Hard sided luggage

[smfcpacfp]

For the last few years I have come to view luggage as just another cost of a trip, If it last for a few trips, great. We just got back from Curacao and my wife's diving suitcase is shot, so we need another one and a matched pair would be nice. However there must be a better way.

I am looking for hard sided luggage and that is light, strong yet not too unreasonably expensive.

 

[fire_diver]

Delsey, Samsonite and Coleman all have good hardside luggage. Make sure you look at the warranty. Warranty is typically an indication of quality. I wouldnt buy anything with less than a 10 year warranty.

Not sure what you consider expensive for luggage, but a decent quality hardside is going to cost a lot more than cheap cloth luggage.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I was looking for someone to say something very specific, like, "I have this piece and I love it." I live in the super boonies and all you see is general purpose luggage in the stores here. In that sense I wish I lived in Chicago, or LA. I can see the type of luggage you mention on line, but I never get to touch or feel it. I was hoping for some specific ideas.

I was looking at an aluminum piece of luggage at $1,500 which is more than I would spend. Several hundred wouldn't be a problem, if it could last. As you know when you travel by plane and have a few connections, it looks like s**t after just one flight.

 

[fire_diver]

OK. I can't give exact recommendations yet. I just bought a set of hardsides for my wife, and they should arrive any day. I let her choose, and she went with the Delsey. I spent a lot of time looking at customer reviews, becuase I'm in the same boat as you. Nobody here sells anything except cheap, generic, cloth luggage.

I will update with my first impressions when her luggage arrives.

 

[smfcpacfp]

I look forward to your report.

 

[Damselfish]

Is there a specific reason you're looking for hard sided luggage? If it's for protection, careful packing can take care of that; we've never had anything in our soft bags damaged.

To put a different spin on things, we used to use Samsonite hard luggage because we had it when we started diving. After those got pretty trashed and we got tired of getting them fixed, we went the rolling duffel route and found they worked better for us. Part of this is that an old engineering line "if it doesn't bend, it breaks" seemed to apply here. Gear also seems to fit better. And usually (not always) the soft stuff will be lighter.

Our first rolling duffels were inexpensive but durable Janson brand we picked up on a whim at a sporting goods store when we saw a deal. Only problem with those was they didn't have pullout handles or much structure so were awkward to drag around. We now have Eagle Creek ORV trunks that we've used for many years. Lifetime warranty which we used once when the handle mechanism failed on one, no problem.

 

[Country Diver]

I have a set of Heys hard sided, and I love them. I have a carry on size that I will carry my lights, dry-suit, regs and anything that I don't want them to lose or break, then I have two different sized larger hard sided pieces for checked luggage. When I go to Mexico for a couple weeks, I use one of the larger suitcases and I have a rolling duffel bag that I find straps well to the hard case and if I put both handles up on it, my carry-on sits nicely in between. I travel alone and this is my best way to move all my stuff through the airport without hassling with a cart. I bought the carry-on suitcase (Heys) at Costco, and I bought the two silver Heys suitcases at Sears during one of their half price sales.

 

[smfcpacfp]

Is there a specific reason you're looking for hard sided luggage? If it's for protection, careful packing can take care of that; we've never had anything in our soft bags damaged.

To put a different spin on things, we used to use Samsonite hard luggage because we had it when we started diving. After those got pretty trashed and we got tired of getting them fixed, we went the rolling duffel route and found they worked better for us. Part of this is that an old engineering line "if it doesn't bend, it breaks" seemed to apply here. Gear also seems to fit better. And usually (not always) the soft stuff will be lighter.

Our first rolling duffels were inexpensive but durable Janson brand we picked up on a whim at a sporting goods store when we saw a deal. Only problem with those was they didn't have pullout handles or much structure so were awkward to drag around. We now have Eagle Creek ORV trunks that we've used for many years. Lifetime warranty which we used once when the handle mechanism failed on one, no problem.

It wasn't so much for damage issues, but a bit for security. Boxy hardside luggage is a bit easier to handle that floppy soft luggage if you have a couple of bags, in my opinion. I took a look on line at the Eagle Creek duffles and they look like they have rigid backs, so I will consider them. My next diving trip isn't unitl late June, so when my wife goes to Chicago in May, she can check things out.

 

[Damselfish]

Yes, they have rigid backs (could't really be any other way with a pullout handle.) The built in compression straps help a lot too. There may be other brands with similar bags but we've been happy with these. I agree floppy is hard to handle. Those first duffels we had did actually have a pretty rigid bottom, but no structure and just a sewn on handle. So it still felt like rolling Jabba the Hut through the airport.

 

[Lone Frogman]

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