OKAY frequent travelers, get ready for a fresh take on roller luggage! Take a look at Heys Luggage, an elegant, chic and beautifully designed brand of bags, ranging from sassy vibrantly colored bags to hard luggage and soft roller bags in a variety of sizes and colors. Frankly, I hadn’t heard of Heys before doing a nose dive into luggage brands last Fall.
Serial travelers who have been on the road for more than two decades all know about the most sustainable and reliable brand at the time, Samsonite, which was pretty much a household name for luggage when I grew up in the seventies and eighties. In fact, I reviewed Samsonite back in November 2014 and reposted the same review in late April 2015 with a quick update after using their bags for several more months.
The industry might be swarming with new brands today, but not all of them use high quality materials or most importantly, wheels. Note that the Heys brand takes great pride in their advanced technological wheels (they are good, I have to admit), their chic designs and fabulous colors. I couldn’t agree more – there’s nothing more boring than finding a solid, functional and reliable piece of luggage that works for you but the only color choice is black or tan.
While I still have a bunch of bags to review and we’re still testing out products we have in-house, I started using my Hey’s Helix 3 Piece Set in Blue almost four months ago, both for airplane travel and in January, on a cross-country trip. It’s always a good idea to test out luggage in a variety of situations so you can test how durable it is through an international flight, how well it handles poor weather conditions and of course how fast (and smooth) the wheels move when you need to walk across a massive airport to your gate which always seems to be the last one in the terminal. We’ve all been there.
Also important is how easily you can grab your bag off a luggage belt, transport it in and out of a car on a long road trip and how functional the inside the bag is for packing. The quality of the material is also critical — if your bags can’t withstand hard throws and tosses, they’re not going to last that long.
Additionally, I am a huge fan of design and color, which not everyone pays attention to, but bottom line, it’s important and it matters. Functionality aside, you have to also love the way your luggage LOOKS!! Below is my very handsome Hey’s Helix luggage at SFO Airport (two of the bags in the 3 piece set, and the sizes I most commonly use).
As you can see from the ‘cut’ and design, they pay attention to detail and the look is a delicious blend of classic and elegant. I loved the fact that I could get a perky blue with a deep rose-colored trim. Why are so many travel bags manufactured in navy blue and black? Aren’t there any women at the helm?
I opted for the Helix set because it features a lot of the things important to me. First of all, I only use softside luggage and frankly, don’t understand the value of hard luggage except for the fact that they’re probably a tad more durable. That said, I can over pack and having that extra wiggle room that softside luggage provides is key for me. Padding, padding, padding!!!
The same Helix bag in red, which is proof of their commitment to fun colors while keeping the functionality and high quality materials in tow.
The three piece Helix luggage set, although you can purchase the bags individually.
The triage collection comes in 30, 26 and 21 inches and weigh 7.9 pounds, 7.0 pounds and 5.5 pounds respectfully. They use a 300D polyester, which is one of the things that maintains that lightweight design, a godsend as airline carriers are getting stricter and stricter about weight, making it no longer to travel anymore — forget about shopping while you’re at a destination despite the great perk that this luggage collection is expandable.
After six trips so far with two pieces of their 3 piece set, the quality of the material remains in tact, with no snags or issues.
The Helix’s design combines simple and modern aesthetics with functionality. Important to note is its Hinomoto spinner wheel system that spreads the load weight evenly for smooth and effortless rolling in different terrains. The wheels live up to their claim – I found the bags easy to move, or rather I should say that they simply coast along beside you as you make your way through security and to your gate.
It has a push-button telescopic handle system with multi-stage locking heights for added ergonomics. The 26″ also comes with a built-in TSA combination Lock, which only allows certified TSA officials to open, inspect and re-lock your luggage if necessary.
The luggage interior is fully lined and features a buckled compression strap as well as zippered divider to help you keep organized while travelling. The zipper released expansion system creates up to 20% more packing space. YAY, a godsend for the female travelers among us!
The Helix line comes with a 5 Year Prestige Class Warranty and is available in Charcoil, the Royal Blue color I have, Red and Black. The price for the 3 bag set is approximately $570 at the time of writing this, a great deal for three bags.
Since I made such a stink about creativity, design and color, rest assured if you want to go even bolder, Heys has plenty of options for you. For example, take a look at the Capri Elite Set, which comes in a bold and beautiful purple as one of its options. OR, how about this Wild Spirit Fashion Spinner set which was priced at only around $480 for all three bags as of the end of April 2015. Check the website for specials and/or price or collection changes.
Bottom line, Heys has plenty of vibrant designs to keep you engaged on their website for hours. I love love love their bold creativity!
For more information visit http://www.hays.ca.
Note: Heys International sent me luggage for review but all opinions expressed are entirely my own. We were initially interested in their brand because of their broad range, creativity and style. I personally LOVE the design and the wheels are A-class and the durability, so far is a stand up. Although the review is now done, I continue to use their luggage on various trips. BRAVO!
Photo Credits: all photos courtesy of Hays.ca website with the exception of the ones we took at SFO Airport this Spring.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
