How To Buy A Suitcase That Will Last: Luggage Buying Guide

There are hundreds, if not thousands of different kinds of suitcases out there, so it can be hard to find the best suitcase to buy (a.k.a., a suitcase that will last!). I’ve set up a luggage buying guide to help you on your way to finding the perfect suitcase.

When it was time to stop using my family suitcase and buy my own, I went down a bit of a rabbit hole when buying a new carryon suitcase for myself. But, in doing so, I figured out some key points to look for in order to find a durable suitcase that will last you through many travels!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

The Best Suitcase To Buy: My Suitcase Of Choice

I ended up with the two-wheeler Travel Pro Maxlite 5 for my carryon suitcase. I’ve since bought two more Travelpro suitcases from this series. It checked all if my guidelines and was in budget (I found it on sale). 

So here are the guidelines I followed…

Luggage Buying Guide

There are a few criteria that I follow for buying a suitcase that will last!

Set A Budget

First, it’s always important to set a budget for yourself! This way, you won’t overspend, and you can find the best quality suitcase within your budget.

For a new carryon suitcase, my budget was $150 CAD, which I thought was reasonable.  I though this was enough to get me something that would last longer than one year, but I also didn’t want to break the bank. I wanted something in the middle – something that’s good quality for what I could afford. 

While researching, I realized you don’t ever need to spend more. I found the higher the price, the more you’re paying for looks and tacky gadgets, not necessarily quality. 

It Needs To Be Lightweight

Make sure the luggage is lightweight because you will be adding a lot of weight to it! So the lighter it is to begin with, the lighter it’ll be after you add all the weight to it with your stuff.

You might not think that a pound here or there makes a big difference, but it can get pretty heavy when you’re dragging it behind you in the airport all day, and after a long day of travel. Let’s just say you’re going to thank me in the end!

So the math is pretty simple. The lighter the suitcase, the more you can pack, and the lighter it’ll be rolling behind you. There’s also a weight limit that every airline has for your luggage (both carryons and checked bags).

The Durability Test – Wheels, Handlebar, Warranty

You don’t want to throw money down the drain. If you’re spending a decent amount of money on a suitcase you want it to last.  There are three main things I look at to test the durability of a suitcase:

The number of wheels it has, the flexibility of the handlebar, and the warranty offered by the company.

The Wheel Argument

This durability factor for a suitcase that will last is mainly for carryon luggage, you don’t really have an option for larger suitcases anymore.

So as fun as the 4 wheeled suitcases are, they aren’t the best for buying a suitcase that will last. In order to give the wheels more flexibility to turn in every direction, they’re not as sturdy as the 2 wheeled suitcases.

Once you know there’s a difference, it’s easy to spot. On the four wheeled suitcases, the wheels ‘stick out’ making them more prone to breaking from wear and tear or mishandling in the airport. Whereas the 2 wheelers are very secured in the luggage.

Tips For Suitcases: The Handle Test

Another thing you’ll want to check before buying a suitcase is the handlebar. When I was on my search, I noticed that some of the suitcases we were looking at had very loose un-sturdy handlebars, those would most likely break after a few uses of dragging some heavy luggage behind it.

So, test the durability of the handlebars! Fully extend the handle so that it clicks into place. You’ll immediately be able to feel how cheap it’s made (if it was) based on the wiggle test. To do that, just shake the handles around a bit.  

If the handles move around a lot at the joint, I would move on to the next suitcase. You should be able to trust the handlebars, they should feel very sturdy – not wobbly in your hands. Just think, if that’s how it feels today, imagine how it’s going to be after you use it a few times. It’ll probably loosen up even more until it eventually falls right off.

Best Suitcase To Buy Has The Best Warranty

When buying a suitcase that will last, always look for luggage that comes with a warranty! Not because you’ll need to use it, but this is proof of how confident the company is with the durability of their products. If there’s no warranty, the company doesn’t back up their product, so I wouldn’t buy that one. 

Most warranties you’ll see are 5 or 10 years, which is pretty standard. Travelpro (see the shop on Amazon) offers a limited lifetime warranty which is the best type of warranty you’ll see! They have full confidence in the product they’ve made.

Look For The Best Pockets & Compression Straps

There’s nothing more I love about packing than organizing into different pockets inside my suitcase. If you read my blog post on how to properly pack your suitcase, you’ll know what I mean. So the suitcase needs to having good separators.

This is why I dislike hard shell suitcases so much. There aren’t any pockets it’s just a giant hole. I like pockets on the outside for easy accessibility. Or sometimes I stuff my dirty laundry in there to keep it separated from my clean clothes. 

Inside, my Travelpro suitcase has a mesh pocket for easy separation. It’s a great place to pack and separate your nicer clothing to lay flat. I’ll usually flat lay any nicer pants or blouses (collared shirts) that I don’t want to stuff into my packing cubes there. 

