CALPAK vs. Samsonite: Which is Better?

Why You Can Belief Us

The TravelFreak editorial workforce has examined dozens of suitcases through the years, and we’ve discovered rather a lot about what separates a high quality piece of bags from an overpriced, overhyped piece of plastic. We’ve examined and reviewed funds baggage, luxurious suitcases, and all the pieces in between.

We all know how laborious it’s to search out the proper suitcase, and we wish to make the method simpler for you. So we obtained our workforce of substances junkies and former product engineers collectively to develop probably the most complete luggage test methodology potential.

We examined and rated 6 CALPAK suitcases and 15 Samsonite suitcases, together with carry-ons and checked luggage, hardshells and softshells from each manufacturers.

We evaluated each certainly one of these suitcases on 31 metrics throughout eight classes. We gave all of them the identical remedy and rated them on the identical standardized scales. This makes it straightforward for us (and also you) to check the benefits and downsides of every.

At a Look

Scores
Common Total Rating	8.4	8.8
Common Construct High quality Rating	7.5	7.9
Common Ease of Use Rating	7.7	8.2
Common Performance Rating	8.7	8.9
Common Water Resistance Rating	8.3	8.0
Common Model Impression Rating	4.5	6.2
Common Shopping for Expertise Rating	5.0	6.8
Common Guarantee Rating	6.9	5.0
Common Worth-to-Efficiency Rating	8.7	8.6
Specs
Sort	Hardside, Softside	Hardside, Softside
Guarantee	2-year	10-year
Returns	Pay for return delivery, 30-day	Pay for return delivery, 90-day
Manufacturing Location(s)	China	India, China, Hungary
	Browse CALPAK	Browse Samsonite

CALPAK vs Samsonite: Fast Solutions

• Sturdiness: Samsonite makes extra sturdy baggage, however their funds fashions aren’t nearly as good as CALPAK baggage.
• Worth: Samsonite presents each budget-friendly and high-priced premium choices, whereas CALPAK is solidly mid-range on value.
• Guarantee: Most Samsonite baggage has a 10-year guarantee, whereas CALPAK solely has a 2-year guarantee.
• Sustainability: Samsonite makes use of recycled supplies and has applications to cut back power consumption and carbon footprint. CALPAK doesn’t have any sustainability initiatives.
• Supplies: CALPAK makes use of sturdy polycarbonate throughout the board. Some Samsonite suitcases use cheaper plastics and a few use cutting-edge supplies which are extraordinarily sturdy and impact-resistant.
• Design and Type: CALPAK baggage is fashionable, minimalist, and really trendy. Samsonite has extra selection, however none of their designs are as smooth or refined.
• Inside Group: Samsonite presents rather more selection for inside group, whereas all CALPAK suitcases are just about the identical.
• Expandability: Each CALPAK and Samsonite promote expandable suitcases.
• Wheels: Each manufacturers use related double spinner wheels which are smooth-rolling and sturdy.
• Deal with: The handles on CALPAK baggage are a bit sturdier than similarly-priced Samsonite fashions.
• Colour Choices: CALPAK has extra shade and magnificence choices than Samsonite.

CALPAK vs Samsonite: Which Ought to You Purchase?

Supplies & High quality

CALPAK makes use of 100% polycarbonate for his or her hardshell suitcases—similar to pricier manufacturers like Monos and Away. When you’ve been eyeing these uber-trendy suitcases, however can’t fairly justify the spend, CALPAK could also be an ideal possibility for you.

Samsonite makes use of a variety of supplies for his or her suitcases. Price range fashions are made with ABS or polypropylene, each of that are weaker than polycarbonate. The high-end Samsonite fashions use fancy high-tech supplies which are even stronger than polycarbonate.

CALPAK makes use of double spinner wheels, that are stronger than single spinners. Samsonite additionally makes use of double spinner wheels on all the pieces besides a couple of of their least expensive fashions.

That’s just about the sample you’ll see throughout the board when evaluating CALPAK and Samsonite. Samsonite’s low-end fashions are cheaper and fewer sturdy than CALPAK, however Samsonite’s higher-priced fashions are stronger and use higher elements.

Samsonite scored 7.9 on common for Construct High quality—a bit increased than CALPAK’s 7.5 Construct High quality rating. Bear in mind, although, that’s an common from each suitcase we examined from every model.

Design & Options

When you care about fashion, CALPAK is a reasonably clear winner. Their suitcases are smooth, minimalist, and on-trend. I particularly love the tremendous dialed-back look of the Hue Carry-On. The sort of stylish hardside baggage design has grow to be actually standard in recent times as a bunch of recent baggage startups like Away, Monos, and July hit the scene. CALPAK retains up with the perfect of them.

