Samsonite c-lite, cosmolite, firelite, lite shock or proxis ultra lightweight luggage?

Hi all,

My current 75cm hardcase weighs about 4.5kg. Which out of 23-25 (or even 30kg) allowance, is a fair whack.

I'm considering an upgrade to one of the Samsonite ultralight hardcases as it'll give me an extra 2kg, which is the difference between bringing a port and some lights vs not...

I've read a variety of reviews, some saying these are awful and others stating quality control is very poor, and that the hinges are simply not as durable as one would expect. I pack mine well and I've never had issues with luggage or its content, be it soft or hardcase.

Does anyone have any of the ultralight hold luggages from Samsonite and could you share your experiences?

In it together to combat luggage restrictions! 

On 1/20/2023 at 11:03 AM, sinetwo said:

Hi all,

My current 75cm hardcase weighs about 4.5kg. Which out of 23-25 (or even 30kg) allowance, is a fair whack.

I'm considering an upgrade to one of the Samsonite ultralight hardcases as it'll give me an extra 2kg, which is the difference between bringing a port and some lights vs not...

I've read a variety of reviews, some saying these are awful and others stating quality control is very poor, and that the hinges are simply not as durable as one would expect. I pack mine well and I've never had issues with luggage or its content, be it soft or hardcase.

 

Does anyone have any of the ultralight hold luggages from Samsonite and could you share your experiences?

 

In it together to combat luggage restrictions! 

Ha that is the very same thing i've been thinking about lately...sure its 23kg but once you count in the actual luggage weight it suddenly becomes 19...or less. Managed to combat this slightly by switching to an aluminum backplate (instead of a steel one) and generally trimming the gear/replacing with lighter parts (like Miflex instead of rubber hoses) but its still a bother....
 

Currently using those for checked-in stuff:

-Eastpak Tranverz L - HxWxD: 79x40x30cm, Volume: 121 Liter, Weight: 3720 g
-Eastpak Tranverz M - HxWxD: 67x35.5x30cm, Volume: 78 Liter, Weight: 3110 g - if not taking camera, managed to squeeze all dive gear there too, only fins need a bit of a push

Those are not ideal weight wise but great for packing and survive a lot plus are a perfect combination of stiff (to protect the gear) and soft  (so can stuff an odd thing inside)

That said Ive been looking at the below recently. Weight wise those are very tempting, just its a definitely softer design and has no telescopic handle.

-Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 110L - HxWxD: 77x34x38cm, Volume: 110 Liter, Weight: 1930 g
-Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 130L - HxWxD: 86x35x38cm, Volume: 130 Liter, Weight: 2010 g

Hard cases I am not sure about - worried these might break easily, plus stuffing an odd sized items (or fins) might be problematic as one cannot "bend" the outer casing. Also somehow prefer not to flash expensive cases around xD Weight is so so but definitely beats that 4.5kg you are lugging around ;]
Lightest seems to be the C-Lite series:
- 75cm - HxWxD: 75x51x31cm, Volume: 94 Liter, Weight: ca 2800 g
- 81cm - HxWxD: 81x55x34cm, Volume: 123 Liter, Weight: ca 3100 g

These are pricey but Amazon.es has some as low as 229 Euro, at least the 69cm size. larger ones are on average about ~340 Euro.
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00VFQSE4W

Any reason you are focused on hard shells only ?
 

7 minutes ago, makar0n said:

That said Ive been looking at the below recently. Weight wise those are very tempting, just its a definitely softer design and has no telescopic handle.

-Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 110L - HxWxD: 77x34x38cm, Volume: 110 Liter, Weight: 1930 g
-Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 130L - HxWxD: 86x35x38cm, Volume: 130 Liter, Weight: 2010 g

I've just been down this route too. My 20-year old Eagle Creek dive bag was starting to, errr, creek. It withstood very many dives trips and being hauled through all sorts of grim places. 

