Lightweight Luxury Suitcases- How to Bag the Best One
So, you’ve got to the airport.
It’s your fifth journey this month. You’re tired. You’re excited for the next place. Yet you have this massive suitcase trailing behind you.
It spins at its own accord as if it has a mind of its own.
You think to yourself: “Great. I’m going to have to check in before I can do anything.”
Your suitcase has taken control. It’s in charge of the plans, not you. Want to see the beaches when you get there?
Not if this hulking weight behind you has anything to say about it.
Checking out early and want to have some fun before your flight? Nope, your suitcase wants you to sit in a coffee shop with it by your side.
You can’t charge through crowds or fit through small places. Your suitcase thinks it owns you.
My name’s Ben and I fell in love with traveling when I was younger, as everyone does.
It’s a cliché, but I’ve always loved the journey as much as the destination.
I’m certain it’s a cliché because it’s true.
Those exciting journeys towards some unexplored location filled with daydreams and buzzing eagerness.
Those journeys back that always felt quicker and more relaxed, where I’d learned so much from the cultures I’d been exploring. I always knew I’d want my job to involve travel.
I never cried on a plane or a ferry.
Never got travel sick.
Always loved the ability to just look out of a window and be swept away.
The best moments for me were the days traveling from the hotel or the villa exploring, and on the plane or the train.
Incidentally, also the times where I didn’t have to cart around a big suitcase.
Of course, when I was a small boy my family used to share suitcases and it was never really a problem.
On this page:
Heavy Suitcases Are A Pain!
Ever since I started a long-distance relationship and started traveling for work, however, the prospect of carting around my big blue monstrosity of a suitcase gave me anxiety. “Let’s meet in London for a coffee.” “Can’t sorry, I’ll have my suitcase.”
Or, “when you arrive in Perth I’ll take you around and show you all of my favorite places.” “Can I check into my hotel, first? It’s just… suitcase.” It’s quite strange.
Luggage should not be an excuse for not going out and exploring or having fun but… It is.
It’s not like if you’re climbing the Himalayas it would be acceptable to say “sorry, my backpacks too heavy, can we try again later when I’ve dropped it off?”
So, why is it such a problem carrying around something with wheels behind you in a crowded place?
It doesn’t have to be. When I bought something more lightweight, something more luxury everything was so much easier.
All of a sudden, it was like I was carrying my satchel bag around me and simply traveling to work and not dragging a slow and disobedient child behind me.
So, what are the problems with other suitcases?
Maybe you already know.
Maybe you complain about it day to day when you’re traveling as I used to.
Maybe you know something is wrong but can’t quite pinpoint what.
Well, there are a few common issues with cheaper suitcases made with less craftsmanship.
The Age-old Struggle
You find yourself at an airport. It’s been a seven-hour flight.
You enjoyed it, apart from that time that baby screamed its lungs out, and why do you always get the seat behind the person who decides to recline the moment they sit down?
You’re a seasoned traveler. You’re used to these things.
They used to annoy you more, but now you brush them off with a good book and a neck pillow.
You’ve reached baggage collection. Easily the worst part of any plane journey.
Not just because you might find out in half an hour that your bag got the wrong flight, or somebody accidentally took it, mistaking it for their own, but also because your bag may turn up, and you have to cart it around with you.
You’re tired. Seemingly smiling knowingly at you, the suitcase emerges on the conveyer belt.
You half hope somebody will pick it up, but instead slowly heave it up. It’s heavier.
The humidity has affected it. You sigh. You hate this bag, but you don’t know what exactly is wrong with it.
Here are some common problems with less functional suitcases:
Wheels
Don’t get me started on the wheels.
They’re easily the least perfected part of any cheap suitcase.
You were younger, you had less money, you just needed something and now you’re stuck with something that just decides to spin at its own accord.
The amount of times I’ve almost missed a train just because the suitcase hits a rock and decides “this is me” and jumps four feet in the air is ridiculous.
I’ve checked my watch several times, set the alarm, even called room service for a wake-up call (partially also to annoy my girlfriend) and I’m on time, but nobody expects to have to add ‘wheel time’ to a journey to the station.
There’s a crowd ahead, I have tunnel vision, I know the exact trajectory to make to get through it.
My suitcase has a different idea.
Like a dog on a lead, it sees something interesting across the street and decides to chase it.
Wheels. The peak of human invention and yet the worst part of a cheap suitcase.
Zips
It’s packed, finally. Your shirt is perfectly folded and ironed.
You nod to yourself at the Tetris-like efficiency you see before you. You flip over the top of the suitcase and grab the zip.
That’s your only mistake: trusting that a zip would work.
You pull and tug, hearing your toiletries clashing against each other.
The zip’s broken, again. Is it caught on the fabric?
You check to see if you can pull what its caught on out, but nothing’s wrong. Suddenly it rips into two pieces, the zip disconnects.
With a cheaper suitcase this is probably the best-case scenario.
You’re in a room and maybe time is tight, maybe it isn’t, but there’s still a bit of extra time to fix it.
Imagine this happening on a train or plane or whilst rushing somewhere, bursting open and displaying all of your shirts across the side of the road.
Cheap zips are a nightmare and a recipe for disaster.
Clips
But you’ve thought of this as you clasp your suitcase closed.
No zips to worry about. You’ve bought clips.
A wise move, but in vain if the clips make up part of something cheap and fragile.
