Hard case luggage vs. soft shell luggage (checked luggage). Pros and cons of either?

Norma
Hard case gets damaged easier. When it cracks, its useless. Former airline employee experience.

Norma agreed. Good for carry on but not checked

Charmain I don't even use hard shell for carry on. I've seen too many disasters at the airport... once saw a toddler jump on one when it tipped over. Mom was carrying 'adult toys'... I almost peed myself trying not to laugh! Also - why do you think there is a luggage store in almost every airport?

Norma I like that they are the exact size allowed so I can’t overstuff a soft one.

Charmain good point. I like that on my return trip home, I can expand it enough I can choose to overstuff it and check it in if I buy too much stuff! We are leav9mf today for a 14 day trip, including a 7 day cruise... 1 carry on each, and a small back pack... I need expansion for the way home cause dirty laundry takes up space!

I am very picky. I like half and half. Hard bottom and the soft front. It allows you cram more. And put a coat in the front. Hard usually slits in half and I dislike that for packing. And when you arrive somewhere if there is little room you can live out a lid up suit case but a split in half takes up too much room

Christy what brand is your half and half. I’ve never heard of one and would like to check it out

Donna not sure. It was hard to find. In Mexico with carry on but will take a peak when I get home.

Donna I like travel pro for Carry on

While at Seattle Airport, in the POURING rain, we watched a luggage truck on the tarmac enroute to his plane, and then waiting to load the luggage. OMG those bags were soaked! We weren't on that flight, but imagine passengers with soft bags had very wet belongings. I wonder, is there a waterproof soft bag with wheels (not duffle)? We travel light, with small hard sided cases. They have served us very well.

Yvonne I believe that eagle creek still has waterproof with wheels.

Soft shell , does not crack when it’s cold, flexible for extra shirt, weighs a about the same , lasts longer , Briggs and Riley life time guaranty , if any breaks only one in the industries. Expensive but well last for ever , if you travel a lot well worth the money ,

Soft tends to be lighter, but I prefer hard shell. If I’m taking checked luggage, I’m usually bringing back a few bottles of wine with me, and believe that the hard shell adds more protection in addition to the Wineskin.
Would love to hear from the soft shell crowd what their experiences are on this!

Heather I’ve brought back lots of bottles over the years in a soft shell. Wrapped in clothes… even some bubble wrap I drought never had a breakage.

Kevin thanks for sharing your experience! I have been paranoid ever since, upon returning from a trip to Mexico, we saw a soft sided bag leaking tequila all over the luggage carousel.
I like the weight and configuration of soft sided bags, but you know….wine. (Although I do have a soft sided wine suitcase, but the inside of it is designed to protect wine.) I can pack for 3 weeks in my carry-on and only use the big suitcase rarely, so I imagine it will be years before I need to replace my current one.

Heather plastic bag Around the bottle, then wrap in clothes, place away from the edge of the suitcase. I've never had a leak or a break. Bubble wrap takes up too much space.

Norma have you tried the Wineskins? They work quite well.

Heather I'm not familar with them. The only wine skins I knew were made of leather and wore on a string to sneak booze into concerts lol

Norma lol! We used to take them skiing.
Here’s a link to them on Amazon (at a stupidly ridiculous price), but I’m pretty sure Kensington Wine Market has them for much cheaper. A travel store might have them too. They fold flat in your suitcase, and are really good for protecting the bottles.
https://www.amazon.ca/Wine-Skin-WineSkin.../dp/B0033C6FOM
AMAZON.CA
Wine Skin WineSkin Bag, 2-Pack

Heather I would use them if readily available, or a REALLY expensive bottle. But so far, I've been lucky w my 'single use plastic shopping bags' as defined by our useless leader, so will keep on using those for now. The key really is to support the bottle w clothes and pack them tightly into the middle of the suitcase.

