CALPAK vs. Samsonite: Which is Better?

Why You Can Belief Us

The TravelFreak editorial staff has examined dozens of suitcases through the years, and we’ve discovered quite a bit about what separates a top quality piece of bags from an overpriced, overhyped piece of plastic. We’ve examined and reviewed finances baggage, luxurious suitcases, and every part in between.

We all know how exhausting it’s to search out the proper suitcase, and we need to make the method simpler for you. So we obtained our staff of drugs junkies and former product engineers collectively to develop probably the most complete luggage test methodology doable.

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 one among 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 simple for us (and also you) to check the benefits and drawbacks of every.

At a Look

Scores
Common General 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 finances fashions aren’t pretty much as good as CALPAK baggage.
• Worth: Samsonite gives each budget-friendly and high-priced premium choices, whereas CALPAK is solidly mid-range on worth.
• 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 scale back vitality 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 can be extraordinarily sturdy and impact-resistant.
• Design and Type: CALPAK baggage is trendy, minimalist, and really fashionable. Samsonite has extra selection, however none of their designs are as modern or refined.
• Inside Group: Samsonite gives way 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 comparable double spinner wheels which can be 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 coloration and elegance 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. In the event you’ve been eyeing these uber-trendy suitcases, however can’t fairly justify the spend, CALPAK could also be a terrific possibility for you.

Samsonite makes use of a variety of supplies for his or her suitcases. Finances 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 can be 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 every part besides a couple of of their most cost-effective 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 larger 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

In the event you care about fashion, CALPAK is a reasonably clear winner. Their suitcases are modern, minimalist, and on-trend. I particularly love the tremendous dialed-back look of the Hue Carry-On. Any such stylish hardside baggage design has turn into actually common lately as a bunch of recent baggage startups like Away, Monos, and July hit the scene. CALPAK retains up with one of the best of them.

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

Truthfully, fashion is likely one of the predominant causes to decide on CALPAK over Samsonite.

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

When you get previous the floor, all CALPAK suitcases are just about equivalent. Inside they’ve a zippered divider with a couple of mesh pockets on one facet and a set of elastic compression straps on the opposite. It’s nothing fancy, but it surely works. I’d 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 (accessible for the Hue or Ambeur types) embody 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, telephone, boarding cross, and pocket book. Their softside fashions (just like the Terra 45L) even have extra pockets to maintain smaller issues tidy.

Usually, although, in the event you desire extra pockets and group, you’ll be happier with Samsonite’s Outline Pro than with something from CALPAK. For a similar worth as a CALPAK suitcase, you may get a way more organized and useful design.

Samsonite has an enormous vary of merchandise with very totally different designs, and it looks like their designers are at all times developing with new modern 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 night time on metropolis streets.

Mainly, if you would like 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 larger for performance.

Although CALPAK focuses on fashion and didn’t rating as excessive in our scores, their suitcases work properly throughout real-world journey. Nonetheless, if fashion isn’t crucial factor, and also you need extra superior options, Samsonite has extra to supply.

Worth for Your Cash

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

CALPAK actually shines by way of 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 modern aesthetic—but it surely prices considerably much less.

In the event you like the fashionable, stylish polycarbonate suitcase designs, CALPAK is just about the lowest-priced possibility on the market.

That stated, in the event you’re on a extremely tight finances, Samsonite does have cheaper fashions than CALPAK, particularly in the event you discover them on sale, which is frequent.

Guarantee and Shopping for Expertise

CALPAK’s guarantee isn’t nice in comparison with the competitors. They solely have a 2-year restricted guarantee, the place many comparable manufacturers have lifetime warranties. I believe this is likely one of the locations the place CALPAK is slicing prices to promote their suitcases for cheaper. That’s not essentially a nasty factor, you simply must determine if saving cash or having a terrific guarantee is extra vital.

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

Model Impression & Sustainability

In the event you care about shopping for sustainable merchandise and lowering your impression on the atmosphere, you’ll need to select Samsonite over CALPAK. Neither model is excellent with regards to sustainability, however Samsonite scored considerably larger 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 exhausting shell. Samsonite additionally has applications to scale back carbon footprint, use extra sustainable vitality, and help honest working rights. The model nonetheless has a protracted approach to go, however these are steps in the precise course.

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