Hard Shell vs. Soft Carry On Luggage (In-Depth Buyer's Guide)

Which one do you use? P.S. Get 10% off any piece of luggage from LEVEL8 Cases when you use the code "awaytogether".

I use a wheeled duffle-style carryon. It squashes down well with straps, and is easier to fit in an overhead. Especially if other people take too much space.

Bucket! After traveling for 6 years with hard sided luggage, I switched a year ago to good quality soft sided luggage (Travelpro Platinum Elite) and I'm much happier with the additional flexibility, the extra pockets, and even the occasional use of the expansion zipper when I'm coming back with a few more things than I left with. The extra flexibility allowed me to make several trips with only my backpack and carry-on, something I greatly appreciated. Also, the bucket style is so much nicer to use in the hotel room. When I had the hard sided luggage, the clam shell design often meant I had to put it on the floor because it took up so much more horizontal space when opened up. I would love to see a comprehensive comparison of soft sided luggage.

Bucket

I like a heavy duty expandable duffle bag I have used for years. I only ever have a small amount of fragile items that I will usually carry with me in a backpack. Only clothing and maybe a pair of shoes in the duffel, so no concerns about rough handling. Sturdy shoulder strap means I can walk anywhere with it.

All I care about in terms of luggage: airports stop turning my suitcase upside down! Now! And forever. I can forgive anything else.

Choice isn’t really hard side vs soft side, but clamshell vs top open. Those pare functionally different. The rest is mostly cosmetic.

Bucket

Soft luggage 🧳 always tears 😢

Hard shell 🧳 💯👏👏

I like that you always put yourself out there with your personal preference. Not all reviewers do that.

Bucket

BUCKET........Can a soft bag be water proofed

One advantage of hard-sided luggage is that it is more secured and don't have pockets which allow people to drop drugs or bullets into it. In many developing world countries, there are such scams going on where unwitting tourists become drug mules for drug gangs as they dropped drugs into side pockets of luggages and then pick them up later. In some countries, having illegal drugs in your possession, whether knowingly or not, incurs an automatic death sentence penalty. In some countries, the customs and baggage handlers will place drugs or bullets in your luggage and the officers will 'suddenly' discover them, and you will be 'persuaded' to bribe them.

Coz we travel with wines and some fragile stuff therefore we need hardshell luggages😝, but softshell better if you dont mind to pay for extra weights 😝😝

Bucket

I think soft sided is probably a little better. If your hardcase is just slightly too large then it is more difficult to compress to the overhead bin. I have also found that hard cases tend to fail at the zipper stitch in the corners where the bag repeatedly gets bumped.

You are like all travel POS bloggers you refuse to consider weight of carry-on luggage most airlines carry-on weight limits of 7kg/15 lbs

Ditch all wheels for carry-ons and only soft sides. If you are a 4 and 5 star hotel person then you will using limos or taxis. You will not walking on cobble stones with wheels

One thing to add: Soft shell luggage absorbs moisture so your bag will “weigh more” if you are coming back from a country that is humid. And who needs that after you have bought souvenirs!

why my new luggage has backward zipper??? how could I put it...........but behind the zipper isn't the part for people to put stuffs

they don't make leather luggage which very stupid

I like leather

Hard sided suitcases are HORRIBLE when the zipper is along the middle, making the 2 halves of equal depth, like a clam shell. When you open the bag in your hotel room, the top half is very heavy. They are extremely difficult to pack as the items in the top half fall down when you lift that half up, to open the suitcase. It is also very difficult to access the items in the top half. Avoid them.

My opinion about luggage is that I carry-on soft, check hard. Soft usually has the pockets which is great while you are at the airport. I don’t consider security or it’s contents a concern as it is with you all the time.
The hard sides are excellent for durability, especially vs rough baggage handlers.

Almost every airport ground operations employee will tell you to avoid hard shell suitcases.

bucket

For carry-on luggage it may not matter as much as it is not subjected to lots of abuse by baggage handlers. But checked - in luggage needs to be tough. There is hardshell and there is hardshell. Check out and compare ABS, aluminum, polycarbonate, polypropylene. I prefer polypropylene. And is it only me, or is anyone else concerned about TSA locks? Is our TSA-locked baggage at the mercy of corrupt and dishonest customs officers or baggage handlers in many a country? And many such combination locks can be snapped off by careless luggage handling and collisions with other baggage. Zips are also a security vulnerability. Zippers can be ripped open with a nail, knife, or key.

1. Polycarbonate

Bucket please

BUCKET

Bucket! I’m due for new luggage after years with my soft shell (always had soft shells growing up). I was leaning towards the hard shell but a feature I never knew I had all these years was the “bucket” design! Clamshells take up a lot of space and I’d rather have one full side over two halves. I’ll have to check out your soft shell reviews next! Maybe I’ll just spray a few coats of waterproofing too. Side note, I hope you review the Solgaard next, the closet feature is neat but I’m skeptical about durability and the locking feature. I feel one odd drop and the locks can unlock… gameover!

I use soft sided luggage. I like having the extra compartments it is quite nice. I was in a Don Quijote in Tokyo and bought a soft luggage for all of the souvenirs I bought. It was cheaper than the hard body and had more features.

What a science! Hard sided for carry on and soft sided for the check in.

Another thing you didn’t mention… SMELL. I decided to get a hardshell mainly because my soft shell checked bag often smells like other peoples nasty a$$ luggage when I arrive to a new city. I cannot stand it lol

Bucket

Weight is the main thing. Airlines charge more if overweight

soft for sure

What are TSA zippers?

Depends on the weather of yuor target place, e.g. London, you won't want a soft luggage in rainy days. More, the restriction of airline, some airlines need you check-in your luggage in a confined frame before on board, if you get your soft luggage bulge out too much, you would never get on board with your soft luggage anyway.

I have both and variety of material and price tier. To me the basic difference is hard shell opens from the middle, so not as flexible in loading, soft shell can be less protective when it’s not full. So, if I bring only a carry on to travel, I choose soft shell because it’s more forgiving to stuff. If I have check in luggage also, I take hard shell case more to carry my camera gears for better protection and there are more stylish models to choose from.

When I travel abroad (at least once a year), I use both (one of each for check-in baggage). I can choose which items are suitable for which suitcase.

Bucket 😊

Soft for me

bucket, please. (loved the 7 hard-sided one)

BUCKET - I just took a hard-sided carry on to Vegas last month. I did find it was harder to pack in because it is much shallower on each side, and, when open, takes up a lot of space. It was easy to travel with but did like to fall forward while walking sometimes. Not sure if that was just that particular suitcase, or if I’m just not used to using 4-wheelers (my suitcases have always been 2-wheelers). I just bought this one, it was my first trip with it (my previous suitcase finally bit the dust). Gonna try a soft-sider carry on again, but with 4 wheels, and see how that goes. Would love a review like you did with hard-siders.

Bucket, with only 7kg to play with, you really want lightest carry on possble. Hard shell are 4kg+, even if most airlines don't weight your carry on, you still have to put it on the overhead yourself, and no need to carry any unnecessary weight. We carry the luggage ourself, we look after it, no need to be bulletproof. any decent brand will last just as long, wheels does get damage, but both sofe and hard use the same type of wheel.

Soft-Shell both checkins and carryons for the past forty years.

Bucket

Try using spinner on the tiled pavements of Lisbon. Ugh.