O well-travelled MNers, your wisdom on the deathly dull topic of luggage please..

[OliviaMumsnet]

We have three holdalls but DH would like a CASE.
Which is better for travelling with PFB and all the crap paraphernalia you need for a fortnight in the sun with a 4 month old please, a hard case or a soft case?
TIA

I would say that a larger single item is easier to handle than smaller items as you will have all the other baby stuff to handle. A hard, light case would be my preference, I think.

let DH decide - he will be carrying it all because you will have PFB - so not your problem

Hard
with wheels
It MUST have wheels
and therefore it must be hard

Oh yes V good point Throck

But not a hard case that can only open oyster fashion (ie: you have to lie it fully open to get into it) because lots of hotel rooms simply don't have the space to do this and you will spend the holiday with one hand frantically feeling your way around the partially opened case for what you want.

as a frequent traveller

Hard shell, 4 wheels, Samsonite with a handle and doglead pull...oh and smallish don't forget 20kg limit on planes... we've now abandoned our larger samsonite as you can't fill it up!

I used to say hard shell (probably more robust), but found I can fit more into a soft-sided case - some even come with a mid-case zip which, when utilised, expands the case to give about an inch more in depth. Also, wonder if hard shells are heavier thus leaving less weight available for contents.

I have abandoned travelling with a single large case (which I prefer) in favour of several smaller cases. Airline weight allowances per case have caused me to change the way we travel. A single large case is almost inevitably over the allowable limit and overweight charges are scary.

we have a bright red samsonite hardcase, 2 wheels solid handle it is brilliant.

however we are about to go and get a couple of new suitcases as we have that huge one and then 2 tiny carryon cases

hard sided we have just bought some new samsonites and they are very light
soft ones just don't protect anything at all
we have bought 3 medium sized ones for a family of 4

I prefer soft, they all come with wheels & pulling handle anyway. Agree with previous poster that easier to travel with 2 smaller soft bags than one large hard one.....however BA has scuppered that bright idea. Don't forget BA only let you take one case per person (within europe) these days.

Soft shell Samsonite with two wheels and pull out handle, and expansion zip. Mines black, but I can still spot it easily (but we've been together through an awful lot of airports). Get one each so that either he can tow both, or you can do one each.

Definitely hard case, preferably Samsonite. I used to work in air cargo, and you wouldn't believe the way some of the soft cases got mangled

sub rosa - my DH works in air cargo too - Hard shell is the only option when you've seen some of the contents of soft cases strewn round the belts!

Ps ours are a weird green colour - very easy to spot.

I travel lots - my suggestions are:

(i) 4 wheels good, 2 wheels bad
(ii) Hard or medium or soft cases depends upon what you propose to put IN the case. If nothing breakable then soft/medium is better because hard cases weigh more and will take you closer to your weight allowance. Weight allowances vary according to airline (around 20kg) but are getting rigorously enforced nowadays
(iii) Distinctive on the carousel is good
(iv) Carry some spare underwear and essentials in a holdall on the plane in case checked-in luggage gets lost