hard or soft luggage

[sweetdana]

Please assist is there a luggage you love. I am buying the cheapest possible (with spinners) as I have had 2 peices already ruined. 1 on the first flight used 1 after about 10 ish flights.

I am buying 1 peice of 28 inch luggage I have always bought soft/cloth should I try the hard shells? What do you like better?

 

[rszdtrvl]

I love the look of hard luggage. The big issue I have with it is that it is so heavy!

I always use soft luggage when traveling by air, because of the weight issue. When doing a road trip, I use my hard luggage.

Edited to add : I love luggage! If I had the room, I would have multiple pieces all different sizes and shapes.

 

[Lewisc]

Soft luggage generally has outside pockets. Hard luggage being sold today is frequently made of polycarbonate. It tends to be light and may give you more interior room then soft bags. Soft bags need a frame. That adds weight and reduces packing capacity.

edited to add--I just re-read your OP. You don't want to buy the cheapest possible luggage. Reviews suggest some of the cheapest bags literally aren't good for one flight. Some of the cheapest bags sold by Walmart are basically cardboard wrapped in polyester fabric.

 

[sweetdana]

Soft luggage generally has outside pockets. Hard luggage being sold today is frequently made of polycarbonate. It tends to be light and may give you more interior room then soft bags. Soft bags need a frame. That adds weight and reduces packing capacity.

edited to add--I just re-read your OP. You don't want to buy the cheapest possible luggage. Reviews suggest some of the cheapest bags literally aren't good for one flight. Some of the cheapest bags sold by Walmart are basically cardboard wrapped in polyester fabric.

hmmm I read about 10 reviews on amazon they all said travel agents say to buy the cheapest bag.. i am okay with the most expensive. but i am taking advice.. maybe bad advice.

 

[Lewisc]

hmmm I read about 10 reviews on amazon they all said travel agents say to buy the cheapest bag.. i am okay with the most expensive. but i am taking advice.. maybe bad advice.

Horrible advice. I suspect the advice is not to overpay for "snob" brand. Get the cheapest quality bag. Stores like Walmart sell a 5 piece "value" set of luggage for under $50. I doubt the posters giving advice are suggesting purchasing that quality of luggage.

COSTCO backs what they sell. consumersearch.com has a decent buying guide.

The kind of luggage you're looking for should cost around $100.

 

[Tanzanite]

Ijust brought Samsonite lite it was 50% off it is very light well made for my trip to europe the carry ons only weigh 6 pounds .

 

[Lewisc]

Department stores always sell luggage at 50-60% off. The luggage is never available for sale at full price.

 

[Ashlotte]

We have always used soft suitcases, but just bought two hard carry on sized ones. From my experience, suitcases are best to buy on huge sale days, like Black Friday. Macy's was selling any size of this set for $69 on Black Friday, and now they are back up to $280-$360.http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/...ryID=60862#fn=sp=1&spc=110&ruleId=65&slotId=2 I think suitcases often get marked down again on New Year's, but I am not sure.

I would check reviews on whatever you are considering. If they don't have reviews for that particular set, check out the brand in general. We bought a really cheap set when we first got married, and it was damaged on the very first flight. Very flimsy. We have an American Tourister set now (soft), and it has been great for many trips for us. It is not fancy or a high end brand, but I would rather pay a little more for good quality than have to keep replacing poor quality.

I also agree with the PP that mentioned Costco. They have a great return policy. If you buy from them and it isn't the quality you were hoping for, you can return it without any problems.

 

[RangerPooh]

We needed to purchase a bag for our recent trip and DH picked up at "hard" case from Target for about $100. It was junk! It was thinner hard plastic and cracked easily. Just touching the break I sliced my finger pretty well. Instead I took it back and paid the extra $50 for a nicer sifts used case with spinner wheels...which the airline still managed to damage.

On a recent trip to Ross I did notice a few nice hard (thick) sided suitcases. The only downside was that they were not expandable.