Kevin is that carry on or checked and do you usually have multiple planes on your flight path…we always have problems on multi plan destinations

Sue checked bag. Wrapped well. Have done the flight home with one stop also. No breakage.
Just need to wrap in cloths and place in the middle of the bag.
I collect rocks and the rocks aren’t usually in the same bag lol.

Norma I laughed at “useless leader” more than I probably should have

Heather I’ve bought wine, beer, vanilla all back in soft sided. I make sure they are wrapped in clothes. Or bubble wrap in the middle of everything. I’ve yet to have anything leak. I pray that I don’t see my suitcase wet

Amber Reid
I’m sure lots of people have replied but 100% soft shell bags!!! I work in baggage for an airline and I’d say 80% of our damage claims are for the hard sided bags

Soft shell all the way. IT luggage is 5 pounds for the large suitcase. Had ours for years. We travel about 8 to 10 times a year.

I travel A LOT (I’m at home for less than 3 months a year). I have always used hard shell and NEVER had any problem at all. I was traveling during torrential down pour and my clothes ended up damp (yes. Even in the hard shell -because of the zipper). I can only imagine how wet items in a soft shell would be. As for the ability to overstuff, I find that if I’m over stuffing, the suitcase ends up being overweight anyhow.

100% soft. The way hard open is less space efficient, the hard shells can crack and they don't have as much give to "overstuff'.

My samsonite soft shell is only 7 lbs. I tore a small hole in the side but this was my fault at home. It’s still going good after 6 years.
My old hard shell was 12 lbs.
I now use luggage straps for added durability.

Don, my large hard shell is 6 lbs. They make them light these days.

Noranna what kind is it

Don, I dont know. I’d have to look, but I know that when we bought it, all the ones we looked at were between 6 and 9 lbs.

It’s a Samsonite and we just weighed it and apparently I was wrong, it’s 7 lbs.

I just changed to a hard shell and loved it. No damage. I got a large suitcase at London drugs, a European brand and it was great. They do get marked but I washed mine and it looks great.

I was sure glad to have hardshell when I was in Paris in a place with bedbugs. A fabric suitcase would have had to be disposed of.
I was also glad to have hardshell in the tropics where the humidity is incredible.

I hate hard sided - you can’t open it without laying it flat. There’s no opening the top and putting something in at the top and you can’t use a luggage rack because it splits down the middle, not just a lid to open and rest against a wall.
We bought one hard sided piece because it was pretty, but it was horrendous and we gave it away after one use

Loved your post. We just bought hard sided luggage in the past few weeks but found out today that a tour we’ve got booked for June only allows for soft sided luggage. Thankfully we’ve got some older ones that will work but would be a pain if we only had hard sided

Almost 10 years with my Sansonite hard shell and they look brand new however I strongly suggest you check the restrictions of the country you are going to. There are some countries that have band wheels as they break the covelstone. If going to Europe a soft shell backpack is the way to do it

Hard is more secure, waterproof and easily cleaned.

Try Value Village in Sage Hill. They had tons of luggage in good shape this past weekend!

I didn't check the prices on the luggage, but they had a Keurig coffee machine on for $8.50 and I bought a hair dryer for $6 that works perfectly

As long as it's not cloth material you're good. Damp and wet clothes is no fun. Samsonite case has served me well for over a decade and it still looks brand new.

We’ve had our soft sided expandable luggage for years. Has stood up well. You can’t clean it as easy as hardsided. We use hard sided ones for carry on. Like them too.

I’ve been travelling for 45 years & Eagle Creek has been my brand up until this years trip! Bought a hard shell (*checked) with compatible carry on, so I could pull everything. Small backpack w small purse/ money carrier.
Its must now due to knee problems.
Loved the ease! Bus to ferry to airport
.
Last year I put a 1/2 hard shell, 1/2 soft shell (Dakine) inside a huge Eagle Creek rolling duffle. I knew I would be bringing back rugs from Oaxaca!
Every trip seems to require thought
for luggage!!! I love good quality, & durable & over hundreds of domestic & international trips its always the most impt thing.
My hardshell & slip on semi hard carryon was the best combo yet!
Note, the blue fit onto the pink! The key was to have finger room to pull both! Lots of shopping with measuring tape
Bottom line, the 1/2 hard shell, 1/2 soft Dakine… my all time favourite! $14.00 second hand!
* and if u know eagle creek u know they are not cheap!

