After 15 years of use - and a complete drenching in salt water earlier this year (don't ask 
) - my trusty Samsonite suitcase needs to be replaced.
I've always preferred soft shell, and after a bit of research on current mid-market offerings, think I've narrowed it down to the following two options:
- Samsonsite 73h Spinner 71cm - Samsonite 73h Spinner 71 Cm Exp - $346 in black after current sale and 10% off newsletter-subscription voucher
- TravelPro MaxLite 5 25" - https://www.amazon.com.au/Travelpro-Luggage-Lightweight-Expandable-Suitcase/dp/B07BLD9NMM - $435 (haven't found a better option to buy than importing via Amazon)
(I've historically had a preference for two-wheel cases due to perception that four-wheeled cases are more prone to wheels breaking - but options in soft shell + two wheel seem extremely limited, and I thought perhaps I should actually give four wheel a try.)
The former is cheaper, slightly lighter (only couple of hundred grams though), and has the benefit of local servicing options if it breaks. The latter is potentially better built / more durable (although not entirely clear - hence question #2 below), and ergonomics look a little better to me (e.g. thicker at bottom than top, for stability tipping).
Couple of questions for the AFF crowd here:
1) Anything else I should consider? I don't care what my luggage looks like - primary concerns are lightweight, good quality/durability and reasonable price. Or, perhaps, a balance of those last two - I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'm also trying to spend enough to get something that won't break on me mid-trip / will last a long time. Happy to spend up to around $500 if the justification for spending it is there.
2) Can anyone provide any comparison of the quality of these two cases (or even just brands, in their mid-market offerings)? TravelPro gets a great rap online, whereas Samsonsite potentially a bit hit and miss (albeit their product line-up is so wide it's hard to know for any given case). But I've not been able to find any real direct comparison between the two cases (or even two brands), and quite a bit of what I can find (particularly re Samsonite) isn't current. My previous Samsonsite case has gone the distance - if the 73h was build like that, I'd be more than happy with it - but not really a safe assumption given the current one is 15 years old.
Thanks,
Matt
) - my trusty Samsonite suitcase needs to be replaced.I've always preferred soft shell, and after a bit of research on current mid-market offerings, think I've narrowed it down to the following two options:
- Samsonsite 73h Spinner 71cm - Samsonite 73h Spinner 71 Cm Exp - $346 in black after current sale and 10% off newsletter-subscription voucher
- TravelPro MaxLite 5 25" - https://www.amazon.com.au/Travelpro-Luggage-Lightweight-Expandable-Suitcase/dp/B07BLD9NMM - $435 (haven't found a better option to buy than importing via Amazon)
(I've historically had a preference for two-wheel cases due to perception that four-wheeled cases are more prone to wheels breaking - but options in soft shell + two wheel seem extremely limited, and I thought perhaps I should actually give four wheel a try.)
The former is cheaper, slightly lighter (only couple of hundred grams though), and has the benefit of local servicing options if it breaks. The latter is potentially better built / more durable (although not entirely clear - hence question #2 below), and ergonomics look a little better to me (e.g. thicker at bottom than top, for stability tipping).
Couple of questions for the AFF crowd here:
1) Anything else I should consider? I don't care what my luggage looks like - primary concerns are lightweight, good quality/durability and reasonable price. Or, perhaps, a balance of those last two - I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'm also trying to spend enough to get something that won't break on me mid-trip / will last a long time. Happy to spend up to around $500 if the justification for spending it is there.
2) Can anyone provide any comparison of the quality of these two cases (or even just brands, in their mid-market offerings)? TravelPro gets a great rap online, whereas Samsonsite potentially a bit hit and miss (albeit their product line-up is so wide it's hard to know for any given case). But I've not been able to find any real direct comparison between the two cases (or even two brands), and quite a bit of what I can find (particularly re Samsonite) isn't current. My previous Samsonsite case has gone the distance - if the 73h was build like that, I'd be more than happy with it - but not really a safe assumption given the current one is 15 years old.
Thanks,
Matt
