Best luggage?

[Pondlife]

I reckon soft ones are the way to go, purely from a weight point of view. When we go diving we always take soft bags as they have a bit more give and you get an extra kilo or two.

Regarding my previous post w.r.t locks. If we're going somewhere 'exotic' rather than locking the bag with some crappy padlock, we use those plastic cable/plant ties. No harder to get into obviously but glaringly obvious you bag has been tampered with before walking through customs.

[Paddy]

To my horror, at arriving at LHR I saw the luggage truck drive off leaving the conveyor still running. Cases were left to drop six feet on to the concrete.

[sasguru]

I reckon soft ones are the way to go, purely from a weight point of view. When we go diving we always take soft bags as they have a bit more give and you get an extra kilo or two.
.

To my horror, at arriving at LHR I saw the luggage truck drive off leaving the conveyor still running. Cases were left to drop six feet on to the concrete.

This new polycarbonate stuff seems as light as the soft composites.
And the advantage is it would protect any fragile stuff inside.
Don't know how it would stand being thrown from 6 feet though.

[doodab]

I had an antler soft shell one, the handle came off after 8 years of fairly regular use but it's still usable. I have a huge samsonite hard case one with wheels that's pretty good but lacks internal organising features.

Peli cases are excellent if you need to check fragile items, though personally I'd go with appropriate cabin luggage for e.g. cameras and either the big wheeled samsonite or a large sports bag for squashables, with a hardcase in there for less valuable fragile items like chargers, card readers etc.

[oracleslave]

we use those plastic cable/plant ties.

Both times I haved used those, the nice customs gentleman has decided to have a look at the contents of my bag as I was leaving the airport . Luckily I carried a knife on board and was able to cut them off pretty easily

[sasguru]

Luckily I carried a knife on board and was able to cut them off pretty easily

[darmstadt]

I have a couple of soft Samsonite ones which seem to have weathered most stuff pretty well (even if one is lime green!) and one of the new polycarbonite ones although I haven't used that too much. For longer trips I have a large Boss soft one on wheels which has extra expansion chambers which has been all over the world and has handled it pretty well although it doesn't stand upright too well when fully packed.

[sasguru]

Hmmm consensus seems to be soft Samsonite. although I am very tempted by the Briggs and Riley which, though expensive, should last a lifetime and are the only brand to include airport damage in the guarantee.

[SimonMac]

Hmmm consensus seems to be soft Samsonite. although I am very tempted by the Briggs and Riley which, though expensive, should last a lifetime and are the only brand to include airport damage in the guarantee.

The "Family" has a set of Samsonite luggage that is probably 20 years old, looks tatty as fook but is bomb proof (literally)

[the_rangdo]

We just go cheap-ish on the basis there's no point spending mucho money on something the airport handlers will try their hardest to break, warranty or no warranty. Not much pain involved buying a replacement.

Got a set of soft Antlers, large and medium, 5 years ago from Argos for about £90.

They've done cruises, Florida trips, Caribbean trips, generally stuffed to the gills - all that's gone wrong is the zip on one of the external pockets has seized shut.

Even the wheels are still on and working