Whether you’re headed on a quick weekend getaway or to a three-week-long vacation on the other side of the world, there’s a reason frequent travelers trust hard-shell luggage to get their valuables from point A to point B. Sturdy, box-like hard-shell suitcases are typically made of ultra-durable polycarbonate or aluminum (which makes them both easier to clean than typical fabric suitcases and rugged enough to make it through baggage claim without falling apart). When you bid farewell to your suitcase at check-in, you don’t have to worry about whether or not it will return to you in one piece. These heavy-duty suitcases can withhold everything that TSA has to throw at them, and often feature all the same perks you’d expect out of high-quality luggage—TSA-approved locks, USB ports, helpful internal organizers, spinner wheels that can cover airports as well as cobblestoned streets, and more. So, our editors set out to find the most reliable hard-shell cases, testing dozens of options from our favorite luggage brands. From weekend-friendly carry-ons to large (yet easily maneuverable) check-ins, here are the very best hard-shell suitcases of 2024.
This article is part of Condé Nast Traveler’s second annual Luggage Week, for which dozens of suitcases, backpacks, and weekender bags were road-tested by our editors.
How we tested:
To help us recommend the absolute best luggage to our readers, more than a dozen Condé Nast Traveler editors and contributors spent months (and in some cases, years) road-testing the newest and best-selling bags from top travel brands. These bags accompanied us near and far on planes, trains, buses, and cruises, from local staycations and Hamptons getaways to the Paris Olympics and Marlon Brando’s private island in French Polynesia. We packed these bags to the brim, lifted them into overhead bins, rolled them down cobblestone streets, and inspected every bump and scuff they endured. We considered each bag’s weight, capacity, functionality, price point, and how well it held up after several trips. We also identified smart design features that make a bag stand out from its competitors, like having weight indicators, separate shoe compartments, or ample pockets. After traveling with each bag, we carefully reviewed them, keeping the aforementioned criteria in mind to determine which ones are worth the cost and a spot in our Luggage Week lineup.
