Due to the increase in air travel, the demand for luggage is also on the rise. Most people prefer hard-sided luggage because they find it more useful than soft-sided cases. Soft side cases give more security to the items, while good quality hard cases come with a TSA lock. Hard-side luggage also has some drawbacks. In this article, I’ll tell you the “disadvantages of hardside luggage”. No doubt these suitcases are more practical for use, especially when you are embarking on international travel. But it is also worthwhile to keep in mind the drawbacks of sturdy side luggage.
The purpose of this article is to provide you with a complete understanding of hard-side luggage, its types, advantages, and disadvantages, so you can make an informed decision about your choice.
Disadvantages Of Hardside Luggage
What is hard-side luggage?
Whenever you go to buy luggage for your next trip, you have a lot of options available, like backpacks, hand carry, cross-body bags, duffle bags, and suitcases. In order to choose what you want, you must first choose the duration and nature of your trip. For example, backpacks are great for hiking, handbags for short trips, and cross-body backpacks are perfect if you are on a one-day trip or to see the town.
If you are going on an international trip either for business purposes or for recreation, then you need luggage. Here you also have two options: one is hard-side luggage, and the other is soft-side luggage. Let’s have a look at both of them.
Soft-sided luggage is made up of fabric. It is flexible and you can fit it anywhere, even in small spaces very easily. As it is made from fabric, it is easy to wash. The thing I like about soft-sided cases is that they have a lot of inner pockets and side pockets. It is easier for me to put all of my belongings in it. These pockets are also flexible.
As far as hard-side cases are concerned, they are rigid, tough, and durable. They are not flexible and don’t have too many rooms. Most of the hard side cases open into one big room, although they have some inner mesh pockets for extra storage. They will not break if they fall down accidentally and protect your items from damage or breakage. Generally, hard side cases are equipped with a TSA lock system, so it is a perfect way to keep your belongings safe.
Types of hardside Luggage
There are various types of a piece of hard-side luggage that include
- ABS
- Aluminium
- Polycarbonate
- Polypropylene
- Polyvinyl chloride
ABS
In addition to weight, if you are also looking for a bag that fits well in your luggage, then ABS luggage is also an excellent option. Compared to all the other hard-side materials, ABS is the cheapest.
As far as durability goes, this luggage is not as good as it is in terms of weight and price categories. It is better to opt for other high-quality bags instead of ABS luggage if you want one that is strong, durable, and of high quality.
Aluminum
Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate is highly flexible, which is why it can withstand the force applied to it. Polycarbonate cases are also reasonably priced, so you can easily afford them. Polycarbonate cases are both lightweight and capable of withstanding unfavorable environmental conditions.
Polypropylene
Polyvinyl chloride(PVC)
Advantages of hardside luggage
The following are some benefits of hard-side luggage.
- Durability
- Security
- Design
Durability
Hard-sided suitcases are highly durable. The outer hard shell protects your items. If you put pressure on these suitcases, they’ll not press and keep your items safe, unlike the soft-sided bags that are easily deformed and can damage your items. At the airport, they remain safe during rough baggage handling.
Security
You cannot compromise on the security of items. During the trip, you can only access the items freely that you have in your luggage. If your items get stolen, you are left with nothing and it is really stressful, especially when you are in an unknown country.
These hard-side cases have an inbuilt TSA lock system, so you can travel freely without fear of luggage loss. There’s also no need for additional security because TSA locks are only the highest quality locks. It protects your items against theft or loss.
Design
Hard-side luggage is available in a variety of designs. They look very classy and stylish. Additionally, you can get a variety of color schemes in hard-side cases. My preference is bright-colored luggage because it looks stylish and attractive. Thieves also dislike them because we can easily identify them.
Disadvantages of Hardside Luggage
Along with the advantages mentioned above, these cases also have the following disadvantages:
- Placement requires more space
- There are no additional pockets on hard-side luggage
Placement requires more space
Imagine you have to travel on a train and have very little space to store your luggage. Then you can’t keep your sturdy side luggage because it is rigid. On the other hand, soft side luggage is very easy to carry. You can only take these cases for air travel or where you have much space to store your hard-sided luggage.
When you open up your luggage, it opens into two halves so there’s a need for extra space for the opening of the luggage but during hostel stays or if you have to open it in less space, you might feel uneasy to open it so for me it’s a considerable drawback of a piece of hard side luggage.
There are no additional pockets on hard-side luggage
Most hard-sided suitcases open into one big room. Often, there is no mesh pocket in the bag, so you can only pack a limited amount of items. Cases like these are not flexible, so you can’t get extra space.
You just have to put all of your clothes, shoes, documents, and accessories in one big room. It’s not organized at all, and every time you need to pull out an item, you have to open it completely to search for that, and when you finally get it, you also see a mess inside. Hardside cases don’t have additional outer pockets and most of the time, after packing your luggage completely, you remember any important item and to place that again you have to open your complete luggage. In the case of soft-sided luggage, you wouldn’t face such a problem because they have a lot of outer front and side pockets even secured with a zipper.
Frequently Asked Questions about Hardside Luggage
Q1: What is the difference between softside and hardside luggage?
Ans: Here’s a difference between hard-sided and soft-sided luggage
|
Hardside Luggage |
Softside Luggage |
| Hardside luggage is rigid and tough. | Softside luggage is flexible. |
| These cases have an inbuilt TSA system. | You have to lock it. |
| There’s no additional pocket in hard-sided cases. | There are many extra pockets in soft-sided cases to store additional items or accessories. |
| Cost-wise, they are expensive. | Softside cases are budget-friendly. You can easily afford them. |
| Hardside luggage is waterproof. | These cases are made of cloth, so they are not waterproof. |
Q2: Which hardside luggage is most effective?
Ans: If you want the highest quality luggage, aluminum luggage is the most ideal option ever, but it is also expensive. If you want budget-friendly premium quality luggage, then you should buy a piece of polycarbonate luggage.
Q3: What are the different types of hardside cases?
Ans: There are ABS, Aluminium, polycarbonate, polypropylene, and Polyvinyl chloride hard-side luggage available in the market. They are also available on Amazon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, after reading the “disadvantages of hardside luggage“, you might be able to decide whether you should buy a piece of hard-shell luggage or not. Anything can’t be flawless completely. It’s normal to have some drawbacks along with many advantages. Along with the advantages and disadvantages of hard-side luggage, I have also discussed hardshell cases’ material. Read my article carefully. If its advantages suit you the best, I think you should go for the hard-side luggage.