We ditched all the luggage and bought these to travel with. The front detaches and becomes a daypack/backpack. Works as a carry on. Pricey but we all love.
Slowly collecting for each member of the family. Carries enough clothes for 4/5 days … we travel for weeks and just do laundry. It is light. Easy to wheel. And we love the daypack for days or overnight getaways.

i think its more about the wheels, I travel for a living and 2 wheels are the way to go, 4 wheels tend to snap off easier. and soft is my vote

I use hard shell and have never had one crack. I like the security of knowing the snacks I purchase abroad won't get squished

Soft for us. I like the flexibility of expanding it if needed, and exterior pockets can be handy. I don’t like how hard shell opens in the middle. Your stuff is divided between the top & bottom. Plus soft is so light!

We do soft and never had problem. We got bags easier when traveling in vehicle

Bought expensive hard shell luggage only to find it cracked right down the front after an overseas trip. Back to soft luggage now.

Seen to many hard shells come out of the shoot crack or duct taped together. Soft all the way.

Glad you asked this because I’ve been debating getting a hard sided one (mainly to bring wine back from ON
) but am leery about it cracking. Maybe I’ll stick with the soft sided one I have!

Christy we have a wine suitcase that we took to Portugal with us last year - it’s fantastic! Some wineries will also sell cardboard boxes with styrofoam insulation for shipping - just tape it up, write your address on it and check it in as luggage.

Christy get a Rimowa. It doesn’t crack and it lasts forever. They do tend to get banged up looking but it only shows how much travelling it has taken.

Hard case only for me, but you got to get a really good one!!! My last one I got in Japan and it lasted me 10 years and I travel A LOT! Just got a new one this week. The other could have still been going, but have had to one of locks changed and I could t be bothered.

We just jumped the shark.

I have hard and soft shell, I find I can fit more in my soft shell, and I also find a benefit to my hard shell as I can just wipe it down and it’s clean….

I love my hardshell. Cleaner and more secure. I have tons of space, too much in fact. I hit my weight limit before it's over stuffed.

Soft. You can cram a lot more into it.we only do carry ons so the more I can get in the better!

Cotopaxi or Osprey 40L backpack.
If you can’t carry it with you, then I wouldn’t take it at all .

Good question, I need new luggage

My thought is that soft sided ones can fit in places that hard sometimes can’t but I’d worry if I packed anything breakable that it wouldn’t survive the trip

Hard and clips, no zipper, safer

I prefer hard, my soft sided got wet’once so did my clothes inside.

Soft for me…more compartments and zippered storage on the outside of the luggage

Use both and never had a problem with either.

Love that city!

Thanks for posting this! Currently debating

I have a hard shell Samsonite for 16 years, so....

Soft sided and always carry it on so i have control of the elements and location. We have this suitcase and have taken it on over 40 flights to 20 countries in the last several years. We pack a capsule wardrobe of 12 to 14 items (plus underwear, socks and accessories) for a 5 day or 5 weeks trip. We haven't been too exposed to rain but I am thinking about buying a cover from Amazon as extra protection.
https://travelpro.ca/products/maxlite%C2%AE-5-compact-carry-on-expandable-spinner?variant=40385405517887&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=17612597262&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzoeuBhDqARIsAMdH14EaEz4KRfmQsbXKjoyUmvxylFlccMvo8R3m-8BISV46i76tk-MgbYwaAoraEALw_wcB
TRAVELPRO.CA
Maxlite® 5 Compact Carry-On Expandable Spinner

We have the Dakine soft rollers and they are fantastic. Super durable!

Shanna Dakine's bags in general are awesome. I have the 70l EQ duffel and it's bombproof.