 

[Rememberingthe70s]

I like the soft for a lot of reasons, one of which is that the carry-on size medium suitcase will squish if the carry-on compartment is tight. Also, there's less to break with the soft. We bought an American Tourister set a few years ago that has been all over the world, never damaged, never a problem. The medium/carry-on suitcase gets used once a month or so especially, and has been on dozens of planes, trains, and busses. Still fine, no damage, no zipper problems ... And I STUFF the thing sometimes.

ED - Sloppy spelling!

 

[SandrA9810]

I have an American Tourister 2 piece set, it's made it through more flights, but it's falling apart at the seams. Mainly the front pocket, so I don't put anything in there. I found a Samsonite hard case for really cheap with a busted lock on one end. I use the luggage straps to hold it shut and it's made it through two flights.

The newer luggage hard and soft side have come a long way in making things more airline friendly, like lighter materials and better wheels. I just have to say using spinner wheels are AMAZING over standard double wheels. The nice thing about soft side is the ability to over stuff and usually there's an expandable zipper. The plus side to hard sided cases is the added protection to anything that might be inside. It is a little funny packing it though, since it's usually in half, and getting the one half to close without everything spilling out.

 

[aubriee]

The newer luggage hard and soft side have come a long way in making things more airline friendly, like lighter materials and better wheels. I just have to say using spinner wheels are AMAZING over standard double wheels. The nice thing about soft side is the ability to over stuff and usually there's an expandable zipper. The plus side to hard sided cases is the added protection to anything that might be inside. It is a little funny packing it though, since it's usually in half, and getting the one half to close without everything spilling out.

I agree! I've got a Heys 21" plaid carryon spinner and the 25" Heys plaid check bag to match it. I love them. I have other bags that appear bigger, but for some reason my Heys bags hold more. I use packing folders and packing cubes, which making packing and unpacking a breeze, so nothing spills out when I open them. These are the ones I have: http://www.overstock.com/Luggage-Ba...side-Spinner-Luggage-Set/3444035/product.html. I didn't pay near that much for them though. I picked mine up at Marshalls for like $79.00 and $89.00 each. They also had the biggest bag to match too, but it was too big and I didn't want it. My Heys carry on has been on probably over 20 trips and still looks great.

I also have a large LL Bean rolling duffel that I like, sort of like this one: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/63916?feat=904-GN1&page=rolling-adventure-duffle-large. They don't sell the same color anymore, but mine is a really bright kelly green and I had them embroidery my last name on the side of it. No way can I miss that thing coming around luggage claim and no way can anyone else mistake it for theirs. It's held up really well too. It's just a huge open space in the middle, but it's perfect for organizing packing folders and packing cubes.

I also have several small and large Vera Bradley soft duffels, a rolling duffel, a Get Carried Away tote, and Weekender bags that I like for carry ons. I would never check my Vera bags though.

When I was down in Florida earlier this month, I stopped in the Kipling store over in the Outlet Mall off of Vineland. They had their luggage on sale. The last thing I really needed was more luggage, but I couldn't resist a claret colored divided carry on duffel (the Teagan) and the Sherpa tote for a personal item. (http://www.zappos.com/kipling-u-s-a-teagan-small-wheeled-duffle-red and http://www.zappos.com/kipling-u-s-a-sherpa-carry-on-tote-red). I had used a large Vera Bradley duffel as a carry on and a small Vera Bradley duffel as a personal item going down there, so was able to squish the Vera Bradly duffels into my checked bag on the way home, so I could bring my new Kipling bags home. I really wished I had picked up the large Kipling Teagan to use as a check bag. I plan on going back down there in May and will do carry on only, so that hopefully I can pick up that large Kipling Teagan to match my other carryons.

I love getting new luggage, but really need to get rid of some of mine.

 

[sweetdana]

Horrible advice. I suspect the advice is not to overpay for "snob" brand. Get the cheapest quality bag. Stores like Walmart sell a 5 piece "value" set of luggage for under $50. I doubt the posters giving advice are suggesting purchasing that quality of luggage.

