Samsonite Spark SNG ECO Review
With green credentials, a cabin friendly profile and practicality inbuilt, the new Samsonite Spark SNG ECO spinner is quite possibly the obvious choice for those looking at luggage options designed around environmental concerns. We’ve been testing one out to see if it's a clear landing.
Design
The Samsonite Eco case caught our attention with its unusual material makeup. Without being told you certainly wouldn’t know that the exterior is actually 95% recycled plastic bottles (PET); 37 of them to be exact. It has a sturdy, stylish and substantially robust construction (a respectable 3.1kg when empty) featuring solid walls on the back and sides. For reference, it measures 67 x 44 x 31cm - so is cabin friendly with most airlines. You may be wondering what that other 5% of the Spark SNG Eco is made from? Well, it’s a light cork and this is utilised on the attractive trim pieces. Inside the bag, all linings (also made from PET) pay tribute to the humble plastic bottle via a subtle bottle-print design. It’s worth mentioning that this lining is thick and doesn’t have the fault of being scratchy, so fibres, etc don’t cling on.
The zips are positive to use and an inbuilt TSA cable lock secures all compartments with a three digit code. Furthermore, the telescopic pull-out handle, with 4 height settings, is joyfully painless to operate and solid in use (there’s also a top, side and bottom handle). One thing Samsonite do really well are their wheel designs - they are silky smooth in handling. These multidirectional wheels have ample rubber too, so travel is certainly unchallenged on smooth airport floors, but heading further afield over lumpy concrete and mild off-road conditions (even cobbles) the wheels will grapple with most terrains we've tried them out on.
Unitone is the word Samsonite use to describe the black on black on black design of the case, and for any storage travel product that will likely see thousands of miles, it’s not a bad shade for hiding dirt from your worldly adventures. Having said this, scuffs and dirt are easily removed with a damp piece of kitchen roll.
Storage
Just what could we cram…. we mean neatly pack, of course, into our Samsonite Spark ECO with 92L of available total storage? Well, a week's worth of clothing, including a spare pair of jeans, 3 T-shirts, 2 jumpers, a jacket and underwear is blissfully easy to compress into the main compartment, with thanks to the Smart Fix Buckle strap design that allows all of these clothing items to compress into a thin sandwich. This leaves plenty of space to pack an iPad, DSLR, headphones and Nintendo Switch, and the zipped internal mesh side pocket is a perfect nook for our many cables. Housed on the back of the door for this main compartment is a zipped mesh section which is the ideal place to keep a 17” MacBook Pro style notebook computer or a smaller similar item.
The next middle zipped section is ideal to keep A4 literature and other bits and pieces to which you want immediate access without needing to hustle through your worldly possessions.
The front zipped compartment is also the perfect size for a 15” MacBook Pro style notebook. But due to the decent width of this middle compartment, it could be a nice overflow area for clothes and toiletries too.
Verdict
It’s admirable that Samsonite have crafted a range of luggage options with strict eco credentials. There’s no downsides from use of recycled plastic bottles implemented into top quality finishes and overall build. It’s a practical cabin friendly option that a solo traveller will find has plenty of useable space and compartments to keep things organised and easily accessible.