With the advent of performance fabrics such as Ballistic and Cordura nylon soft-sided luggage may have put a permanent dent in hard-side luggage. After all, soft-side luggage is now every bit as durable as hard-side luggage and much lighter weight. Not so fast....the luggage industry is evolving, and some believe that as we enter tough economic times, the consumer is more focused on staple and durable items. Hard-side luggage was always perceived as offering the consumer unsurpassed protection of their valued contents.

                          

OLYMPIA MATRIX

The manufacturers of hard-side luggage have a new challenge with the airline's enforcement of charging extra for luggage that exceeds 50lbs. If the suitcase starts out heavy when empty, why would the customer even consider hard-side luggage? The answer is the development of a durable, yet lightweight plastic called Polycarbonate. Naturally, there are different qualities of polycarbonate, and some brands offer the lower priced polycarbonate composites that are not 'pure' polycarbonate and other brands feature the pure polycarbonate which are more expensive and offer better performance and more durability. However, the growth in popularity of this product is because the product offers all the features the consumer is looking for. The consumer can find a wide assortment of colors, patterns, sizes, and price ranges. Most well-trained Travel Goods Specialist should be able to educate the consumer into making the selection of the product that is best for their individual travel needs. The bottom line, is you do get what you pay for. The superior products cost more, yet provide superior performance.

 

BRIGGS & RILEY SYMPATICO                 

We weighed one of our most popular brands of Polycarbonate, and the largest size (29" Expandable) was only 11.7 lbs empty. Not bad at all for a hard-side zippered case, that features an expansion and the 4-Wheel Spinner system allowing you to glide with ease through airport check-in.

TUMI V4

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