Originally Posted by SleepingDog
I'm not thrilled about the weight penalty, but what I'm really worried about is capacity. Sometimes I can 'encourage' an extra item or two into a soft bag after it's 'full'. I don't stuff my bags very often, but sometimes it can't be avoided. I often wonder whether that would be a problem with a hard case. Are they stuff-able?
Depends what you're sticking in there. On biz trips, I never need to "encourage" anything into my bags. On personal trips, I also carry a folded carry on, just for those extra fragile items. If you really want a hardcase that is expandable, I notice Heys luggage sells a suitcase with a polycarbonate shell held together with an expandable zipper (same as the softsides). I really don't know how well those hold up, though.
To me, most softsided bags are too weak all the way around and I'm really afraid of other bags and stuff smashing into them. The only acceptable softsides I would every consider are those Tumi's in which the shell seems to be made of aluminum alloy. ^
I think there isn't much of a true weight penalty for hardsides. The only exceptions are the Samsonite Oysters which are incredibly heavy.