We’ve been on the road full-time now for nine months. When you’re travelling for that long, your suitcase becomes akin to your car back home. The choice is highly personal and the decision greatly impacts how efficiently you get from one destination to the next.
Skye Gilkeson | Sponsored Content
American Tourister cases double as deck seating on board our Paradise Cruises boat on Halong Bay, Vietnam. Image © Skye Gilkeson
American Tourister AT Prismo Spinner Review
When I announced to friends and family The Hubby and I would be travelling for a year, surprisingly one of the first questions people asked was, “So, are you backpacking?”.
It seemed, knowing what bag we were taking helped them picture what we would look like on the road. It brought the image and our trip to life. “No, we have hard cases.
My backpacking days are behind me”, I would respond. You see I did the backpacking thing years ago. I spent 12 months travelling the globe when I was 18, a backpack front and back, trekking from station to hostel like a pack horse.
No, that would not be how The Fit Travellers would be approaching this trip.
We were older and wiser. Well, older anyway. Of course, we also work with luxury brands who would gasp, stare and potentially point if we rolled into a 5-star resort with a dusty pack on our backs. Instead, we would #takeontheworld in style.
Leaving my old AT Prismo case behind in Brussels was a sad day. Image © Skye Gilkeson
I developed a particular love for a hard shell suitcase when I bought my first American Tourister AT Prismo Spinner case for a seven-week tour around Europe a few years ago.
I carted it down the cobblestone streets of Spain and Italy, sat on it at train stations and squashed it into the back of rental cars on the French Riviera. Surprisingly, it survived.
Three people, four suitcases and two-day packs in a tuk tuk? Not a problem in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Image © Skye Gilkeson
I replaced that case with exactly the same model just last year.
I wanted fresh wheels for my destination wedding in Bali.
Like most brides will appreciate, when you’re preparing for your wedding and your honeymoon, in large part you want your clothing and accessories (including your suitcase) to be new, not borrowed. Blue is up to you.
The Hubby and our bags are fresh from our first Sri Lankan train ride from Kandy to Colombo. Image © Skye Gilkeson
It’s that American Tourister case that I packed up for The Fit Traveller world tour that we are on right now.
I tossed it between ferries, minibuses, tuk-tuks, taxis and trains for four months around Asia.
When it popped out of the conveyer belt at the airport in Mykonos as we touched down in Europe, a small tear may have rolled down my cheek having lost a bag at Athens airport about 15 years ago.
About to board our flight from Edinburgh to Dublin after a road trip around Scotland. Image © Skye Gilkeson
I counted each new sticker slapped on my suitcase at check-in counters around the globe as a badge of honour, marvelling at the incredible places we had visited so far on our journey.
But the day came again when it was time for a shiny new replacement for both The Hubby and I. It was time for an upgrade. Cue my newest ride, the AT Bon Air.
Braving the winter chill in the Champagne countryside, France. Image © Skye Gilkeson
Transferring my belongings carefully into the new model, it was time to leave the old boy behind. I wrote a note and stuck it to the case; “This case works perfectly.
Please give it to a good home” and left it in a hotel room in Brussels.
Setting off for a weekend retreat in the English countryside from London Waterloo Station. Image © Skye Gilkeson
The Bon Air and I are getting along like a house on fire. I was tentative at first, as new relationships tend to go, I carefully folded my clothes, placing them one at a time into assigned areas in the bottom and top sections. I reminded cab drivers constantly to “Be careful with the bag, please!”, until I realised it was futile; some people just don’t appreciate a good suitcase.
So what is it I love so much about my AT Bon Air suitcase?
The Hard Shell
As I am quite literally carrying my entire life with me for 12 months, I appreciate the hard shell (polypropylene) case protects my belongings from the elements; dust, a sprinkle of rain or snow or dirty hands.
The hard-side expander
The hard-side expander is a godsend. Especially when you’ve just sent a package home and you don’t want to have to explain to your better half why your bag suddenly won’t shut, again.
The Lock
The lock. It always gives me peace of mind. Particularly when you show up to baggage claim and your bag has been waiting for you for some time, alone.
The Spinner Wheels
The spinner style wheels. The four wheels make it easier to balance a very full bag.
The Warranty
The warranty. If your bag breaks on the banks of the Yangtze. American Tourister will get a new one to you even if you don’t have a phone.
A huge thank you to American Tourister ANZ for our AT Bon Air cases.
American Tourister
Find the right case for your needs here
Rolling out of Whistler’s snow-covered village, Canada. Image © Skye Gilkeson
Skye is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Fit Traveller.
She is a journalist, writer, photographer, intrepid traveller and a former personal trainer with a passion for helping others reach optimal health.
As a TV journalist and producer, Skye has worked for household names such as 60 Minutes, Sunrise, TODAY and Nine News. She has also written for Women’s Health, Fodor’s Travel and Yahoo7 Travel, among many others.
Equally comfortable in a 5-star resort or hiking a far-off mountain, Skye loves the unexpected and enriching life experiences that each trip brings and can often be found in a backstreet chatting to locals with her camera in hand.
Skye is based in Sydney, working to master the balance between motherhood and her appetite for adventure.
Read more about Skye’s story here.