Ricardo Beverly Hills Venice Lite Rollerboard Review & Giveaway

Traveling with a lightweight rollerboard is so key these days, especially when it’s become so cost-prohibitive to check luggage these days. I’m guilty of stuffing my rollerboard with clothes and shoes on getaways of up to five nights (if I’m traveling for a week, I usually want to check a bigger bag; light packing is not my forte). Inevitably I need to heave that over-packed wheeled suitcase into an overhead bin, and it’s always helpful if it’s not that heavy.

That’s where the new Venice Lite Collection from Ricardo Beverly Hills comes in: not only are pieces super light, but they’re sleek and stylish, too. I got my hands on a 21-inch Expandable Upright that weighs just 7.5 lbs when unpacked. (Sure, it’s not as light as the High Sierra product I reviewed at Practical Travel Gear, which weighs in at 6.8 lbs, but it’s close!) The Venice Lite rollerboard is quite durable: it’s fully framed with lightweight polypropylene honeycomb, so if the sides get smushed, they’ll pop back out to their original shape. The bag feels rugged and able to withstand even the roughest baggage handlers.

I like the two-compartment system — the lid of the bag has a large mesh zippered area to keep dress clothes separate from casual ones, or dirty from clean. There’s another internal zippered mesh pocket in the main compartment, and this wheeled carry-on comes with a sturdy see-through plastic quart bag that can be snapped to attach inside the bag (use for TSA-approved travel-sized toiletries).

This bag comes in Charcoal and Midnight Black (pictured right), or a more whimsical Purple Plumeria and Black Iris. Inline skate wheels glide smoothly, and you can add more space to the bag with an expandable zipper. The ergonomically designed locking handle tucks neatly into its own zippered pocket. I suppose if I had one complaint, it’s that the handle’s casing takes up space in the main compartment. There’s quite a pair of “ridges” (actually, you can feel the entire tubes) that you have to pack around (i.e. the bottom of the packing area is not flat).

The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $200, but I’ve found it discounted at multiple online retailers for much less. For example at eBags.com’s $90, I think the durable, lightweight suitcase is a steal. This is one reasonably priced quality bag.

Another option: enter our giveaway to win one of your own! That’s right, we’re giving away this rollerboard to one lucky reader of The Vacation Gals. Here are the rules… good luck!

• Leave a comment below telling us where you would use your brand-new black/grey Ricardo Beverly Hills Venice Lite 21-inch wheeled carry-on (i.e. the prize).
• You may enter (leave a comment) once daily until 6 p.m. (Pacific Time) Wednesday, October 26, 2011.
• The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
• We’ll do our best to weed out repeat entries from the same household (duplicate IP addresses in one day), but we’re not superhuman. Please, as an individual, just comment once daily — don’t try to dupe the system.
• Immediate family members of The Vacation Gals are not eligible to enter.
• You must be 18 and have a U.S. mailing address to enter.
• We will enter the total number of comments into random.org to generate the winning comment number. Winner’s name and winning comment number will be announced at the bottom of this post October 27, 2011.
• If winner does not respond to two emails announcing his/her win within a week, another comment number will be chosen.
• Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary.

Thanks to Ricardo Beverly Hills for providing me with a Venice Lite 21-inch rollerboard. Visit the website to check out the other pieces in the Venice Lite collection, as well as the company’s other products.

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Congrats to go to Sharon, commenter #84, whose number came up in the random.org number generator. She wins this fabulous rollerboard, and she says she plans to use the carry-on for a trip to Chicago this spring!