Is a £££ suitcase just asking to be robbed?

[CrazyPavedLife]

I need to buy both a cabin and hold suitcase. I really like the Brics brand (£500+) and have also seen a fabric one I like but I’m wondering about durability.

I haven’t flown in donkey’s years so I’ve no idea how it all works these days but I’ve been horrified at the amount of friends and social media accounts I follow posting about lost, damaged and rifled through luggage.

Am I right in thinking that if you’re going to either spend a lot on a case or get a fabric one, that that should be your cabin case that you keep nearby and that any hold luggage need to be a hard and unassuming case with padlocks?

Any advice/brand recs appreciated.

Afterthought: Or are the hard cases liable to crack if they are chucked about?!

I fly multiple times a month for work. I have good quality, expensive suitcases that last me hundreds of trips before breaking. I have never been robbed because I have an expensive suitcase. The suitcase might get lost / damaged, but that’s what insurance is for. I have lost expensive bags, I have also lost cheap bags. It’s all the same.

They look like hard cases but are in reality ultralight polypropylene which is a really flexible material.

We travel a lot and we have luggage that is expensive-ish (Tumi/Away) but not flashy. Minimal branding and they are pretty beaten up but if you were looking I guess you would know. We’ve never had any trouble with theft or loss. 🤞 The checked baggage gets really roughly treated sometimes so if you’re going to travel a lot it might be worth investing. Good companies will stand by their warranties and replace or repair.

I would say it depends where you go and on the colour.

I know it sounds daft but the majority of people who have theirs lost/ stolen/ opened seen to be dark blue or black. This is solemnly based on my friends & fellow travellers experience.

I have a cheapish hardcase and have had it for around 8 years. Its bright yellow & green and I'm always able to spot it a mile away.

Thanks @GrandSlamFinalee that’s helpful. We won’t actually be flying that often so I’m hoping if I spend out that they’ll last a lifetime! Luck of the draw regarding it going awol I suppose.

Why would you buy expensive luggage when you won't fly that much? Just buy OK quality. I travel a LOT and buy hard case for 'normal' travelling and Osprey packs for adventure stuff. There's a risk of splitting but I've always had the zips fail on hard case before the body. And yes, padlocks or zipties.

The most important thing is buying NOT grey/silver/black. Every case on the carousel looks identical. Buy orange or neon blue.

@Ylvamoon That’s interesting about the colour. I’ve seen a nice green one, so I may go for that.

@Rickrollme More than one person I know reporting stolen luggage had the Ted Baker bow case, so I guess minimal branding is definitely better!

£500 seems a ludicrous amount to spend on a case IMO. We have IT brand cases because they are very light.

@MrsTerryPratchett

'The most important thing is buying NOT grey/silver/black. Every case on the carousel looks identical. Buy orange or neon blue. important thing is buying NOT grey/silver/black.'

This works until everyone has bought an orange or neon blue!

Thanks @MrsTerryPratchett In answer, because I like the design and don’t mind investing the money if the spendier brands are worth it. I’m in the debating stage of practicality vs design and £. I’ll def go for a distinctive colour though.

Bit of a drip-feed, but we haven’t travelled in years due to small children with medical needs but it’s something I want to be brave and overcome, and do more of in future years. It means having an extra suitcase with supplies in wherever we go, which would be a bit of an issue if it were lost or severely damaged. I could perhaps pack this in the carry-on, of course and get a GP cert. for it. It’s all new to me, to be honest and I haven’t quite worked it all out yet!

”Adventure stuff” sounds exciting!

In that case (boom boom) I'd buy cheap as chips and get nicer if it all works out.

Adventure stuff is anywhere the wheels are impractical!

@RampantIvy I do agree! Happy to spend it IF it’s worth it. Thanks for the brand rec. light is also good.

I could perhaps pack this in the carry-on, of course and get a GP cert. for it
Absolutely do this if it’s that important! I’d be less worried about theft and more worried about the airline misplacing it- I’ve never had a bag stolen or even heard of it happening to anyone I know but 3 times in the last 5 years-ish I’ve had checked luggage not make the flight. Thankfully it’s always shown up a day or 2 later but that’s not much help if it’s critical medication.

Re suitcases we only have samsonsite now- they’ve lasted well, do the job, overall very happy with them. The C Lite range is excellent as it gives the protection of a hard shell but it’s super lightweight.

@MrsTerryPratchett That’s probably the best strategy.

Oh to have adventures again!

I have fabric cases, Tripp and IT, and don't use padlocks. I've never had an issue and I fly regularly. I wouldn't want a hard shell case as they tend to be heavy to start with so lose some baggage allowance

I don't have an answer to your question, but i want to respond to your interest in fabric. I recently wanted to travel light and so i needed a smaller case and happened to buy fabric. It rained. I will be getting a smaller hard case. They don't crack. I have an old delsy one that just has a few dents.

I have the American Tourister hard shell cases from Costco.

They were good value and lightweight.

I went for a bright colour so it is noticeable on the conveyor and I also have a colourful personalised strap on it so it stands out.

@RandomQuest I’ll always have lifesaving meds in my handbag, there’s just a lot of other stuff to take too. Just looking at the C-lite now, thanks.

I received a set of Brics cases when I was 21 as a birthday present (also discounted as they worked in a suitcase shop!) and I’m still using two of the three now - 14 years later. The zip went on one of the larger ones last year though I could probably get it fixed. So they’re definitely durable! I love the little weekender bag particularly - it’s served me very well. I’m sure I’d have had to buy 2 or 3 cheaper ones during that time as they got worn out and tatty, so it feels like good value for money overall. Never had any of them nicked or rifled through (that I’m aware of!).

P.S. I’ve also never had an issue with them
in the rain.

Any lock is fine just make sure you have something to prevent opportunistic theft. It's actually really easy to break into a suitcase using a pen to force the zip. I found this out when we locked the padlock key into the case.

We bought fairly expensive cases recently (£200 or so each for medium size) and I'm hoping they'll last a lot better than the cheap ones we had before that were worn out within 5 years and that included 2 or 3 years of very light use due to covid. We can see from the scuff marks on them that they were handled roughly but no dents in the body of the cases themselves. We went for polycarbonate material as its strong and light. Polypropylene is ok but not as good as PC, ABS is the worst.

I could only get black and grey but tie a bright coloured ribbon on the handles before we travel so they're easy to spot.

Over the last few years there’s been a massive shift to hard cases. On the conveyor belt at European airports I’d say 90-95% are hard now.
Having said that, I wouldn’t buy a really expensive one for fear of it being noticed and stolen.

Oh and hard cases absolutely can crack if you buy bad quality ones and they are handled roughly. Happened to mine.

Slightly off subject. You can get an extra piece of carry on luggage for medical equipment. You just need to have it added to your booking and a gp letter. You have to go down the special lane at security and especially if you have medical liquids they tripple check!
Also check because the company that delivers our supplies can deliver to a holiday destination too. It is daunting but navigatable (also check insurance as ours was £250 for a week, had to go through a specialist company).
Re baggage getting lost/broken the airline don't do new for old on luggage they do however for medical equipment that is too big for carry on as I'm discovering now after they broke wheelchair on plane (12 weeks later and we still haven't got compensation although 6 weeks ago they admitted fault). So any medical equipment you can take on board is best. Think we had 10kg medical allowance plus wheelchair in hold last time.
Speak to the airlines special assistance team and then the airport special assistance team.

I'd buy lightweight hardwearing ones and be willing to spend a bit more for that. Are you talking about £500 for a set?

I've got antler ones so decent but not flashy.