Suitcases have a max 2 trip usage limit!

[StopRainingNow]

I am starting to think there is no such thing as a suitcase that is not in essence disposable. I've never had one survive more than two trips without being broken, normally the wheels. So sick of keep buying new suitcases.

Does anyone know of any where the wheels don't snap, or become unusable?

All the way! We now have 6, so one each for every occasion. Oldest pair is at least 15 years

I use Samsonite or Tripp. After about 25 years one Samsonite handle got slightly twisted by airline and I could buy spare parts. I have replaced my hard shell ones because of the weight. Modern fabrics are much lighter which means that I can pack more. The old ones are used as trunks in my attic.

The wheels of the carry on I used for work wore out. They had been trundled for way more than 10000 steps a day. That was ‘overuse’ rather than ‘misuse’.

Are you seriously overfilling your luggage?

Mine are from M&S, 10 year guarantee.
We usually go on tours that often involve multiple flights, & I estimate that we've done 30 flights since we bought them. So that's 60 lots of baggage handling, with just a couple of small black marks on them.

Charity shops always have suitcases, and as they’re older they’re often well-made. Or if it falls apart you only spent £10. I have a charity shop one that’s indestructible, made by M&S, cost a tenner.

Oh a pp has just reminded me we have our original two hardshell Samsonite ‘Oyster’ suitcases. Bright blue they are. About 25 years old but not been used for 15 of those since we bought lightweight soft material ones.

I disagree about needing to pay more for suitcases for them to last. My first suitcase as an adult was £13 from Matalan and it survived many trips and I still use it on occasion today if the size suits, but in reality it's a bit big for what I need now I'm usually going on short trips and minimising the cost of extra luggage.

We've also got a couple of IT cases and another that didn't cost very much from Costco and they've all been in aircraft holds many times without issue. They appear to be virtually indestructable, which is great but partly annoys me because if they broke I could justify buying something else, just because I fancy a change.

An expensive Samsonite/Antler or other high end brand would literally need to last for centuries to come out ahead on a cost per usage basis.

My husband took 50 flights last year and his Samsonite is still in excellent condition.

Similarly our Away bags which we’ve had for years barely look touched after multiple flights.

I agree with this. Had Tripp soft shell for years and are now on Tripp hard shell cases.

I have a Samsonite that I bought in 1987 when I started my first job. I travelled a lot in my 35 year career and it has been many times round the world. It looks a bit battered, but still does the job.

Kipling. Wheels and zips are sturdy.

Had my cheap IT soft suitcase for about 10/12 years, still going strong and been on a few long hauls with me. Had my cabin bags years too.

One tip I got from a baggage handler I dated briefly...don't use more than one fragile sticker (preferably none), the more fragile stickers on a case, the rougher it's getting handled.

We have some John Lewis ones which we’ve had for about 8 years. And some unbranded ones which lasted almost as long.

I think it depends on your baggage handlers - we had one get totally smashed up between Heathrow and Munich (literally came off the carousel with the whole base and wheels torn off, which was fun as we then had a four hour train ride to the hotel, and the same back again a week later). The suitcase wasn’t the issue, it had obviously become caught on something.

Interesting pile on! We've also had a few broken cases, what we've done wrong is to let professionals like easyJet put the bag in their hold. Magically 4 wheeled case emerges at the carousel as 3 wheeled case. This has happened more than once and yes, they were not crap cases.

This. My suitcase has built in wheels. I have had it for over 20 years now. Used 2 or 3 times each year.

Only ever had one suitcase break and I must have taken hundreds of flights over the past forty years.

Yes! Mine is still going strong since I bought it in 1997. An airport handler recently admired it, winked at me, and said "Ahh, Samsonite" with a big thumbs-up 🤣

My (cheap) suitcase is 14years old and has really been abused. Its zip is starting to look a bit questionable so everything gets packed into a carrier bag in it now in case of emergency.

Do you pack them properly?

Mine are at least 10 to 15 years old and still work fine.

What?

I have broken exactly 1 suitcase in my life, and it was second hand to begin with and I used it loads before it broke. Eventually the wheels snapped while transporting a very heavy load of sound equipment that it wasn't designed to carry (not just clothes for a holiday etc...).

My main one has a pattern on it that is a bit scuffed up from many holidays but perfectly usable just not 'brand new' looking.

me too, always had an IT suitcase and never had a problem. Usually bought with a voucher from Matalan.

Interestingly, our charity shop had an Aerolite large cabin bag like the one we have on sale for £5.99 yesterday.

If they are being destroyed by baggage handlers at the airport (not the airline) hope you are claiming for them.

I have only had one suitcase ruined, that was handlers at Schiphol, they taped around the case with parcel tape over the zips which had split, which meant the glue stuck to the zips could not be opened, the case was about 3 weeks old, got a full refund from KLM as I had all the receipts from buying the case in Sweden.

There must also be something you're doing to result in this though such as over packing them as otherwise everyone else would have broken suitcases. It seems statistically unlikely that it's just the airline that is causing them to break.

I have finally retired a suitcase I got from Woolworths 19 years ago. Actually I got a pair and its companion is still going strong.

Are you using hard shell? We have a combination of samsonite and tripp which have done loads of trips over the years. But they are all soft shell and ive always felt that it has a bit more give if the airlines are chucking them about. I just keep anything breakable in my hand luggage / backpack.