My two cents on this: I got an Away hard case on sale for somewhere in the low $200s. It’s lasted a long time and checked it through over 100,000 miles by now. I would be concerned to spend more than I did on checked luggage as it gets beat up and some of the other brands (BR and Rimowa) and many times over the cost I paid. I’m not sure you are getting that more bang for the buck by spending more, as long as you get something decent.

My main suitcase is a carry-on Samsonite hardshell that I've had for a decade - the thing is an absolute beast. It's been all over the planet with me, shoved into every conceivable bin (planes, trains, ferries, cars, buses), dragged through cobble roads, jungles, sand, gone through hundreds of airport baggage handlings. I've compressed weeks worth of items to the absolute bursting point into it.

After all that, it's never cracked, zipper has never burst, wheels still glide nicely. Individual mileage may vary, but I'd be hard-pressed not to recommend Samsonite based on my personal experience.

Briggs & Riley is worth every penny if you travel regularly. I have one that is 15 years old that I and airline employees have absolutely abused. If I were to clean it off it would appear brand new.  

The one potential down side to them is weight. If you are using them as carry on my 22" is pretty close to Air Italia and other european carrier maximums empty.

Travelpro

Proteca!

Pelican ATX suitcase. You won't find a more durable suitcase. Non zipper, built in TSA latches. Waterproof. Hinomoto wheels. Lifetime warranty. 

Travelpro for soft shell luggage. Buy once and have it for life (at least I’ve never had to replace). Do not buy cheap luggage from Amazon, you will use once and be replacing for every trip

Came here to say this. I travel for work, just slightly less than you. I wanted a bag that would allow me to skip checking one and still have enough clothes for a week’s worth of travel. I also wanted it to not look like ass.

My B&R is an International 21" Carry-On Expandable Spinner, and I’ve never had to check it or had issues with it fitting in overhead bins. (I copy/pasted the name from the website, I’m not a bot). I love how smooth the wheels are and the multiple points to grab it by. There are frantic handles on all four sides so you can pull your luggage out no matter how it’s in there.

The thing that made me okay with splurging on this luggage was the warranty. If the wheels break or something falls apart, B&R will replace it no questions asked. Worth every penny!

We have Aways that have done OK. They collect scuffs like nobody’s business but no actual wounds. Also have a couple soft Yeti “duffels”. I don’t use mine that much because I don’t like the way that it packs, but other than getting grimy they have held up well. In fact, I put a luggage tag on one with one of those metal wire attachments. Bag came back; luggage tag was gone but the loop that it was fastened to was still perfectly intact.

100%

The real difference is in the quality of the construction! No sharp or scratching zippers or seams.

When I use my spinner in one hand and my Samsonite crap spinner in the other, the B and R is the one that keeps up with me.

The other factor is how easy it is to put in overhead bins and easy to turn on the side.

Big fan of Briggs and Riley!

I travel less than you but my Briggs and has been all over the world. Mostly Southwest, but several trips to Europe and Brazil.

If you are a Costco member, just go to CostCo next.

I replaced an old samsonite with a travelpro platinum elite about 5 years ago (200 flights ago) and it's held up. My spouse now has one too and it's fine. Unless you have a unique need, I can't imagine buying a different carry on.

Since 2019 and never looked back. Bought for myself (smaller size) and husband (larger carry on size). We both love it

We are in the buy cheap and replace often camp. You can get 15 suitcases from Amazon for what a “nice” one costs.

Not a super frequent traveler like that but I would definitely consider Briggs and Riley, Travel Pro Elite, or Away if you want soft side; something with a lifetime warranty. You would want a lifetime warranty for hard side too. I have a hardside Away Large flex suitcase that I really like . I had a handle issue with my suitcase and Away replaced it without question. I would buy another Away suitcase without thinking twice. Debating about a hardside or soft side to replace a 13 year old and slowly dying Kirkland Signature carry on.

I have a non elite model Travel Pro hardside suitcase and I have been happy with it (it has been discontinued though). I am pretty sure I would replace my 13 year old Kirkland Signature checked suitcase with the Travel Pro Crew Medium Check In, or the Away Soft Side Medium

I recently invested in Travelpro luggage for my husband, and less than six months later, the zippers failed on his most used suitcase. Their customer service was terrible about resolving the issue, suggesting I send it 300 miles away for repair at my own expense. I ended up getting them to send me replacement zippers and paying someone locally to replace them. The repair shop said they stopped working on Travelpro because of the decline in quality.

Like my away suitcases, some of them survived 200+ flights, never had issues with wheels/zippers

Briggs & Riley and Tumi are the ones I have used and they have lasted a really long time for me

I have a Pelican Air 1535, and absolutely love it.  A little spendy, but worth it.  It's also modular, so you can replace wheels/handle as needed.

