Approved by Breeder - Me
Written: Nov 14 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Meets airline requirements. Reasonably priced. Well constructed.
Cons: Only available in black
The Bottom Line: If you need an airline approved carrier that is well constructed and affordable, you have no other choice.
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| harveyny's Full Review: Samsonite Pet Carrier |
My wife and I have been breeding Bengal (not Benga) cats for about two years. Recently we decided to add a new breeder to our cattery since we had to retire our first breeder. We are located in the Chicago area so we looked for breeders in the Midwest. We did not find any kittens in this area that we thought would benefit our cattery. One of the major problems was that the kittens available in the Midwest had similar ancestry as our cats. We wanted to diversify our genetic pool, so we started to look at kittens from both the East and West coasts. We finally decided on a kitten from Oregon. At first, it appeared that the party that we were purchasing the kitten from was planning on coming to Chicago, so she could transport our new kitten to us. Circumstances prevented her from travelling, so we thought of having the kitten shipped to us. As time drew near to when the kitten could travel, I was able to obtain airfare to the West coast for $90 round trip. This meant that I had to purchase a pet carrier to transport our new kitten back.
Up till now, we had the typical hard plastic cases. The main problem was that these cases are too large to be allowed as carry on luggage by the airlines. I called the airlines, and they gave me the dimensions of what was considered appropriate. We had purchased a soft carrier about three years ago for our son's domestic cat. It was used every two weeks to transport our son's cat. The main drawback of this soft carrier, was that the sides of the carrier would not remain standing, because there was nothing to support it.
This feature became the major one that I would look for in a new carrier. I went to the local Petsmart store because they appeared to have the largest selection. I was a bit suprised to find the price range of soft carriers extended up to over $100. What caught my eye about the Samsonite carrier was the sign "approved by airlines". The Samsonite was also one of the least expensive ones in the group. That made me a little leery, but after checking out the display model, I could find no deficiencies.
The carrier is constructed out of a black material similar to other soft luggage materials. Both sides and one end is covered by a mesh material so there is an abundance of ventilation. The carrier can be opened from the top and also from one end utilizing zippers. The top opening also included a latch locking mechanism which came in handy if you are loading the pet from the top. When collapsed, the carrier is very compact and easy to store or pack in a suitcase. What makes the carrier collapse flat is the removable, stiff bottom plate. Besides the regular handles on the carrier, provision is also made to use a shoulder strap, which is included. The dimensions listed, be a bit taller than the dimensions given by the airlines. The instructions on the packaging said that because this was a soft carrier, you could bend the ends in order to get the carrier to fit under the seat.
I also purchased an Absorbent Pad to use with the carrier. This is a white pad that is designed to fit all Samsonite soft-sided pet carriers. This pad is designed to inhibit urine odors, prevent leakage and is machine washable. To install it, just remove the bottom plate of the carrier and attach the pad using two elastic bands that are attached to the pad. The pad is capable of absorbing 4X its' own weight in liquids. I could not verify this, since the kitten did not expel any organic material during the trip.
I used this carrier to transport our new kitten from San Francisco to Chicago with a stop in Las Vegas. When I boarded the plane in San Francisco, I was pleasantly suprised that the carrier fit under the seat with no problems. It had plenty of clearance on top and on the sides. I did pick a center seat, because it appeared to have the largest under the seat space.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
harveyny
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 - Top 1000 |
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Location: IL
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 6 members
About Me:
My main interest is QUALITY. This affects the way I evaluate everything.
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