Founded in the 1980s by a pilot who was always on the go, Travelpro is an innovative luggage brand that has set the standard for the rolling luggage we all travel with today. The brand's bags, initially designed for airline personnel, were the first to roll upright and use a telescopic handle, and they were quickly adopted by the public who appreciated that the bags were easy to use and made frequent flying a breeze.
In recent years in the Good Housekeeping Institute Textiles Lab, we've tested more than 100 suitcases from popular luggage brands, and after extensive evaluation, Travelpro's suitcases, especially its softside luggage, continue to stand out in our tests. The bags have performed especially well in our durability and ease of packing tests, and they're beloved by our testers, including myself, who tried the bags out in our luggage obstacle course and even took them on their own work trips and vacations.
Keep reading to learn more about Travelpro's luggage and about how I and my fellow GH staffers put them to the test.
Travelpro Luggage Overview
Travelpro offers a variety of soft and hardside suitcases, along with other bags and travel accessories like backpacks, packing cubes and duffels. The brand's best-selling Platinum Elite collection is one of our favorite luggage lines for business trips and for those who travel regularly because of their top-of-the-line construction and functional features like easy-to-access external pockets, self-aligning wheels and durable nylon material.
Travelpro Platinum Elite Softside Expandable Carry On
Pros
- Tapered design to prevent tipping
- Durable nylon material
- Self-aligning wheels
Cons
- Some testers had difficulty steering
| Listed dimensions | 23.5" x 14.5" x 9" |
|---|---|
| Weight | 8.58 lbs |
| Material | Softside nylon |
| Expandable | Yes |
Travelpro Platinum Elite Softside Expandable Checked Luggage
Pros
- Foldable suiter and removable toiletries wet bag
- Sturdy telescopic handle
- Easy to use zippers
Cons
- Heavier than some other bags we've tested
| Listed dimensions | 11.25" x 18" x 25" |
|---|---|
| Weight | 9.68 lbs |
| Material | Softside nylon |
| Expandable | Yes |
Travlepro Luggage Performance
Durability
Travelpro is best known for its softside suitcases. The Platinum Elite carry-on and checked bags use a heavyweight nylon fabric that performed well in our abrasion assessments, resisting wear and tear after being rubbed back and forth 15,000 times by our Wyzenbeek abrasion tester, which simulates extended use. Plus, the material is covered in DuraGuard, a water and stain-resistant coating that helps keep your luggage in tip-top shape even with lots of use. We gave the zippers perfect scores for water resistance during our tests.
When we released the carry-on and checked bags repeatedly at different angles from our drop tester (pictured), we were impressed by how well the luggage held up, without major damage to the bags or breakage of the wheels or handles. After one roundtrip journey on an airline, I did notice some small marks and scratches on the plastic components surrounding the telescopic handle on the checked bag.
Packing
Your carry-on bag should hold everything you need for a short getaway, and Travelpro's Platinum Elite carry-on has a spacious interior with a capacity of 46L — 5 to 10L more packing space than some other carry-ons from popular brands we've tested. The bag unzips to reveal one large compartment to store all of your belongings (pictured), and it's full of helpful features to simplify packing.
One tester shared, "This had better organization than any other suitcase I’ve tried." When I packed the suitcase in the Textiles Lab, I was able to fit my standard packing load for a weekend trip's worth of clothing, shoes and accessories with ease, and there was room to spare. The softside material is flexible, so you can really fill it to the brim.
There's a removable garment bag, a wet bag for toiletries, several built-in mesh accessory pockets and four external pockets, including one that can hold up to a 15-inch laptop and another to store a portable power bank for convenient recharging on the go. To secure your things in place, there's an adjustable compression panel, and if you tend to overpack your bags like me, you'll love the 2-inch expansion system that's tapered to prevent the suitcase from getting top-heavy and tipping over.
The medium checked bag has 97L of packing space (more than double the space of the carry-on), making it the perfect pick for a long trip or a family vacation. At 10 lbs, it weighs more than some other medium checked bags we've tested, which eats into the 50 lb weight restriction set by most airlines.
