When I was a kid, we used to travel with the old school blue American Tourister suitcases. My mother would not let us sit on them since she thought that we could break them at the seams. I don’t remember why but it always seemed like we were waiting at the airport with our suitcases. Either to check in or once we took them from luggage carousal.
With the frustration of always standing and waiting, I swore that when I grow up, I would get luggage I could sit on. Now many years later (decades even), I have stayed true to my convictions and have purchased softside luggage. My daughter on the other hand wants hardside luggage since she feels they are better.
So this brought up a family discussion or battle on which is a better carryon and suitcase. Hardside or Softside. We looked at the following criteria:
- Durability — At first blush, you would think that the hardside would last longer and deal with the stresses of travel. However, we found that the hardside ends up getting banged up and cracked sooner than the softside. I guess the softside absorbs more impacts than the hardside. Winner — Softside
- Protection — After some research, we found that the hardside luggage will protect its contents better than the softside. This is most pronounced with crushing from heavy objects placed on top of the hardside. Also, it is raining, it will take longer for the rain to seep inside the hardside vs the softside luggage. Winner: Hardside
- Weight — Another surprising conclusion! On average, hardside luggage is lighter than softside. The shell of the hardside is typically a light plastic type material while the softside is a reinforced material that needs to be reinforced. Since weight is always a concern now that airlines are becoming more strict with baggage weither, hardside is the clear winner. Winner — Hardside
- Easy of Packing — I am a firm believer in the ease of packing with the softside. You just have to open the luggage up and you can access your clothes and other packed items. With the hardside, you need to remember which side you packed what. You also need to have it open as a clamshell with another room to really lay it out. Hard to do at an airport or outside of a hotel room. Winner — Softside
From my analysis, it seems that it is a close race between which type of suitcase is better. You may weigh each criteria differently. In the end, it is up to the user to see which one they like. For me, the ease of packing is the key and I love the access that the softside luggage affords you. I would probably pick a softside luggage if they lost every category but ease of packing. I recommend the Delsey!
If you are wondering, my daughter wanted the hardside luggage which I bought for her. Says a lot about me.