The best check-in luggage on Amazon.in

The reasoning

The Liberty is a polypropylene hard case on 8 spinner wheels, with a flush combination lock and a multi-stage handle. VIP Industries' own page for the Liberty Large lists 53 x 33 x 78 cm, 4.0 kg and 106 litres, and the Amazon.in listing gives the same dimensions and capacity. The listing's weight field reads "4 g", which can't be right; VIP's page settles it at 4.0 kg.

What decided it is that pairing of capacity and weight on numbers we could check. Only two bags on the shortlist have a listing and a brand page that agree on size and capacity: this one and the Mokobara Transit, which gives 100 litres at 5.1 kg. Two listings match or edge the Liberty on paper with no brand page behind them. The Aristocrat Altitude gives the same 106 litres, 53 x 33 x 78 cm and 4 kg, and the Kamiliant Savvy gives 108 litres at 3 kg 970 g, but neither appears in its brand's online store.

Four listings give a lower empty weight than the Liberty's 4.0 kg: American Tourister's Liftoff+ (3 kg 500 g) and Upland Sport (3 kg 900 g), and Kamiliant's Harrier Zing (3 kg 730 g) and Savvy. The Upland Sport lists 104 litres and the Harrier Zing 87584 cubic centimetres, both less room, and the Liftoff+ listing gives no capacity at all. At the other end, Safari's Genius Alley, Genius Theo, Crescent, Roma, Thorium Royale and the Dusk Green Pentagon Pro list more room, about 108 to 120 litres, but each listing gives 4 kg 500 g. The Rose Gold Pentagon Pro listing claims 120 litres at 4 kg 100 g, yet it calls the bag large and small in its title and medium in a bullet, gives 3 years of warranty in a bullet and 5 in its warranty field, and the Dusk Green listing of the same bag says 113 litres and 4 kg 500 g. Safari's own store doesn't list the Pentagon Pro, so nothing settles which is right.

The listing gives a 3-year international warranty, and VIP's page says the 3 years cover the frame, wheels, zippers and shell integrity. VIP's warranty policy covers manufacturing defects only, leaves it to VIP to repair the bag, replace a part or replace the bag, and excludes scratches, dents, accidental damage and damage caused by airlines. That policy is written for purchases from vipbags.com and VIP's authorised channels, and it doesn't say whether an Amazon.in seller counts, so keep your invoice.

The reasoning

Mokobara's own page and the Amazon.in listing agree on the numbers: 74 x 51 x 30 cm, 5.1 kg and 100 litres. The shell is German Makrolon polycarbonate, the 8 wheels are Hinomoto, the zips are YKK, and the lock is a one-push TSA-approved lock.

Neither the shell nor the lock is unique to it. Safari's Roma, Genius Theo, Astra Neo, Thorium Neo, Crescent and Thorium Royale and American Tourister's Barcelona are polycarbonate too, going by their listings, and the Thorium Royale listing also names a TSA-approved lock, with 120 litres at 4 kg 500 g. That listing beats the Mokobara on room and weight. We kept the Mokobara because its maker's page confirms its figures and its warranty claim form lists Amazon as a place of purchase and asks for the invoice, while Safari's store doesn't list the Thorium Royale and Safari's warranty policy wants a warranty card stamped by an authorised Safari dealer along with the invoice.

Inside the airline damage cover panel on Mokobara's product page, a list headed "Also covered under warranty" names shell cracks and dents, wobbly wheels, stiff handles, zips and handles. That panel is part of Ctrl+Z, which Mokobara's policy says does not apply to Amazon purchases. Mokobara's warranty FAQ gives the Transit range 3 years and says its warranty covers repair or replacement of any defective material or component, not regular wear and tear.

You pay for all this in weight. At 5.1 kg empty it is the heaviest bag on the shortlist, more than a kilo above the Liberty's 4.0 kg, and it holds less, 100 litres to the Liberty's 106.

The reasoning

The Commander's listing gives 137 litres, the largest capacity any shortlisted listing states, at 4 kg 100 g and 48 x 36 x 79 cm. The listing and VIP's page both say the built-in expander opens up to 30% more space, and the listing describes two packing compartments with built-in straps and a 3-digit combination lock. It rolls on 4 spinner wheels rather than 8.

Neither the listing nor VIP's page says whether the 137 litres is with the expander open, and VIP's page gives no dimensions, weight or capacity for this size at all; its spec table even reads "Luggage size Cabin". The page's two variants, STCOM79EBLK and STCOM79EFGN, include this listing's model number, so it is the right bag; take the size figures from the listing. VIP's page says the 3-year warranty covers the fabric, zippers, wheels and handles, and the same VIP policy and exclusions as the Liberty apply.

Skybags' Rubik is the other expandable soft case here, and its listing and VIP's product page give a 5-year warranty to the Commander's 3, though VIP's warranty policy lists 3 years for hard and soft luggage. We passed on it because its numbers don't hold together: the listing gives 86 litres in one field and 100 in another at 47 x 37 x 78 cm, while VIP's Rubik Large page says 133 litres and 79 x 48 x 33 cm. The listing's model field reads only "Rubik", and VIP's page gives a different code for each colour of the large size, so the listing doesn't tie itself to one of them.