By Kate Harvey
Content Manager | Pou Whakahaere Ihirangi
We’ve just put a bunch of suitcases from brands such as Samsonite, American Tourister, Delsey and Flylite through an absolute battering in the lab. They’ve been dropped, jabbed and showered to see which ones are worthy of accompanying you to your holiday destination.
After all that, there’s one we definitely don’t recommend that you trust to hold your belongings – The Warehouse’s Living & Co Basic Hard Case. We tested the 70cm one, which costs $89, and have given it our “Don’t Buy” label.
While the case held up well in the puncture test, it did terribly in the lift-and-drop test where we drop each bag 300 times from 90cm.
A lot of the bags made it through to the end of this test with no major damage, but we decided to call it quits early on the Living & Co one. After just 20 drops there was a crack in the corner of the case, and at 100 drops all four wheels were damaged and couldn’t be used.
We also found the case can be difficult to move on asphalt, the wheels get caught going in and out of lifts, and the handle isn’t comfy.
Most of the bags in our test came with a 10-year warranty, but the Living & Co one didn’t seem to have one.
Amy McNabb oversees our luggage testing and said the quality of your suitcase could make or break your trip.
“Broken wheels can mean lugging a heavy bag by hand. A bag that gets a tear or broken zip in transit can mean losing your belongings. It’s enough to ruin your holiday,” she said.
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What suitcase should I buy?
As well as checking the hardiness of the suitcases, we make sure they’re a pleasure to pull behind you as you travel through airports, accommodation and everything in between. We pull them over rough and smooth surfaces, carry them up and down stairs, and go through doorways and into lifts.
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