How to Choose a Suitcase

Most people walk into a luggage shop without a clear idea of what they need. That's normal. Here's how we'd narrow it down.

Start with the wheels

It's the first thing our staff check on any case, and it's the first thing that fails on a cheap one. Two wheels or four? Four-wheel spinners glide beside you and take the weight off your wrist — better on smooth floors, which is most of an airport. Two-wheel cases tilt and drag, which handles rough pavement better and gives you a little more packing space because the wheels sit inside the shell.

Whichever you pick, spin them with your hand before you buy. They should turn freely and silently, and they shouldn't wobble at the mount.

Then hard or soft

Hard shells protect what's inside and can't be over-stuffed — which matters if you're flying close to a size limit. They scratch, though every finish hides it differently.

Soft bags are lighter for their size, have outside pockets you can reach without opening the whole thing, and squeeze into car boots and overhead lockers that a hard case argues with.

If you check bags regularly and pack fragile things, go hard. If you're mostly weekending and want pockets, go soft.

A word on material

Not all hard cases are the same plastic. Polycarbonate flexes under impact and springs back. Polypropylene is tougher and slightly heavier. Cheaper cases are often ABS, which is the one that cracks — and cracking is the second most common complaint we hear after wheels. We don't sell ABS.

Then the size

• Cabin — a long weekend, or a week if you pack tightly. The one to get right on measurements.
• Medium — a week or two for one person. The size most people should own if they only own one.
• Large — two weeks plus, families, or anyone who comes home heavier than they left.
• Sets — cheaper than buying the same cases separately, and they nest, so they store in the space of the biggest one.

Buy the size for the trip you take most often, not the biggest trip you've ever taken. An oversized case invites you to fill it, and then you're paying for weight.

Things worth checking with your hands

Extend the handle fully and give it a shake — a little play is normal, a rattle is not. Lift the empty case; every kilo it weighs is a kilo you can't pack. Run a zip round a corner. Open it and look at whether the interior is actually organised or just a lining.

And then the boring bit that matters most

Ask what happens when something breaks. Wheels and handles are mechanical parts and they do fail eventually. A case with a real warranty and a real repair route is worth more than one with a longer feature list. Ours is three years on the parts that move, with a prepaid label and a repair centre behind it.