Vera Bradley Rolling Luggage Review & Giveaway

I certainly had some of the most colorful luggage in the Grand Junction, Phoenix and Honolulu airports in the last week, pulling my navy and “boysenberry,” paisley-patterned 22-inch expandable upright from Vera Bradley. Indeed, I’m accustomed to toting boring black — or sometimes solid red or orange — rollerboards, so it was fun to show my “girly” side with this pretty piece of luggage from a company known for its upbeat quilted cotton totes, handbags and duffels, cosmetic bags and accessories.

This carry-on-sized rollerboard is one of a handful of new pieces from Vera Bradley’s rolling luggage collection. Other pieces with the Boysenberry pattern include the 28-inch expandable upright, the 27-inch spinner, the 22-inch roll along duffel and the 17-inch, checkpoint-friendly roll along tote. These pieces also come in black if you prefer a more streamlined look.

My 22-inch expandable upright was plenty big to hold five nights’ worth of clothes and accessories for my recent stay on Oahu. The front zippered pocket is especially roomy and held some “overflow” items. In between our two hotels on Oahu, I did take advantage of the “expandable gusset” — which zipped open effortlessly to allow for about two inches of additional packing space. I zipped this closed for my flights so it would fit carry-on standards. Even with the bag stuffed full, with outside pockets filled to the brim, flight attendants never batted an eye when I rolled it onboard to fit in the overhead bins.

Other nice features: interior pouches, a comfortable telescoping handle, water-repellent (and flower patterned) interior lining and fully recessed wheels. I also like that the bag came with a clear plastic cosmetic bag (for TSA-friendly liquids), a nylon shoe bag and a lock.

As I mentioned, Vera Bradley makes 100% cotton quilted bags — but the exterior fabric on the rolling luggage is high denier polyester. It’s durable to withstand rough treatment from luggage handlers, and it’s water repellent (I tested this in Hawaii rain!).

I really like my Vera Bradley bag, and will certainly use it for upcoming flights and road trips. I think anyone who owns other Vera Bradley bags will also find the rolling luggage a nice addition to their collection of fun prints.

The Vera Bradley 22-inch expandable upright retails for $280 on the Vera Bradley website, but thanks to Vera Bradley and our friends at Colorado Bag’n Baggage, we’re giving one away to one lucky reader!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Leave a comment below describing where you’d use your Vera Bradley rolling luggage if you win. You may enter once a day.

2. Tweet the following on Twitter: I entered to win luggage from @verabradley and @cbnbaggage on @thevacationgals bit.ly/rollerboard You must tell us in a separate comment below for the tweet to count as a giveaway entry, and you may enter this way once a day.

3. Like The Vacation Gals on Facebook, then tell us you did in the comments below. Same, if you are already a “fan” of ours on Facebook. Just tell us in the comments. You may enter this way just once.

The giveaway starts today and ends May 24 at 6:00 pm CST. Winner will be determined by a random number generator and announced May 25.  Immediate family members of The Vacation Gals cannot enter this giveaway. You must have a U.S. mailing address to win. Thank you for entering and good luck!

Thanks to Vera Bradley for providing my piece of luggage for review. You can purchase Vera Bradley at Colorado Bag’n Baggage retail locations (scroll down for list of stores).