Balanzza TRUCO luggage – world’s first modular carry-on luggage solution

by Scott Carmichael on

This morning, Balanzza announced their first piece of luggage. The company is better known for their products to weigh your luggage, but this experience obviously helped them design the first piece of modular luggage in the world.

The TRUCO is a three piece rolling suitcase, which can be separated into a rolling case, briefcase and compact tote. All three pieces connect to each other, and if you happen to find yourself face to face with a limited overhead storage bin, you simply disconnect the front and top bag, and place them under your seat.

The TRUCO is available today directly from Balanzza for $199. More photos of this smart piece of luggage are in the gallery below. We’ll try and bring you a full review of it as soon as we can.

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Review: Balanzza Mini Luggage Scale – avoid nasty surprises at the airport!

by Scott Carmichael on

Traveling with bags means trying to stay one step ahead of the airlines – and staying one step ahead of them, means knowing exactly how heavy your bags are. There no nothing more annoying than arriving at the airport, only to discover that you overpacked, and will either have to pay up, remove some items or move items between bags.

To help prevent these nasty surprises, you could consider investing in a portable luggage scale. Last year, we mentioned the Balanzza Ergo digital luggage scales – and now Balanzza has introduced a more compact version of their award winning product – the Balanzza Mini.

The Balanzza mini is the smallest digital luggage scale in the world. The device is about three times smaller than the original version – but still provides the same features and 100lbs. capacity.

To weigh your bag, you simply strap the scales to your handle, turn the unit on, and pick it up. As soon as the Balanzaa Mini beeps, you’ll have an accurate measurement. The scales are accurate to 0.2lbs – which is probably a better result than many uncalibrated airport scales.

The Balanzza Mini compared to the larger Balanzzo Ergo. Both are very accurate, but the reduced size and weight of the Mini has its obvious advantages. That said – with very heavy bags, the larger version may be more comfortable to lift.

The Balanzza Mini retails for $24.95, and is available directly from Balanzza, select Bed Bath & Beyond stores and a variety of online retailers.

Don’t trust the airport scales – weigh your own luggage with the Balanzza Ergo

by Scott Carmichael on

Last year, Jeffrey wrote about faulty scales at Tuscon airport, the month before that it was JFK airport. Bottom line is that airlines don’t always have their scales calibrated as often as they should, and airlines sometimes even use condemned scales in their daily operations.

Of course, the big issue here is that a bad scale could end up costing you money. If you weigh a bag at home, and think it weighs 45 lbs, but the airline tells you it weighs 55 lbs, who are you to argue? You’ll hand over your credit card and pay the difference.

Of course, smart people do argue with the airline, and smart people come prepared.

This is where the Balanzza Ergo handheld scale can help. This little device can weigh bags up to 100 lbs (or 44kg) and runs off 2 (included) AA batteries. To weigh a bag, you simply hook the strap onto your bag, turn the device on and wait for “the beep”. Once it beeps, you put it down again, and check the weight on the display.

The Balanzza Ergo handheld scale costs $24.95 and ships for about $6. Alternatively, you can find it at many travel product retailers for as low as $17. When you realize that airlines will charge as much as $125 for each overweight bag, you’ll understand the need for a portable product like this.