Pros and Cons of Buying Hardside Luggage

You’re waiting at the airport on your way home from a tropical getaway with your family. It’s a Sunday morning in the middle of winter and you just threw on a heavy winter coat – Can you feel that chill in the air?? Brr! As you walk towards the baggage claim to pick up your trusted soft-sided luggage set, you see a pile of clothes thrown on the carousel and think to yourself “Man, I feel so bad for that person.” Upon closer inspection you realize those are YOUR belongings on display for everyone to see. You quickly throw the broken suitcase on a luggage cart, gather everything you can in one swift motion, pile your clothes into the open suitcase and run like crazy to the car waiting for you.

At home a few days later you start searching the internet for new luggage and realize just how many options there are compared to a few years ago. Do you need hard-side or soft-side luggage, 2-wheels or 4-wheels, plain colors or fun prints? The choices are overwhelming! Taking a step back, you realize you just want luggage that will fit all of your belongings and that will last.

While browsing the internet, you come across Hardside Luggage on www.IrvsLuggage.com and decide to check it out further. The first page shows some brands you know (Samsonite and Heys) and some brands you aren’t too familiar with (Titan and International Traveller); and you’re intrigued. You see that most hardside luggage pieces have a stiff molded construction – typically made out of polycarbonate, aluminum or ABS plastic – giving the luggage flexibility and strength, not to mention increased protection against airline damage (and we all know the havoc the airlines can wreak on a perfectly good suitcase!) They also come in several sizes for every need: business cases, carry-ons and checked uprights up to 33” in height.

That may sound pretty good, but you’re still not convinced. You start reading customer reviews of different hardside luggage brands. Customers speak of how their hardside luggage carry ons and luggage sets last longer and are damaged less often than any softsided piece they carried before. Consumers also love that their luggage expands, no differently than a softsided piece.

While these are great attributes, the design features are the best selling points. A TSA lock comes attached to most luggage pieces and the protection that is offered by the reinforced materials used (no squishing important documents or electronics) makes a huge difference when traveling.

In contrast, some consumers dislike the fact that hardsided pieces cannot be squished into small spaces. And even if you are extremely careful, the unexpected dent and scratch do happen. What some consumers are not always ready for is that hardside luggage is more expensive than softside luggage – and it may come as a shock at first! But even after debating the good and bad of hardside luggage, the pros far outweigh the cons.

The next time you’re in need of new luggage, why not check out some of the great hardside luggage brands we have at Irv’s Luggage. We’re sure you’ll find just what you need!