From Milan to Mexico: We traveled with a luxury $1,500+ Rimowa suitcase is it worth it?

There’s a short list of things I trust implicitly: old Italian men for restaurant recommendations, German engineering, and myself, at least when it comes to travel.I’ve been a travel editor, a chronic overpacker, and a serial airport sprinter.

I’ve packed for five-star hotels and humble farms in the same quarter.I’ve handled $40 luggage and tested the cream of the crop carry-ons.

So, when I say Rimowa is it, I don’t mean “influencer-hyped, probably-just-fine” it.I mean, “abandon your other bags” it.I’ve personally tested two Rimowa suitcases over the past three years — the Original Aluminum Cabin and the Essential Sleeve Cabin — both as stylish as they are functional, and both to blame for Rimowa taking up multiple tabs of my personality.

They’ve been dropped, dinged and dragged through security lines from Milan to Mexico City.And the fact that they still look and roll like new is reason enough to keep them close.The Essential Sleeve Cabin, in particular, changed the game for me.

It’s the softer, more tech-forward little sister to the Original Cabin, with an exterior laptop pocket I didn’t know I needed.Yes, whichever model you go for, it’s a splurge.

But it’s also the smartest, sexiest, most satisfying piece of luggage you’ll ever own, I promise you.Rimowa is the luggage equivalent of someone who always gets upgraded — not because they ask, but because they are the upgrade.Founded in Cologne in 1898, Rimowa pioneered the use of aluminum for luggage in the ’30s and polycarbonate in the 2000s — the latter being the material of choice for the Essential line.

It’s strong, matte, and beautifully resistant to the kind of abuse I routinely (and unintentionally) inflict during layovers.Signature grooves? Iconic.Telescopic handle? Smoother than most men I’ve dated.

Multi-wheel system? Rolls better than my joints on a stressful day.Every detail — from the silent wheels to the interior compression system — is engineere...