Hard shell or soft case? Best brands?

[SnowGlobes]

The handle on my wheelie case has broken. All our cases are shabby. Is it worth getting an expensive one? Hard shell or is soft still good. Want a few sizes for long haul holidays and weekend trips. Obviously lightweight. Any recommendations please?

[Helenluvsrob]

For cabin size " it" or " sub zero " very light weight wheels cases are great. They last well ( as they aren't generally out of your hands though we've had them checked in uneventfully. I'd try them in a bigger size maybe?

We have hard sided samsonite shell cases that are many years old. Wouldn't fly them as you loose so much allowance with the weight of the case.

I'm hoping someone will recommend a medium sized hold case to me. We had some a few years ago ( wheels failed) that were perfect as they had a mesh cover both sides that zipped to allow you to fill each half effectively. Anyone know where to find these ?

[Madbengalmum]

Best cases full stop are Samsonite cosmolite. Available in all cabin sizes and hold sizes. It is a hard sided case that weighs next to nothing. They are bomb proof, not cheap but brilliant. Everyone i know that has one wont use anything else.

[Madbengalmum]

To add ours go about ten times a year on a plane and after ten yrs are still like new.

[Hersetta427]

I have a Samsonite ultra light case and it is lovely but very expensive. mine was almost £200 from their factory outlet shop. For soft sided I always choose tripp - get the lightest weight one you can. They are great - mine have been coming on holiday with us for at least 15 years.

[Orangebird69]

Samsonite soft shell.

[Orangebird69]

Although I generally only fly BA and the hand luggage weight limit is 23kg . Bought mine from a Samsonite outlet in the US a couple of years ago. I fly 6-8 times a year. Still good as new. DH bought hardshell. Very nice but between Saudi and the UK, they manage to smash his hold luggage suitcase. Fuck knows how.

[Longdistance]

I've always gone for soft cases as they seem to be able to fill and expand better. The hard cases not so much, as they seem more rigid and I've seen more broken hard cases in my time than the soft ones, and I lived out of cases for 15 years ✈️

[KingPrawnOkay]

No comment but following because I need new ones too. I will say though I took a hard shell case once on an easyJet flight and they smashed it to pieces, massive hole where a wheel should have been and cracked to shit. Not a particularly cheap case either.

[Orangebird69]

Another reason I avoided hard shell is because I know I'd cry if it got scratched

[SnowGlobes]

Oops! Seems I've ignored all the advice here and have bought this set of hardcases from Amazon as has great reviews. They survived a way out trip to Australia (so 3 sets of luggage handlers) but let's see how they hold up on the way back & over the years! They seem very sturdy!

Sunydeal ABS Hard Shell Luggage Trolley Bag Case Super Lightweight 4 Wheel Spinning... <a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JNWAQY0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_1hJhAxDskhnM8?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JNWAQY0/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apip_1hJhAxDskhnM8?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[delilahbucket]

We got some very expensive hard shell designer cases that lasted one trip.
The following year we bought some soft lightweight ones from Asda and they have been brilliant. They have been abroad twice now and survived.

[feesh]

Regular traveller here. I much prefer soft shell as they are less likely to get broken. I am a huge fan of Eastpak (I have 9 of them!) because the value for money/quality is excellent.

[heateallthebuns]

I know it would vary with what you take but what approx sizes would anyone recommend for soft shell for 15kg and 20kg allowances?

[Havanaclub]

Soft shell for me too. Great to have a zippy pocket or two on the outside for the inevitable little things you forget and can just slip them in.

You can fit more in them too for sure.

OH likes the hard shell, but then again he never forgets anything, whereas I'm always stuffing things in the outside zip part!

[lottachocca]

Good quality - you don't want zips and wheels to let you down! And absolutely soft shell - we hire cars frequently and it's so much easier to get a few soft shell cases into the boot.