Love it, Like it, or Thumbs down to HARD Shell Luggage

Forevermarypoppins

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 1, 2015
I'm looking to update my 19 year old luggage. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of Hard Shell luggage but it must be popular enough because I see it everywhere. What do you think about yours?
 
I never thought I would like it but I came across a really good deal on some a couple years back and thought I might as well give it a try. I love mine! When it gets dirty you just wipe it with a damp towel, mine hasn't gotten scratched at all, and honestly I think it's lighter than my soft luggage was. It's more water-resistant and doesn't pick up odors.
 
The nice thing is that you can clean it. :)

The only luggage that I don't care for (for checking a bag only, carry on is fine) is the 4 wheel bags. I know, they glide and are smooth as silk. But the wheels are completely exposed, and baggage handlers can be ROUGH! I have seen too many that lost a wheel. It is hard to find only the 2 wheelers nowadays, but there's still a few out there.
 


I prefer soft side with some structure such as a telescoping wand and wheels. I don't travel regularly with items that will be destroyed/broken/crushed in soft side and if the need arose Fedex, UPS, etc would be fine.
I think hard shell is great for the fashion forward and extremely cautious.
 
I got a set of ebags mother lode luggage a few years ago. I love it! Part hard shell, and part softside, very sturdy. It expands, which is a nice option.
 


I never thought I’d say it, but I love it. I finally gave in and got some after reading some horror stories of people’s luggage getting wet when being loaded into the plane when raining. I use packing cubes to stay organized and it’s much more durable.
 
We're on our second set of hard-shell in about 15 years. Like others have said, it's way lighter than fabric luggage. The reason we're on our 2nd set though is because it's not impervious to damage; the beating it takes during air travel is maddening. We're talking good quality stuff too - Swiss Army.
 
In terms of weight I would actually say there are a variety of of soft-sided now that are lightweight (especially after 19 years you'd be surprised at what newer soft-sided ones are out there) weigh less than hard-sided. I know our large one is lightweight. Just need to compare on that one. It's not a given that hard-sided is less weight.

I do think cleaning hard-sided is easier and in for water it's only going to be the zipper point in terms of exposure.

That thing that has stopped me from not getting hard-sided is I use the outside pockets on the soft-sided every single trip. I do like all the different colors and patterns that seem to be more prevalent than soft-sided but at this time having those outside pockets is a must for me.
 
In terms of weight I would actually say there are a variety of of soft-sided now that are lightweight (especially after 19 years you'd be surprised at what newer soft-sided ones are out there) weigh less than hard-sided. I know our large one is lightweight. Just need to compare on that one. It's not a given that hard-sided is less weight.

I do think cleaning hard-sided is easier and in for water it's only going to be the zipper point in terms of exposure.

That thing that has stopped me from not getting hard-sided is I use the outside pockets on the soft-sided every single trip. I do like all the different colors and patterns that seem to be more prevalent than soft-sided but at this time having those outside pockets is a must for me.
:lovestruc My sweet, sweet DH surprised me with this set for a trip we took to DL Paris. They are sort of hybrids that do have exterior pockets, which I agree are very handy. They are heavy though, much heavier than our hard-siders. We basically only use them now for road trips.
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:lovestruc My sweet, sweet DH surprised me with this set for a trip we took to DL Paris. They are sort of hybrids that do have exterior pockets, which I agree are very handy. They are heavy though, much heavier than our hard-siders. We basically only use them now for road trips.
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Ooohhhh I did not know they made something like that. That is such a cute set!

I think with my older style soft-sided the weight is probably pretty similar but they would def. be heavier than our newer lightweight soft-sided luggage.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention because I had no idea they even made a hybrid of the two :hyper:
 
I have a hard sided Delsey carry-on that I love. It’s lighter than my soft sided bag that’s the same size, and it’s SO much easier to get into and out of the overhead bin. I can’t see myself ever going back to a soft bag, just for that reason.

It also has a “hatch” that opens out in front that’s perfect for my laptop. It saves me from having to lug it in my shoulder tote, and I can easily get at the laptop at security.

I think it’s this one.

https://www.ebags.com/product/delse...-on-spinner-trolley/283246?productid=10333833
 
I've tried both, and hard shell seems to be more durable. One of the soft-sided frames was crushed the first time I used it. pffft.
 
Timely thread. I'm looking to buy a GIANT suitcase for my upcoming trip to Disney (2 weeks) and have been looking at the hardsided ones. I'm only shopping in places like Homegoods for it as I don't travel much; however, the hardside seems to be lighter than the fabric ones they are selling.
 
We use both as our trips involve many pieces of luggage. And both soft and hard shells serve their purposes differently. Hard I like because it protects delicate fragile things better. I honestly don’t have a hardshell that I can say is lighter than fabric. And I prefer the huge fabric ones as I could simply stuff more things in there with a hardshell you’re physically limited more with space if they don’t give us much. With fabric suitcases you can really stuff those things and they expand. I also like the outside pockets where I can for example stuff my wet swimsuit in last minute while waiting for the MDE pick up. . With a hardshell you have to open the whole dang thing. My carry-on though is hard shell which I love more actually because it’s a Rimowa ( Loui Vuitton of luggage) and looks great. Though with a soft shell carry-on I know I could stuff a lot more things into it. Hard shells can get dented and scratched we’re soft shell can get ripped. I’ve traveled a lot these past 40 years and just recently or soft shell suitcase got a big rip in the back it didn’t rip all the way through to the contents and I was able to fix it with an iron on patch.
 
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Just another tip don’t spend too much money on luggage and also don’t go super cheap. If you go super cheap you risk getting a set that just reeks of cheap plastic. And don’t spend too much because either the TSA will cut your TSA lock, happened to us. Or it will be banged scratched dented what not
 

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