From the minimal Hue to the vintage-style TRNK, each bit has some character inbuilt, whether or not you favor flashy or understated. Plus, they’re all obtainable in a variety of enjoyable colours.

Truthfully, fashion is among the most important causes to decide on CALPAK over Samsonite.

Not that Samsonite instances look dangerous, they simply don’t have fairly the identical dialed-in, Instagram-ready look. Samsonite’s fashion tends to lean both towards skilled or techy. When you’re headed on a enterprise journey, one thing like their Elevation Plus Carry-On might slot in higher than a colourful CALPAK bag.

When you get previous the floor, all CALPAK suitcases are just about similar. Inside they’ve a zippered divider with a couple of mesh pockets on one aspect and a set of elastic compression straps on the opposite. It’s nothing fancy, but it surely works. I might in all probability suggest shopping for a couple of packing cubes to remain organized, although.

There are just a few fashions that diverge from this fundamental design. Their entrance pocket carry-ons (obtainable for the Hue or Ambeur kinds) embrace an exterior zippered pocket that’s good for a laptop computer or pill and has a couple of smaller pockets inside for issues like a passport, cellphone, boarding move, and pocket book. Their softside fashions (just like the Terra 45L) even have extra pockets to maintain smaller issues tidy.

Generally, although, should you desire extra pockets and group, you’ll be happier with Samsonite’s Outline Pro than with something from CALPAK. For a similar value as a CALPAK suitcase, you will get a way more organized and purposeful design.

Samsonite has an enormous vary of merchandise with very totally different designs, and it looks as if their designers are at all times developing with new progressive options, like built-in packing cubes and wi-fi charging pocket on the Just Right Carry-On or the included folding garment storage within the Samsonite Pro. There’s even a mannequin that has built-in LED lights to maintain you seen at evening on metropolis streets.

Principally, in order for you a sure characteristic, Samsonite in all probability has it.

Samsonite is extra sensible, and the group options make it simpler to pack. Samsonite scored 8.9 for Ease of Use, the place CALPAK solely scored 7.5. Samsonite additionally scored barely increased for performance.

Regardless that CALPAK focuses on fashion and didn’t rating as excessive in our rankings, their suitcases work nicely throughout real-world journey. Nonetheless, if fashion isn’t a very powerful factor, and also you need extra superior options, Samsonite has extra to supply.

Worth for Your Cash

Each CALPAK and Samsonite scored very nicely in our Worth-to-Efficiency class: 8.7 for CALPAK and eight.6 for Samsonite. If you wish to get an ideal bang to your buck, both model is a wonderful selection.

CALPAK actually shines when it comes to the sheer worth and high quality you get for the cash. Their baggage is fairly corresponding to manufacturers like Monos or July—you get the identical polycarbonate shell materials and smooth aesthetic—but it surely prices considerably much less.

When you like the trendy, stylish polycarbonate suitcase designs, CALPAK is just about the lowest-priced possibility on the market.

That mentioned, should you’re on a extremely tight funds, Samsonite does have cheaper fashions than CALPAK, particularly should you discover them on sale, which is frequent.

Guarantee and Shopping for Expertise

CALPAK’s guarantee just isn’t nice in comparison with the competitors. They solely have a 2-year restricted guarantee, the place many related manufacturers have lifetime warranties. I feel this is among the locations the place CALPAK is chopping prices to promote their suitcases for cheaper. That’s not essentially a foul factor, you simply must resolve if saving cash or having an ideal guarantee is extra necessary.

Samsonite does higher, with a 10-year guarantee on most fashions. Additionally they have a reasonably good status for changing or repairing suitcases below guarantee, so in order for you that peace of thoughts, Samsonite might be the higher selection.

Model Impression & Sustainability

When you care about shopping for sustainable merchandise and decreasing your influence on the atmosphere, you’ll wish to select Samsonite over CALPAK. Neither model is excellent on the subject of sustainability, however Samsonite scored considerably increased for our Model Impression class: 6.2. CALPAK solely scored 4.5.

Samsonite makes use of recycled supplies for many of their suitcases, and their Essens and Maxsum Eco fashions use 70% recycled materials for the laborious shell. Samsonite additionally has applications to cut back carbon footprint, use extra sustainable power, and assist honest working rights. The model nonetheless has an extended technique to go, however these are steps in the correct route.

CALPAK doesn’t use recycled supplies and has nearly no sustainability initiatives in place. Their focus is making good merchandise at an reasonably priced value moderately than making these merchandise good for the atmosphere.