Best Samsonite Carry On

Children playing in the snow with a carry on from samsonite

Welcome, and thank you for stopping by!

Searching for the best carry-on luggage from Samsonite that it will suit you is not an easy thing to do.

To help you choose the luggage you deserve, I’ve created a short list of the best carry-ons that this company has to offer:

Model Dimensions More Info
Samsonite Silhouette Hardside Sphere 2
21 x 15 x 8
inches
Read Full Review
Samsonite Winfield 2
20×13.5×10
inches
Read Full Review
Samsonite Wheeled Underseater Large
16 x 13 x 7.5
inches
Read Full Review
Samsonite Omni PC Hardside
19 x 14.5 x 9.8 inches
Read Full Review
Samsonite Silhouette Softside Sphere 2

8 x 15 x 21
inches

Read Full Review

Remember to always check your airline’s rules before buying a new carry-on because they tend to change a lot, and your old carry-on might just be a regular piece of luggage today.

We all can remember a moment in time when we arrive at destination after a long plane ride, walk through the airport terminal, only to find our luggage missing upon arriving at baggage claim.

Following these experiences is a several day waiting period full of homelessness-equivalent living with no toiletries or clothes for the next day, until the airlines finally find our bags thousands of miles away.

A man pushing a samsonite carry on luggage on the airport

Thankfully, today we have the ability to forego the long and arduous process of checking a bag, and can simply take a smaller version with us as we board the plane.

Carry on luggage has become a marvelous convenience and is taken advantage of by over ninety percent of frequent fliers.

But there still looms a tough decision for the flier of what type and brand/product of carry on luggage to invest in, given the fact that there are countless options for fliers to choose from in 2019.

​But How To Chose A Top Rated Carry On Luggage From Samsonite ?

​To help you navigate the sea of options, the following are some important criteria to consider when searching for you next Samsonite carry on purchase:

Silver samsonite carry on luggage
  1. Dura​​​​​b​​​​​ility
  2. ​​Versatility
  3. Interior Room/Expansion & Contraction
  4. Number of Pockets
  5. Weight
  6. Price
  7. What Type of Bag?

Durability

​Is most likely one of the most, if not the most important feature when comparing different pieces of luggages. You must have a bag that will be able to withstand the bumps and tumbles of transporting through airports and being shoved into a small overhead compartment.

For this reason, we recommend the Samsonite Winfield 2 carry on luggage which features a hard shell polycarbonate skeleton, TSA locks, and impact absorbing rubber inserts. This tried and tested product has proven itself as the best small and lightweight, yet durable samsonite carry on spinner.

The Winfield also features a unified custom design that will be sure to stand out amongst the sea of generic suitcases of your co-passengers.

silver damage luggage

Some additional considerations regarding durability are the quality of the internal and external materials, as well as the warranty included in your purchase of the product.

It is very important that the external material of the luggage will be tough enough withstand the transport and storage of a lifetime full of flights.

Countless bags are damaged and inside items damaged every year. For this reason, we recommend hard external shells made of plastic or metal, like those offered by Samsonite products, as opposed to fabric or cloth-like material.

The harder materials with survive falls and vibration much more and be less prone to tearing, denting, and will be able to take a significant amount of scratching from external objects.

Your internal possessions will also have a smaller chance of being damaged in the event that something does penetrate your luggage.

In terms of craftsmanship and quality of materials, nothing speaks more about the confidence of the manufacturer than having a strong warranty.

If the company truly believes that the product you have purchased is one of high quality materials that will last a lifetime and be free of manufacturing defects, the product’s warranty will have a high amount of years (if not lifetime guaranteed) and will cover a wide span of defect situations.

A prime example of this is represented by Samsonite’s Global Warranty that spans the entire life of the first purchaser or recipient of the gift.

Versatility

Another great feature of small carry on luggage is that most of their iterations are extremely versatile, can serve several different purposes, while performing well at each of them and not being a one trick pony.

Many small bags such as the Samsonite Winfield 2 have both rolling wheels paired with a pull up bar, as well a leather briefcase-esque strap directly on the side.

This feature comes in handy particularly in situations where conventional rolling transport is not feasible, such as moving up a staircase or walking on uneven surfaces.

It is also recommended that you purchase sets of luggage that contain different sizes for different occasions. This will you give you the best experience for the handling the various situations within the world of travel that you can run into .

For example, many different airline carriers have differing policies on the size of carry ons that they allow on their aircraft.

Having all sorts of different products from one universal product line by the same brand will allow you to be familiar with the layout and thus keep you packing techniques the same across the board, regardless of the size you end up choosing for that particular adventure.

Interior Room/Expansion & Contraction

A carry on luggage zip with Expander write on it

An often overlooked feature in carry on luggage is the amount of compression that a piece of luggage can take and the effect that that compression has on the individual items within the luggage.

​One issue many frequent fliers have with luggage is that potentially flexible items such as clothing tends to be malformed after a long trip and vibration and movement.

Clothes often become wrinkled and items can even become broken and damaged. That being said, almost all of these issues can certainly be prevented with ease given that a piece of luggage has the proper amount of compression compensation in the amount and quality of the material of the exterior and interior lining of the bag.

Many lower tier companies will cut corners in this area by allowing the majority of the exterior shell of the bag to be very flat, making the area extremely prone to indents and penetration of irregularly shaped items such as pointed umbrellas, corners of other pieces of luggage, and compression of luggage stacks.

