The best luggage set on Amazon.in

The reasoning

This is a cabin, medium and large set in a polypropylene shell, each bag on 8 wheels with a flushed combination lock and a multi-stage handle. It stood out for its documentation, not a feature. VIP, which makes Aristocrat, sells the three Liberty bags singly on its own site and lists each one's dimensions, empty weight and capacity: the cabin at 41 x 24 x 58 cm, 2.5 kg and 40 litres, the medium at 47 x 29 x 68 cm, 3.2 kg and 71 litres, and the large at 53 x 33 x 78 cm, 4.0 kg and 106 litres.

That matters because the Amazon.in listing alone is muddled. Its weight field reads "10 g", and its 106 litres and 53 x 33 x 78 cm turn out, on VIP's pages, to be the large bag's figures rather than the set's. With VIP's pages beside it, the large bag is accounted for, and VIP's Cabin and Medium pages show what the other two Liberty sizes are, though the set listing doesn't itemise them. Among the other sets, the ACEPACK Megatron listing gives each bag's weight and capacity, and the American Tourister Liftoff+ and Kamiliant Harrier Zing listings give each bag's capacity, but we have no brand page for any of the three to check those figures against.

The listing gives a 3-year warranty, and VIP's Liberty pages say 3 years with "Full coverage on frame, wheels, zippers, and shell integrity". VIP's warranty policy is narrower than that line suggests. It covers manufacturing defects in hard luggage for 3 years for products bought from VIP, its authorized channels or vipbags.com, needs proof of purchase and an inspection, and leaves out normal wear and tear, scratches, dents, accidental damage and damage caused by airlines, airports or railway authorities. If a claim is approved, VIP may repair the bag, replace the faulty part or replace the bag with the same or an equivalent model, at its discretion.

The Aristocrat Altitude set came close on paper, with the same 53 x 33 x 78 cm on its listing and 217 litres in its capacity field, but we found no Altitude page on vipbags.com to say how that splits across the three bags. The Safari Thorium Royale has a TSA lock and a polycarbonate shell, which the Liberty doesn't list, but its listing gives a single capacity figure, 240 litres, without saying how it splits across the bags, and no weight for each bag.

The reasoning

The listing describes a keyless, TSA approved lock, a polycarbonate shell (that's what its material field says) and 8 spinner wheels. Inside it lists a wet pouch compartment for damp things, a multi utility pocket and adjustable compression straps. The bags are given as 55, 66 and 77 cm, with 240 litres of capacity, though the listing doesn't say whether that is the set or one bag.

Two sets on the shortlist list a TSA lock: this one and the American Tourister Liftoff+. The Liftoff+ states more in some ways, with a capacity for each bag (34, 70 and 95.5 litres), and its listing gives a 3-year warranty across 120+ countries; Safari's warranty policy says its warranty applies in 200+ countries, and that the warranty card is valid only if a Safari authorised dealer, store or outlet has filled it in, signed and stamped it. But the Liftoff+ title calls the large bag 79 cm while its Size field says 77 Cm, and its unit-count and number-of-items fields both say 1, against "Set of 3" in the title. The Thorium Royale's count and size fields agree with each other: 3 items, 55, 66 and 77 cm, and a large-bag height of 77 cm in its dimensions. It is also the one listing on the shortlist that mentions a wet pouch.

Its bullet gives a 3-year warranty against manufacturing defects. Safari's warranty policy says it will repair or replace a defective bag at its discretion, wants the original invoice plus a warranty card that a Safari authorized dealer, store or outlet has filled in, signed and stamped, and leaves out zip bursts, cracks, dents, scratches, wear on wheels, zippers and trolleys, rain or water damage and mishandling in transit. You pay to get the bag to Safari.