When I talk about compression straps, I mean the inner straps suitcases (should) come with to compress all your clothes together. If you don’t use these, you should really start. When I compress all my clothes together with the straps, I tend to gain that little bit of extra space I need. 

But I noticed when I was looking for the best suitcase to buy, a lot of the straps were elastic. This is a big NO in my mind. Elastic wears down and loosens up after time. Which defeats the whole point of finding a suitcase that will last. The better straps are those than you can tighten yourself. It’s also better because you can probably compress it a lot more than with the elastic.

Hard Shell Vs. Soft Shell Suitcases

Nowadays, hard shells are all the craze. I have pros and cons for both the hard shell and soft shell. But in the end, I think the cons outweigh the pros for hard shells.  

Here’s an overview, but I’ll go into more detail in a bit…

Hard Shell Luggage

Pros	Cons
Protects contents from getting squashed	Typically only comes with 4 wheel options, more prone to breaking
Typically 4 wheels so easy and fun to drag	Lack of pockets for organization
2 sides for easier visibility (not one big area)	Lack expandability
–	Typically heavier than soft shell
–	Typically less capacity (volume) (because the wheels take up space on the outside)

Soft Shell Luggage

Pros	Cons
Can find 2 wheeled options	Lack of protection for your belongings
Has pockets for organization	Harder to clean the outside
Lightweight
Expandable options

So let’s dig in! The main benefits of a hard shell luggage is that it supposedly better protects your belongings from breaking inside. Sounds like full proof logic right?… until you really think about it…

If you’re talking about a carry-on,  your carry on bag should be with you the whole time. This isn’t a checked bag here. There shouldn’t be the possibility for it to get crushed. Now, it does happen every once in a while where the stewardess at the gate will ask you to check your bag (sometimes there isn’t enough space on board). If that were to happen, I simply take out whatever I don’t want to break and bring it with me on the flight in my handbag. 

But because of the secure hard casing, I do believe in a hard shell for your checked luggage. 

Aside from the durability and souvenir crushing aspects, I also don’t like how you have to pack in a hard shell. You pack in two sides, which allows for easier visibility, but there aren’t any extra pockets to organize anything. It’s merely two big areas. AND! there’s literally no possibility to expand … anything… there’s just no give… anywhere. Should I say that again… what you see is what you get. 

I’ll admit that today’s suitcases aren’t like they used to be. The soft shell luggages used to expand a lot more than they do today. But they still expand more than the hard shells do. And because they’re a soft shell, you’re able to stuff things in corners and in the front pocket. There’s still some stretch to the material.

Avoid Paying Extra For Gadgets And Gizmos

Nowadays, a lot of suitcases will come with fun gadgets and gizmos. These are always fun extras that you can show off to friends. Like, imagine owning a suitcase with a USB port to charge your phone, a cup holder for your airport Starbucks, and a lock on it! But you have to realize you’re paying extra for it, and let’s be real, are they actually that useful?

Ask yourself, is it all worth the extra money? I definitely see the potential for the USB charging port. But then is the battery pack adding weight? And if so, how much? Wouldn’t make more sense to buy an external battery to charge your phone?  It’ll be half the cost of what they’re charging extra for it on the suitcase.

AND now you can use it even when you’re away from your suitcase. Which is all the time except for when you’re at the airport and on route to your hotel. And nowadays, most airports have outlets you can plug in to. They even have USB ports on the plane these days. So all of this renders the USB port pretty unnecessary. 

The cup holder is actually a neat little add on, that might be useful while you’re at the airport. But, again, how often are you going to use this. And it also takes up your luggage space (not by much, but hey! every inch counts right!)

What Suitcase To Buy: Resist The Urge To Buy Black

This is purely out of convenience, nothing to do with durability. If the suitcase you want comes in another colour other than black, go for it! Get a fun colour. You want to be able to find your suitcase in the cabin or on the conveyer belt if you have to check it.  

Although, on my first time travelling with my new blue Travelpro suitcase someone did try to claim it as theirs. So it can obviously still happen with any colour, but hopefully less often than with black. Also as a precaution add a luggage tag with your name and address on it.

Now that you have a suitcase that will last, it’s time to pack in it for vacation. Read about my tips and tricks for fitting everything I need.

Traveling for 2 weeks? See why I still choose to pack in a carryon (and how I fit everything in!). 

Have you planned your vacation yet? Read my tips on how I go about planning and don’t forget to pack my top 11 travel essentials.

Shop Travelpro Maxlite Soft Shell Series

More Travel Guides To Read

• How To Pack in a Carryon For 2 Weeks
• How To Pack Like A Pro
• Top 11 Travel Essentials You Need
• How To Plan The Ultimate Vacation
• How To Book A Direct Flight On A Budget
• How To Buy  A Souvenir You Won’t Regret

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Last update on 2024-05-03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API