TAMPA, Fla. — With holiday travel right around the corner, now is the time for suitcase shopping.
- Suitcase shopping for the holidays
- Things to consider in a suitcase: Zippers, wheels, hard shell, soft shell
- More Consumer Wise stories
Whether you're looking for durability or cool new features, buying a good suitcase is an investment to last for years.
There are so many things to consider when buying a suitcase: zippers, wheels, hard shell, soft shell or expandable.
"The downside on a hard side is you put less in a hard side bag, than you can a soft side bag," said Bob King, the President of Luggage Service, Inc.
An expandable bag can help travelers carry more.
"You have to have room to bring stuff home, for sure," said King. "To avoid those overweight baggage fees, some bags now weight themselves.
"For example, some bags show a bar in the handle if it weighs more than 50 pounds."
Some bags even have built-in phone chargers.
Then there's wheels.
Some bags have two while others have four. Some wheels run straight while other bags are equipped with spinning wheels.
A lot of folks do like to buy their bags in person—so they can touch and feel…and spin.
So do research online before going into a brick and mortar store.
No matter the bag you choose, King recommends packing it solid like a brick to avoid problems with luggage damage when the airlines mishandle bags.