Like the carry-on, it unzips to one large packing space (pictured) and is equipped with lots of compartments for organized storage like a larger removable wet bag, mesh pockets and a built-in suiter. One tester shared, "It helped keep me organized and made it much easier to find what I needed." There are two roomy external pockets to stash travel essentials, as well. This bag also has adjustable compression panels for security, and it offers 2 inches of zippered expansion for additional room.
Ease of Use
The telescopic handles on the Platinum Elite bags are contoured for a better grip (pictured). I was impressed by how easy it was to raise and lower the carry-on's telescopic handle without it jamming on the way up or down. The handle on the checked bag doesn't lift quite as smoothly, but it was incredibly sturdy and didn't wobble when fully extended. The carrying handles on both bags are made of genuine leather and aren't too tight, so it's simple to lift the bags into an overhead bin or from the luggage carousel.
A common tester complaint about Travelpro's Platinum Elite suitcases is they're a little more difficult to steer than other suitcases we've tested. The bags have magnetic, self-aligning spinner wheels that roll smoothly and glide over different surfaces like tile, wood and carpeting, but when I pulled the suitcases, they always drifted towards me instead of rolling alongside me, so I regularly had to redirect them.
The zippers are heavyweight and easy to pull, thanks to their contoured design, and they moved effortlessly along the track without sticking at the corners of the bag or getting caught on the material.
The Bottom Line: Should you buy Travelpro luggage?
Yes! If you consider yourself a frequent flyer, travel for business often or are just looking for something sturdy and reliable, I highly recommend investing in Travelpro luggage, especially from the brand's Platinum Elite collection.
The bags have a more traditional look and aren't going viral online like some other styles we recommend at GH, but they're classic, and they'll never go out of style. Priced at more than $300 for a carry-on suitcase, the luggage isn't cheap, but it's built to last. These bags have stood out for years in our Textiles Lab tests, always performing well in durability and performance categories.
If you purchase the luggage on Travelpro's website, the brand has a generous 100-day trial period, so you can test it out and return it for any reason if it doesn't suit your travel needs. Travelpro also offers a limited lifetime warranty for its Platinum Elite collection, covering defects on wheels, handles, zippers and more — and it even covers damages caused by airlines.
More Travelpro Luggage We Love
In addition to its standout softside suitcases, Travelpro carries other types of luggage. To match your Platinum Elite luggage set, opt for the Platinum Elite Underseat Duffel as your personal item. It's made with the same durable nylon material and classic style and has a built-in luggage sleeve to slide over your rolling suitcase.
If you prefer hardside luggage, Travelpro's Maxlite Air hardside suitcases are made with a lightweight yet durable polycarbonate material that performed well in our drop tests. The bag has a butterfly-style opening with two fully zippered compartments for maximum security, and there's an expandable panel for 2 inches of extra packing space.
The Maxlite line also includes softside bags like its Rolling Underseat Bag] that's designed to fit under your airplane seat. It features a telescopic handle and smooth rolling wheels for easy transport at the airport. We also love the bigger Maxlite luggage including the large checked bag, which is lighter-weight and more affordable than the brand's other softside suitcases, but it's not quite as luxe.
Travelpro Maxlite Air Hardside Expandable Carry on Luggage
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Rolling Underseat Bag
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
Amanda Constantine joined the Good Housekeeping Institute in 2022 as a home and apparel reviews analyst and has tested and written about different types of luggage and travel accessories including softside luggage, hardside luggage, checked and carry-on luggage, duffels and travel blankets. Amanda has also conducted luggage testing for our Family Travel Awards programs and is a frequent flyer herself, venturing on more than 50 flights and cross-country train rides over the past two years. She used her relative expertise and personal experience, along with Textiles Lab testing data when reviewing Travelpro's luggage.
Amanda (she/her) researches and reports on products in the Good Housekeeping Institute's Textiles, Paper & Apparel Lab, ranging from clothing and accessories to home furnishings. She holds undergraduate degrees in apparel merchandising and product development and advertising and marketing communications, as well as a master of science degree in consumer sciences from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Good Housekeeping in 2022, Amanda was a lecturer for the fashion and retail studies program at Ohio State, where she taught fashion and textiles courses.