I love my Tumi bags and use them pretty much weekly. I had one for 10 years and the only reason I got another is because the handle broke and I sent it in to get fixed (they charged me like $30 to fix it) and so while it was getting fixed I bought a new one and have had that as my weekly for about 4 years now and my family uses the other Tumi. But I bought a B&R for my wife and have loved that as well. Haven’t had to use the warranty yet but that doesn’t get used as frequently. I should mention I ONLY carryon with my Tumi. I have a hard shell Tumi bag for when I check my bags but I don’t really use that other than international trips

B&R is great for the warranty. Tumi used to have the same warranty but now they have changed it so I am moving over to B&R but I still have 2 Tumi bags that I have been using for over 10 years and travel weekly with so once those go out I will switch to B&R fully

If you are travelling. Then sure, your packing process will lead you to face some challenging and stressful situations. Traveling with multiple luggage to and for is a burden and spoils your traveling experience. At that time a good suitcase can is very necessary. I had bought a suitcase from LEVEL8 which I got at an affordable price.

Wear and tears, and laws on size, weight and security, forced us all to change luggage a few times in the past 30 years. I have a 10 years old Samsonite trolley that fits, and costed less than 100 bucks on sale.

TravelPro. Trusted by pilots and crew.

Briggs and Riley. Lifetime warranty.

Can check out Briggs & Riley, they have a food warranty and repair policy.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I honestly think Samsonite is great. I know they aren’t new, but they’re solid. I have kept mine for 8+ years already and I purchased mine from Costco

Costco has good luggage

Never had an issue with my Samsonite and it's 13 years old now. I have a new American Tourister that I'm keen to see how it fares over time.

My parents travel with Antler luggage, with their oldest set bought I'm 2009 and it's still in pretty good shape after several international holidays and cruises.

Rimowa if you can afford it

Briggs and Riley. Expensive but great, and their warranty is second to none. They cover damage even if it was your fault.

Suit cases take a beating so either go with cheap suitcases that they sell at Costco that will last a while but are cheap enough to replace. Even the most expensive ones will get destroyed by most airlines if you do enough travelling. If you want what pilots use they usually choose travelpro. A bit expensive for a suitcase but will take a beating

Quince is good on the budget side and Samsonite on the medium price range.

Just STAY AWAY from suitcases made from ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene). Really cheaper suitcases are made from this and tend to break easier and last very few trips. Take it from me, I learned my lesson on that one and started researching the different materials more.

Polypropylene or Polycarbonate material is what you want.

Polypropylene is lighter weight and flexible. I. Most cases you could jump on it and it would bend but pop back in place. Samsonite freeform suitcases are usually made of this

Polycarbonate is harder and more sturdy. It takes a lot more abuse to crack. Quince is usually made of this.

If you find something you like on the hardcase side other than my suggestions then make sure you just look at the materials. Otherwise you can go these soft case route if you like those better. But with hard cases I like these spinner Wheels and I like eight spinner Wheels not the four because it's easier for maneuverability.

Away makes very good quality for the money. The locks are built flat into the side, and the zippers click into them. There is no need for extra locks. This actual makes it less likely that they will be damaged. I have the largest size they make, and I can pack over 100 lbs into it using the built-in compression system. I recently traveled for a week with just the large carry-on.

Given the bad handling that luggage receives - especially if it’s checked in, I buy the cheapest items available

I then worry less when it gets a great big rubber smear over it or - these days- if it goes missing entirely

However, try to buy lightweight as well

You have 3 options

• backpack and one bagging
• fancy luggage ( away, Monos, ..)
• cheap luggage

All options work, depending on a personal preferences. I use cheap lightweight dukap carry on (60 bucks, bought 5 years or more ago, no issues so far). But I don’t like backpacks on me, and don’t see why I need fancy luggage.

Whatever the current Eagle Creek model of two-wheeled wheelie that is international carry-on compatible.

go to r/onebag and just enjoy the rabbit hole.

Or if you're in the states, go to REI and find a clerk and buy something you can afford to fill and carry when full

TravelPro that's what most of the flight crew uses.

In the US the best way to travel with luggage is with a pistol of some sort inside of a padlocked Pelican case as a checked bag.

Pelican style hard cases. More secure than zip up hard cases and can take a beating, not to mention water proof as well. I prefer Nanuk brand. I have both a carry on and checked bag sized case and was just sent a brand new one for free because my old one cracked somehow (likely bouncing around in the back of a truck, great lifetime warranty). Zippers can be broken into with an ink pen so there's not much point in locking them but latches can't.

we have “away” branded ones and so far so good. they are lifetime warranty

Briggs and Riley

They tend to not have as good of a reputation because of the confusion between warranties of their different product lines, but TravelPro Platinum line has lifetime warranties against any damage. I think the suitcase I got was called the TravelPro Platinum Magna. I've had it about 7 years and it's holding up great. Fly about 20 round-trips a year.