How to Find and Shop for Quality Luggage

Shopping for Quality Luggage

How do you determine quality in luggage or baggage?

Do you determine quality by brand name or price?

Do you depend on the recommendations of others or previous experience with a particular type or brand?

Or are certain features and materials used in the bag what you use to determine which luggage and bags are made with quality?

In this article we will share the ways that we use in order to separate the wheat from the chaff when looking for quality and dependable luggage.

Price - The phrase “you get what you pay for” immediately comes to mind to most when considering the price to pay for new bags and luggage. While this is certain true in many cases, it should not be the sole determining factor in deciding which set of luggage that you should buy.

I often advise people to try to buy the best luggage set or bag that they can afford at the time while trying to stay in the middle of the range of prices offered for the type of bag that you are shopping for.

By staying in the “middle of the road” so to speak, and not buying the most expensive or the cheapest bag or luggage set that is for sale I have had reasonable luck so far in my luggage purchases.

Materials -The exterior material that your luggage is made from plays the largest part in determining the quality of the overall item.

Hardside luggage should be made using either polycarbonate or ABS plastic as they have the highest resistance to wear, abrasion and cracking or breaking.

While luggage made from other plastics may advertise themselves as being lighter, more high tech or the ‘latest and greatest’, when it comes to protecting my valuable items when traveling, I stick with the tried and true ABS and polycarbonate luggage.

Softside luggage should have a denier count in their product description. All other things being equal, the higher the denier count, the stronger and more wear/tear resistant the material will be.

At a minimum, 600 count polyester should be considered the absolute minimum when looking for new softside luggage and is typically found in luggage at the lower end of the price scale.

Better quality, and more expensive and durable materials, such as ballistic nylon with a denier count in the range of 1800-2500, are typically found in higher end baggage and will stand up to most use and abuse without any problems.

Construction - Materials and features mean nothing if the luggage is not properly assembled and manufactured.

Seams and zippers should be double stitched with high strength nylon thread.

Corners should be reinforced with extra layers of leather or plastic covers in order to reduce wear.

Edges should be reinforced with welts or piping in order to give additional strength and wear resistance.

Wheels - Wheeled bags and luggage can be used to easily move and transport weights that would be nearly impossible to pick up and carry.

Wheels should be partially recessed into the luggage and shielded with plastic guards in order to prevent breakage or loss during rough handling or getting stuck in conveyors.

Spinner type luggage is more maneuverable and typically have 4 wheels that are free to rotate, compared to most other regular wheeled luggage that has two fixed wheels.

Wide ‘roller blade’ type wheels are normally the best and can be found on most wheeled luggage sold today. They prevent marking surfaces, and provide a little bit of shock absorbing quality when rolling the luggage over hard and uneven surfaces.

Hard plastic are found on cheaper luggage and typically break if the bag is overloaded or not treated carefully. Normally the the plastic wheels are the first thing to go on luggage this inexpensive, turning a wheeled luggage bag into a drag bag.

Zippers - Zippers are often overlooked when purchasing new luggage until it is too late to do anything about it but can often be one of the key factors in determining whether a bag was made with high quality and durability in mind.

Zippers should have large pull tabs and/or cloth or elastic extenders that allow for easy grabbing. The teeth of the zipper itself should be large and made out of metal, not plastic.

The way that the zipper is attached to the luggage itself also says a lot about the overall quality of the bag. The best zippers are on strips of heavy cloth that is double stitched into the bag itself on both sides of the zipper.

Handles and Carrying Straps - Handles and carrying straps are how you will contact the luggage and bags the majority of the time that you own them, so take special care to pay particular attention to this detail.

In the case of luggage handles, make sure that they are securely fastened to the luggage itself using study webbing and double stitching that is in an X pattern where it is attached to the bag. Handles can also be screwed or riveted to the baggage in order to provide additional support.

Carrying straps should be anchored to the bag using sturdy metal swivel connectors that include a method of detaching the strap when not needed.

Both handles and carrying straps should be well padded with non-slip surfaces in order to increase comfort while carrying them and reducing fatigue during long walks between terminals.

Last Thoughts about Finding Quality Bags and Luggage

Brands of luggage and bags that are well known for dependable high quality and durability include: Victorinox Swiss Army, Samsonite and American Tourister. These are well known brands with good reputations for quality that they don’t want to jeopardize by selling cheap or flawed merchandise.

I personally own and use on a regular basis both American Tourister laptop carry-on bags and Samsonite softside luggage for most of my travels needs and find that they meet my requirements for quality and durability with no problems.