classic, $1,400 and up

$1,400 and up at Rimowa

Rimowa Hybrid

Engineered of both aluminum-magnesium alloy and lightweight polycarbonate, this cleverly crafted suitcase offers the trademark grooved aluminum look, minus a pound and a few hundred dollars.

The smallest carry-on weighs 8.2 pounds and comes in a few color options (matte blue, matte black and a glossy white) and two carry-on and check-in sizes.

Rimowa Hybrid, $1,000 and up

$1,000 and up at Rimowa

Rimowa Essential Lite

If the Rimowa Essential isn't light enough, consider getting the lightest Rimowa suitcase, the Essential Lite, weighing 30% less and costing a few hundred dollars less as well.

It comes in glossy black or green, and in three carry-on and one checked size, with the smallest weighing just 4.6 pounds.

Rimowa Essential Lite, $675 and up

$675 and up at Rimowa

Rimowa Essential Sleeve

The Essential Sleeve is a carry-on collection designed for the tech-savvy traveler. Think of the smallest option, the compact, as wheeled briefcase that transforms into an overnight bag, perfect for daily commuters and short trips. Stash your computer and electronics in the external and interior laptop compartments. Remove the interior accordion to transform the briefcase into a carry-on for personal items and clothing.

Larger sizes offer more interior space and are equipped with laptop compartments, making them a better option for traveling for more than a night or two.

Rimowa Essential Sleeve, $1,025 and up

$1,025 and up at Rimowa

Away The Aluminum collection

Away Travel offers sleek, functional suitcases at a reasonable price point. Jet setters will appreciate the removable, rechargeable battery for on-the-go phone charging, the easy-to-set TSA-approved lock and smooth rolling spinner wheels.

Away's upgraded aluminum edition offers a more wallet-friendly alternative to Rimowa with the same features as the durable polycarbonate bags that put the brand on the map. The aluminum version comes in four sizes: two carry-ons and two check-in. It's available in three metal tones: silver, onyx black and rose gold. The smaller carry-on weighs 10.1 pounds, the medium-sized 10.6, the smaller check-in 13.3 pounds and larger version, 16 pounds.

Away The Aluminum large check in, $745

$745 at Away

Zero Halliburton Continental aluminum carry-on

The luxurious 22-inch, 12.5-pound Zero Halliburton Continental suitcase fits overhead on most domestic flights and boasts a smooth moving wheel system trademarked by the brand. A three-stage telescopic handle, TSA-compliant lock system, leather accents and a roomy interior with lots of organizational features make the brushed metal suitcase a keeper.

Its smaller size also makes it a great choice for road trips. Available in silver, black and bronze.

Zero Halliburton Continental aluminum carry-on, $1,095

$1,095 at Zero Halliburton

Level8 Gibraltar aluminum carry-on

Crafted out of aerospace-grade aluminum magnesium alloy, the Gibraltar aluminum carry-on, available in silver and gray, weighs 10 pounds and fits neatly in the overhead bin of an airplane or the trunk of a car.

Keyless and zipperless, the sleek suitcase also boasts TSA-approved locks, 360-degree durable spinner wheels and comes with a four-piece organizer bag set.

Level8 Gibraltar aluminum carry-on, $404 (reduced from $40)

$404 at Level8

100 Most Wanted Holiday Gifts: The best gifts to give this Christmas

It may seem early to start shopping for Christmas and Hanukkah gifts, but trust us, it's not. Last year's holiday season was riddled with supply-chain issues, and CBS News is anticipating more of the same in 2022. Plus, there's inflation -- unfortunately, prices may rise even more before December comes.

So it's time to shop for holiday gifts now. Pick out a great hiding spot and check out CBS Essentials' 100 Most Wanted Holiday Gifts of 2022. We've based our top 100 gift picks on our own bestsellers, owner reviews and our own extensive research into the most-buzzed-about gifts of 2022, such as this I am Groot Lego set, a guinea pig toy that gives birth and this pooping purple turtle.

Stay tuned to the CBS Essentials 100 Most Wanted Holiday Gifts Series for our picks of the hottest gifts to give in 2022. Our list includes some of Apple's newest products, the top toys of 2022, game-changing kitchen appliances (such as this air fryer) and so much more.

Lily Rose

Lily Rose is a senior writer for CBS Essentials and the site's expert in home appliances such as washers, dryers, refrigerators and ranges. When she's not writing about how you can upgrade your laundry room, she's writing about home and kitchen essentials that will transform your space. Her favorite appliance is her air fryer. She firmly believes that it can make the crispiest sweet potato fries.