Hard Suitcase Recommendations

Paully D

Hi all,

I'm doing a bit more travelling lately and have become sick of trudging a large strap bag around the place (which was fine when travelling once in the blue moon) and I'm now looking for a hard suitcase for myself instead.

It would need to have capacity to hold 5 days worth of clothing including a couple of suits so quite spacious as those suits are a nightmare to pack with limited space.

I don't really have a budget as I'm unsure of what sort of price these generally go for, but the cheaper the better

Is there any you use and would recommend? Or any to avoid? If there's a good one that is not a hard case that you use please feel free to suggest that also.

Thanks!

coylemj

Can't recommend a specific brand as you don't mention a price range but I was in Debenhams in Henry St. the other day and they have a massive display of cases on the top floor, all shapes and sizes though I don't think they had any Samsonite. There's a smaller display of bags downstairs in the Frascati (Blackrock) store. Bear in mind that as with most things, you get what you pay for. You mentioned 5 days worth of clothes including two suits so I assume you're talking about a bag to be checked in so you'll need to buy something reasonably robust meaning that you do not want to go too cheap!

The Debenhams range is online... http://www.debenhams.ie/home-furniture/luggage

You can also buy luggage from www.amazon.co.uk/luggage/ - I bought a small wheelie bag to fit into the overhead bins in the Aer Arann planes, it only cost €20 but will never be checked-in!

Jocelynel

try sportdirect, they can sometimes have a good suitcase at discount prices

http://www.sportsdirect.com/accessories/luggage-and-suitcases

Tabnabs

I used to travel for a living and bought a Samsonite hard shell suitcase. For long haul and extended trips (or family holidays) it's the only bag I'd use. It takes a hell of a beating, but stands up admirably. You get what you pay for in my experience.

Paully D

Cheers guys, I really appreciate the responses.

I was having a look and came across the below from the Debenhams website:

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_36536+T42787_-1

After comparing prices from the Tripp website itself it seems to be a decent price for a large suitcase (albeit not a hard suitcase, so I'd be worried about sturdiness I guess) at €79.

Height: 83cm, Width: 49.5cm, Depth: 31cm

Capacity: 85 litres.

Alternatively there's a medium Tripp (hard) as seen below:

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_36536+T42642_-1

With the following: Height: 65cm, Width: 46cm, Depth: 26cm and a capacity of 67 litres for €73 or it's larger brother for just under €100.

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_36536+T42642_-1

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_36536+T42638_-1

Any of you use the Tripp products?

Either of those three should do me for 5 day trips, right?

Arbiter of Good Taste

Be careful with hard shell suitcases. They can be very heavy. I had two samsonite ones about 13 years ago and while they were fantastic and could survive anything, they were quite heavy, which is a pain now that the airlines are all tightening up on their baggage allowances. The hard cases might be lighter these days, but just check out their weights before you buy.

As a rule of thumb I generally go with samsonite. I think they're the best.

coylemj

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

Be careful with hard shell suitcases. They can be very heavy. I had two samsonite ones about 13 years ago and while they were fantastic and could survive anything, they were quite heavy, which is a pain now that the airlines are all tightening up on their baggage allowances. The hard cases might be lighter these days, but just check out their weights before you buy.

That assumption is correct. Like beer bottles and cans, hard shell suitcases have gotten much lighter over the years. This week I was able to lift a pretty large hard shell suitcase off the top shelf in Debenhams with one hand to check it out. It was much lighter than my Samsonite of a similar size which is 14 years old.

OP, I'd be wary of soft cases with an inner frame, one hard knock and the frame breaks in which case it's a write-off. They are cheaper than the hard shell cases so the frames typically can't take much punishment. A good hard shell case can take plenty of knocks and come out in one piece.

yopy

CHEAP hard shell cases will crack and shatter because the manufacturers make the plastic too thin so customers will buy for its weight, or lack of.

When buying a hard shell cases you do get what you pay for. Either pay money or buy a GOOD brand. Tripp is not a good brand.

Gatica

That's the reason I'm no fan of those clam suitcases. I've seen a few of them open on the baggage carousel with clothes falling out of them. Not only losing your personal items but also having everyone see your underwear strewn about...

smurfjed

I travel a lot and usually with very heavy suitcases, i would therefore recommend getting a suitcase with four bottom wheels, they are much easier to drag around the place.

Eponymous

Quick question on this as I'm in the market for a suitcase too:

Roughly what size case should I be looking at for a checked-in bag. Looking at the Tripp cases on the Debenhams site (the second case in Paully D's post above), they seem to be in the region of 4kg, so would a medium one be sufficient size for the remaining 16 kilos of my allowance for an Aer Lingus flight?

Might seem like a silly question. I'm just too used to travelling with my rugby kitbag jammed with all my stuff!

finbarrk

I have a Samsonite one. It was expensive but I think it's worth it. It was around €140 for a size to fit in the cabin. Samsonite are one of the best and there is a 5 year guarantee. It's also very light.

munchkin_utd

smurfjed wrote: »

I travel a lot and usually with very heavy suitcases, i would therefore recommend getting a suitcase with four bottom wheels, they are much easier to drag around the place.

funny, I'd actually say the opposite when it comes to large and heavy cases.
My wife has a 4wheeled samsonite case and it does my head in.
Theres more wheels to get caught in ridges and being smaller wheels than a plain 2wheel unit they are just useless in getting caught in things when even used on 2 wheels.
If on a slope it will wander away off and if pushing it on 4 wheels it can be a pain to direct against a slope on a footpath (say when walking down a footpath where theres a heavy slope toward the road at an entry), and you end up flipping it onto 2 wheels anyhow as thats the only way to control it.
The only benefit is say in a slow queue for a checkin (on a completely level surface) where you want to nudge it slightly forward a few inches at a time, but otherwards 4wheel suitcases have to be one of the most useless inventions.

finbarrk

Yep. 2 wheels are sufficient.

athtrasna

Another Samsonite fan here, we got ours in one of the outlets in Northern Ireland. Four wheels all the way, they take a little getting used to but your back and shoulders will thank you for it. Pushing a bag beside you is much better for you than dragging a bag behind you.

yopy

The Northern outlet is closed. There is a Samsonite store in the Kildare Outlet still..

Vegeta

Got a Samsonite recently on the Arnotts website, was a good price compared to anywhere else online and they delivered it for free too.

See here

yopy

Thats the case I bought from Arnotts I was talking about. Cracking case for the price. 10 year warranty and 4 wheels. Can't complain.