To mitigate this risk, a quality piece of luggage will have a ribbed exterior or multiple pieces of foam or rubber padding to absorb the amount of shock and increase the distance between the traveler’s items and the impacting external object.

The second method of reducing damage risk is the interior lining of the bag that allows (or doesn’t allow) for the natural compression/contraction and expansion of the materials inside the bag when they don’t all fit in an ideal fashion.

Many high end brands, Samsonite for example, take into account the fact the majority of travelers tend to over pack their suitcases with extra clothes and other objects making the luggage expand in size.

This will be accounted for by a lining that folds material over itself, allowing for gentle and smooth contraction and expansion of the bag with weight and external objects being put up against the exterior of the luggage. This goes a long way in preventing damage to both the interior lining of the bag and most importantly the items inside.

​Number of Pockets

The best carry on luggage manufacturers understand that frequent fliers have items that they travel with that come in all different shapes in sizes. For this reason, it is imperative that items have various amounts of space to be stowed in once inside the bag.

Unfortunately, most manufacturers compensate for this in a poor fashion, making all pockets of their luggage one huge size, leading to smaller items that are bunched together being prone to breaking and shifting around a great deal in transit.

Other manufacturers take the opposite approach by providing countless pockets. This is great, however due to the sheer number of pockets, they are so incredibly small that most items fail to fit in them, and those that do often break the pockets’ stitching due to being slightly too large. Therefore, the best manufacturers will create bags that have a mix of both large and smaller pockets.

​A textbook example of this are Samsonite bags, which are equipped with large magazine-sized pockets on the external side of their bags, with plenty of small-sized pockets and compartments within.

Weight

An important consideration within the world of carry on luggage is the weight of the piece. That is, it should be as minimal as possible.

This is because airline carriers nowadays are extremely strict on the weight of any type of luggage, checked or carry on. This means that fliers need to maximize their internal space without going over the weight limit specified by the carrier they are flying with.

If a bag is heavy in and of itself, the capacity, regardless of the internal storage volume, is hindered significantly by the fact that the base weight with no items inside is already high.

This leaves the traveler with almost no room to add what they want to a bag that’s already limited in size. For this reason, it is crucial that bags be lightweight from the get go, without sacrificing in the quality or durability departments.

This for most companies is a carefully calculated balancing act. To compensate for the drop in quality with the reduction in weight, many companies are turning to premium materials such carbon fiber fabric for the exterior shell of the bags, to reduce the base weight a significant amount. Others are using aluminum instead of steel frames, which in fact increases durability while reducing weight.

What remains to be seen is how innovations will continue in the future and whether or not we will reach a point in travel where our bags are almost as light as the clothes that we carry on the inside.

Price

​Of course one of the most important criteria when shopping for luggage is the cost. Luggage should indeed be seen as a long term investment, however one does need to go out on a limb and spend exuberant amounts of money in order to get a high quality piece of luggage that will last them a lifetime.

​Generally speaking, consumers should stay within the $50-300 range when searching for their ideal piece of luggage. Anything higher than this price point, and you are typically paying more for the upsell of the brand name or special “features” that don’t truly add any value to the product itself.

Do take note that when it comes to Samsonite luggages, price should be the least of your worries. It’s the kind of investment that you should make without putting too much concern on the price range.

Samsonite is a brand that speaks for itself, yes it’s more expensive than the usual luggage, but everyone you know will tell you it’s worth it.

What Type of Bag?

It is no secret that in today’s massive marketplace, particular in the luggage industry, choices are endless. Thousands of colors, brands, and models.

But prior to making a decision in those very specific criteria for choosing a carry on bag, fliers first need to decide what type of bag they wish to purchase.

There are traditional suitcases, typically accompanied by a rolling set of wheels and a pull bar; there are duffle bags, that typically have very minimal protection but are convenient in their flexible design and comfortable shoulder straps for transit.

There are also gender specific bags, for example briefcases for men, and shoulder purses for women. All of these types of luggage serve different purposes, and have different sets of pros and cons. This proliferation often confuses the buyer into inaction and making poor purchase decisions.

However there is an even better option out there. What if it was possible to blend the different types and uses of various models of carry on luggage, into a universal yet practical bag that could go anywhere on any occasion?

The Wheeled Underseater samsonite carry on spinner fits this bill perfectly , with its medium yet medium size, durable poly/nylon blend material, and numerous compartments.

Best of all is the dual approach to durability, with a hard frame to protect from bumps/compression, and a soft mesh outer lining, to mold itself to its surroundings

Samsonite Carry On : Conclusion

It is quite clear that the luggage industry is filled with countless options for the frequent flier to choose from. It is quite clear that Samsonite luggage is a great way to go when traveling light, assuming the quality of the product is top notch. While conventional suitcases provide the most amount of space for longer trips, they are quite a hassle when it comes to peace of mind, security, and cost. With the above criteria, you should be able to navigate the sea of brands and models, and select a bag that resonates with your needs appropriately.

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Author
Sorin Susanu
Sorin, the primary writer for this site, launched it in 2019 as a hobby and a means to refine his English. With a passion for travel ignited by a trip to Italy at age twelve, Sorin has been exploring the world and sharing his adventures ever since.