Yes, clips will always be safer than zips in that they break less often, but they also create a much different issue.
In order to use cheaper clips effectively, you have to make sure your suitcase is light.
This isn’t always possible, sometimes there are things you have to bring on a conference and it doesn’t exactly take a crowbar to wedge open a suitcase with clips.
The same scenario can happen with a zip, with all of your shirts and documents laying on the road.
Weight
Not only can weight literally hold you back when it comes to a suitcase, it can change.
This is an absolute nightmare when it comes to a maximum weight allowance for traveling. One way you’re perfect, you’ve checked and double-checked.
The way back the humidity has added a couple of pounds or so and now your bag isn’t allowed without an extra charge.
If the weight were distributed more evenly, however, this wouldn’t be a problem.
But instead, there’s just a mass of clothes sinking to the bottom of the suitcase.
Material
The material often causes problems for many reasons.
Not only can it tear, but it can affect the weight of the suitcase greatly.
Yes, something more metallic will start off heavier than something made of this that or the other fabric, but the weight will change.
Fabric can absorb the humidity in the air and change the weight.
Instead of something steady, that you know is going to stay the same on the way there and the way back, now you have to backtrack and put less in just to be certain you’ll be under both ways. Not only this but baggage tears.
Especially, if it’s being thrown around onto conveyor belts the world over.
It’s definitely worth it to spend a little bit more just for something more durable.
The Best Brands for Luxury Suitcases
So, what do you buy? Here are five of the best brands when it comes to a luxury suitcase for international travel:
1. Lucas
Easily putting out some of the best suitcases on the market, Lucas sweeps the floor with most over brands.
A recommended suitcase is certainly Lucas’: “Lucas Luggage Ultra Lightweight Soft side 24 Inch Expandable”.
4 wheels for ease of travel and a brilliantly accessible suitcase built with great craftsmanship, Lucas brings their unparalleled level of insight into all of the luggage they make.
They understand their audience: travelers.
Not only easy to navigate around an airport, their exquisite suitcases allow for ease of travel, allowing you to go wherever you want, whenever, without even remembering you’re carrying something behind you.
2. Lemoone
Lemoone is the second brand on this list.
Opting for a more metallic and stylish look, Lemoone manages to blend looks with functionality.
It is well worth cashing out on one of these, as they will last much longer than any other cheaper brand.
Lemoone is for the one who wants to know that their bag is still secure, and their belongings are still safe when they’re sitting on the plane traveling towards some far-flung country.
3. Samsonite
A little bit more expensive but still worth every penny, Samsonite know exactly what they’re doing.
Making some of the most durable suitcases on the market, Samsonite pride themselves in their ability to blend functionality with safety.
Not only will you be able to glide through customs with this at your side, you’ll be able to know for a fact that everything is still where it needs to be in this lightweight safe of a suitcase.
4. Delsey
There is a reason Delsey’s best suitcase on the market is called the “helium aero”.
Lightweight and easy to carry, this is a suitcase for anyone who has papers upon papers to bring with them across the world.
Lightweight and easy to have by your side, these suitcases are for those who travel heavy.
Going across the world and don’t know if it’ll be hot or cold?
With this suitcase, you can plan for every eventuality, without compromising the weight.
5. TravelPro
The final brand on the list, TravelPro creates suitcases with elegant colors that can swim through crowds just as elegantly.
Not metallic or as safe as the others, but still firm and light.
This is the suitcase for the aesthetics and the ergonomists.
The handles fit beautifully around your hand and the case looks simply divine.
But How Do I Decide Which One?
After you’ve sorted out your budget, there are still a couple of things you need to look into.
These suggestions will help you know which suitcase is the most functional for your needs, here are the benefits of getting the best of the best when it comes to suitcases:
Comfort
Luxury suitcases are infinitely more comfortable than cheaper ones.
Not only will you feel the handle fit in your hand perfectly, you’ll be able to glide anywhere with it.
You’ll be able to meet up in coffee shops the world over at any time of day, and you won’t even have to check into the hotel to set your luggage down first.
Weight
Luxury suitcase makers know what they’re doing.
At first glance, all of the plastics or the metallic looks of the suitcase that stands before you may make it look heavier, but it’s not.
Every small bit of space is used. Also, the weight won’t change on the other side of the equator which, is always a plus!
Ease
It’s like swimming. Gone are the days of carting something with a mind of its own behind you.
Now you’re in charge, you’re in control.
Luxury suitcases are infinitely easier to carry around anywhere.
You’ll even be excited and relieved to see it when it appears in baggage claim!
Durability
Luxury suitcases are almost like an heirloom.
If you buy something cheaper, how much are you really spending?
It’s not an investment, it’s something that’s going to disintegrate in your hands and force you onto the next one.
Spend more the first time around and you have a bag for life.
Something you can be proud of and be so much happier traveling with.
So, What Now?
Buy a luxury suitcase!
If there’s even a small amount of doubt in the back of your mind about how good your current suitcase is, it’s always worth taking the dive.
Your life and your travels will be so much better off with a luxury suitcase because it frees up your plans.
You’re a busy person and you don’t want to be held back by thoughts such as “but when can I put my luggage down?”
With a luxury suitcase, these thoughts won’t even cross your mind!
I promise you, you’ll find yourself gripping your new suitcase harder because you’ve almost forgotten that you’re carrying anything around at all!
It’s worth it, just to make everything that extra bit easier.