Its wheels and zipper are as well made as those of our soft-sided picks, and its polycarbonate showed fewer scratches than its hard-sided competitors. Soft-sided luggage is more flexible, quite literally, so these bags tend to bend rather than break and scratch instead of crack. Their soft construction makes it much easier for designers to add exterior pockets and interior organization features than with hard-shell designs. If short-term durability and protection of essentials such as gifts or work equipment is your biggest concern, however, a well-packed piece of hard-sided luggage is your best bet for keeping valuables safe.
We tested Away luggage for three years before making our recommendation, traveling with it ourselves across the country, and lending models of the bag to several testers and frequent travelers to see how they enjoyed using it. Away makes two similar models of checked suitcases with an expandable zipper, The Medium Flex and The Large Flex. For all intents and purposes, these are the same overall bags as the standard Medium and Large, except for the expanding center zipper and the price (they each cost $50 more). Also, you increase the likelihood of exceeding the airline’s weight limit. Most hard-sided luggage is built of ABS plastic, polycarbonate, or a blend of both materials.
Besides the suggestions from our experts, we researched editorial and user reviews of luggage, making sure to include popular brands like Samsonite and Tumi as well as esoteric names like Filson and Hideo Wakamatsu. In addition to the expert interviews, we’ve spoken with assorted salespeople, brand engineers, and media-relations folks to make sure we found the best models from each brand. • To ensure the maximum possible interior volume for your luggage.
For integrated locks, the luggage’s sales tag will provide this information. What you pay in checked-bag fees also may depend on your class of service. American Airlines, for instance, charges $75 for each bag checked by passengers using Basic Economy fares on many international flights. But it charges nothing for passengers flying the next class up, Main Cabin. Whether a personal item fits under the seat can vary even within the same aircraft.
If you order online, carefully read the description and warranty information on the website, and as soon as you receive the item, run it through these same tests. From zippers and compartments to locks and expandability, these are some of the most important features to consider when buying luggage. How easy it is american tourister luggage set to make a purchase, the quality of customer service, and—if you’re buying online—how easy it is to use a suitcase retailer’s website. So we used the responses of more than 4,700 members who had purchased new luggage within the two years leading up to the survey to rate their experience with luggage retailers.
Check the Interior CapacityThe outside measurements of the suitcase are important, but don’t forget to consider how roomy the inside is. This can be difficult to do because many manufacturers don’t disclose the suitcase’s interior volume. (Consumer Reports does, in our hard-shell carry-on ratings.) Look for these features that maximize interior space. Soft-sided luggage continues to dominate the market, but hard-shell is quickly gaining popularity because of newer lightweight materials.