I just took delivery of an Eagle Creek CARGO HAULER XT WHEELED DUFFEL 120L/32"

It's not quite as light as the ones you list. I had a good look at the 130L Hauler (price and weight are very good, I thought) but could see if loaded with dive gear, the lack of rigidity in the frame would make it difficult to pull. I wanted to check whether my fins would fit inside and checked with Eagle Creek. They do and EC recommended the Hauler XT for dive gear because of the rigidity issue. 

It's lighter than its predecessor (RIP) and looks good. It's going to get called into action next month.

21 hours ago, TimG said:

I've just been down this route too. My 20-year old Eagle Creek dive bag was starting to, errr, creek. It withstood very many dives trips and being hauled through all sorts of grim places. 

I just took delivery of an Eagle Creek CARGO HAULER XT WHEELED DUFFEL 120L/32"

It's not quite as light as the ones you list. I had a good look at the 130L Hauler (price and weight are very good, I thought) but could see if loaded with dive gear, the lack of rigidity in the frame would make it difficult to pull. I wanted to check whether my fins would fit inside and checked with Eagle Creek. They do and EC recommended the Hauler XT for dive gear because of the rigidity issue. 

It's lighter than its predecessor (RIP) and looks good. It's going to get called into action next month.

Yeah those are a bit softer and no handle...the very reason I am still undecided though weight does seem very tempting.
As for the Hauler model, looks nice but 4290g....daaarn that is heavy. Eastpak is lighter there and looks very similar, stiff bottom frame, softer top. Been using it for almost a decade and holds well

On 2/8/2023 at 11:12 AM, makar0n said:

Any reason you are focused on hard shells only ?

Nice write up by the way!

I'm mostly focused on hardshell, because I feel with some natural padding (clothes, wetsuit, towel I would bring regardless), they would be a safer choice than a soft case?

With a soft case I'm concerned that the baggage handlers will throw them on to a sharp object and it will penetrate deeper than on a hardshell. With a hardshell it may crack, but a soft case would just rip at some point.

Perhaps that isn't the case and I should look at soft cases, as I know this ugly and cheap suitcase could well be the ticket if I get over my "soft case" fear

On 2/22/2023 at 10:52 PM, sinetwo said:

Nice write up by the way!

 

I'm mostly focused on hardshell, because I feel with some natural padding (clothes, wetsuit, towel I would bring regardless), they would be a safer choice than a soft case?

 

With a soft case I'm concerned that the baggage handlers will throw them on to a sharp object and it will penetrate deeper than on a hardshell. With a hardshell it may crack, but a soft case would just rip at some point.

 

Perhaps that isn't the case and I should look at soft cases, as I know this ugly and cheap suitcase could well be the ticket if I get over my "soft case" fear

Thanks, glad if that helped somehow.

Sharp things - possibly, on the other hand if its sharp and it has enough force, there is a chance it will break hard shell too. Maybe that's an idea for another Wetpixel youtube episode - pack camera gear inside suitcases, drive a car over, see which one survives
Eastpak is kinda 50/50 - it actually splits in two compartments, bottom one is actually stiff, top one is soft (so suitcase can be half size if empty). I normally put the most delicate thing, regs, wrapped in a wetsuit in the bottom one, then stick fins between the compartments so they act as a hard "roof" over the bottom one, and done.

And if you really want an unbreakable thing then I guess maybe a Peli case will be a better choice. If you are not traveling from/to US you can actually put real locks on that thing, since TSA compliant rule won't apply. Dunno, maybe I was lucky, but in a few decades had only damage twice, once external (wheels) and once internal (tiny plastic part of the reel) but then the suitcase was absolutely packed as I attempted to squeeze contents of size L into M. Now a way bigger pain was when the whole thing has vanished into thin air, but then it really didn't matter how hard was the suitcase (in fact maybe being a softie somehow helped during the extended "guest stay" at the airport, and only some stuff got moldy inside, since the fabric let some air through I guess)

I am still looking around, would definitely want to go lower than current weight but hard to find real reviews, too many paid ones out there. And the Eagle Creek mentioned (not the Hauler XT) is less and less likely as that is definitely a completely soft bag. That said I do love the look of those full aluminum hard cases. Just the weight is downright silly