COSTCO backs what they sell. consumersearch.com has a decent buying guide.

The kind of luggage you're looking for should cost around $100.

 

[sweetdana]

I have an American Tourister 2 piece set, it's made it through more flights, but it's falling apart at the seams. Mainly the front pocket, so I don't put anything in there. I found a Samsonite hard case for really cheap with a busted lock on one end. I use the luggage straps to hold it shut and it's made it through two flights.

The newer luggage hard and soft side have come a long way in making things more airline friendly, like lighter materials and better wheels. I just have to say using spinner wheels are AMAZING over standard double wheels. The nice thing about soft side is the ability to over stuff and usually there's an expandable zipper. The plus side to hard sided cases is the added protection to anything that might be inside. It is a little funny packing it though, since it's usually in half, and getting the one half to close without everything spilling out.

sooooooooooooooooooo agreeeeeeeeeee with the spinners. .. That is a no brainer!

 

[Lewisc]

The nice thing about soft side is the ability to over stuff and usually there's an expandable zipper. The plus side to hard sided cases is the added protection to anything that might be inside. It is a little funny packing it though, since it's usually in half, and getting the one half to close without everything spilling out.

Over stuffing a bag and unzipping the expansion zipper and your bag will probably exceed the airline's size limits and there is a good chance the bag will also be overweight. An exception. Do that with a carryon bag and you should be able to check the bag.

 

[sweetdana]

I agree! I've got a Heys 21" plaid carryon spinner and the 25" Heys plaid check bag to match it. I love them. I have other bags that appear bigger, but for some reason my Heys bags hold more. I use packing folders and packing cubes, which making packing and unpacking a breeze, so nothing spills out when I open them. These are the ones I have: http://www.overstock.com/Luggage-Ba...side-Spinner-Luggage-Set/3444035/product.html. I didn't pay near that much for them though. I picked mine up at Marshalls for like $79.00 and $89.00 each. They also had the biggest bag to match too, but it was too big and I didn't want it. My Heys carry on has been on probably over 20 trips and still looks great.

I also have a large LL Bean rolling duffel that I like, sort of like this one: http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/63916?feat=904-GN1&page=rolling-adventure-duffle-large. They don't sell the same color anymore, but mine is a really bright kelly green and I had them embroidery my last name on the side of it. No way can I miss that thing coming around luggage claim and no way can anyone else mistake it for theirs. It's held up really well too. It's just a huge open space in the middle, but it's perfect for organizing packing folders and packing cubes.

I also have several small and large Vera Bradley soft duffels, a rolling duffel, a Get Carried Away tote, and Weekender bags that I like for carry ons. I would never check my Vera bags though.

When I was down in Florida earlier this month, I stopped in the Kipling store over in the Outlet Mall off of Vineland. They had their luggage on sale. The last thing I really needed was more luggage, but I couldn't resist a claret colored divided carry on duffel (the Teagan) and the Sherpa tote for a personal item. (http://www.zappos.com/kipling-u-s-a-teagan-small-wheeled-duffle-red and http://www.zappos.com/kipling-u-s-a-sherpa-carry-on-tote-red). I had used a large Vera Bradley duffel as a carry on and a small Vera Bradley duffel as a personal item going down there, so was able to squish the Vera Bradly duffels into my checked bag on the way home, so I could bring my new Kipling bags home. I really wished I had picked up the large Kipling Teagan to use as a check bag. I plan on going back down there in May and will do carry on only, so that hopefully I can pick up that large Kipling Teagan to match my other carryons.

I love getting new luggage, but really need to get rid of some of mine.

I might go with the overstock choice.. that seems good.
I don't think i want a duffle bag i like dragging it behind me.
I get 1 free checked and a carry on with the delta card. (pp) so 2 suit cases and 2 carryones for the 4 of us should work perfect.