What is it?
A suitcase with wheels and a telescopic handle.
Small or large?
Right up to jumbo size.
Where do you find them?
They're taking over the world, in case you hadn't noticed. People buy nothing else in the States, and the trend has crossed the Atlantic.
Why's that?
They spare you slipped discs and awkward airport trolleys.
Hand baggage?
The smaller ones, yes - 22 inches by 14 by 9 is the maximum. Big enough for a weekend, no bump and grind at the carousel.
Talk figures.
For carry-on sizes, £80 and upwards for brands such as Samsonite and Delsey. But it's a competitive market, so be sure to shop around.
But I've just had a bonus.
OK, then go ahead and spend a few hundred pounds on a Gucci or a Hartmann.
What is top of the range?
A quick poll of luggage shops says the Tumi Wheel-A-Way.
Japanese?
No. Tumi is an ancient Peruvian God. The founder was a former Peace Corps volunteer who imported South American duffle bags.
Made in the USA, then?
Yup. You can get a small one in napa leather for £800, or in ballistic nylon for £500.
Ballistic? A reference to the price, I presume.
No. It was developed to line bullet-proof jackets.
What else.
Big engineering: roller-blade wheels, lots of ball bearings.
Sounds rather macho.
Women might go for a Brics - Italian, very chic. And the company does a rather nice handle zip beauty-case.
Favoured by airline stewardesses?
Definitely: so neat, so trim.
Not to be confused with.
Trolleybuses, off your trolley, a suitable case for treatment.
