Delsey Paris Titanium Hardside 29" Review

The architectural style of this bright, hard-sided bag helps it stand out. If you don't ever want to worry about losing track of your luggage on the conveyor belt again, the Paris Titanium could be a good option. It's not cheap at full list price, though, and we feel like some of the higher-ranked bags offer a better value.

Performance Comparison

Storage & Organization

The Paris is a roomy bag and will easily hold a capsule wardrobe — or four. If you often struggle to fit souvenirs in your pack on the way back from a trip, you'll really appreciate being able to unzip a strip of fabric to expand this bag's capacity. When we did, we were able to fit our entire test wardrobe in it.

This suitcase has a simple center zip that splits into two halves. On the right, a solid panel holds your clothes in place with a zipper. It also serves as a pocket with a single zipper accessing a tall and thin compartment that can keep track of electronics or a few crucial layers. On the left side, webbing crisscrosses the opening in the shape of an X, offering a bit of compression and helping to hold your stuff in place as you open the bag. It's a wide-open X, though, so you have to pack mindfully for your stuff to stay in place — or remember which side of the bag to open first. There's also a zippered pouch in the left compartment that's great for small items like electronic cords or toiletries.

It's a nice system, and we appreciate that there aren't so many pockets that you're likely to lose something in one of them. But it's the bare minimum. And, because this case doesn't offer any external organizing pockets that you can slip your wallet or jacket into while you're running through the airport, it's not our favorite option when it comes to organization.

Ease of Transport

We love that four-wheeled roller bags with off-set wheels that rotate 360 degrees will track right alongside you like a well-trained puppy, and the Paris Titanium does a good job in this regard. Its wheels are also large enough to handle cobblestones, rough pavement, and even gravel on occasion. It's not the most stable we tested, but it's only marginally behind our favorite rollers.

The Paris has two haul handles. One at the top and one on the side. Both keep a fairly low profile until you grab hold, then the padded handles expand out for your grip. The give and a welcome rubber cushion make the handles a pleasure to hold. We do wish there was one more handle on the bottom — this sleek package gives you very little to grip without one.

The telescoping roller handle has two settings that you reach by pressing a center button. It can be sticky and is quite loud when you shift settings, but it is comfortable in hand and does what it's meant to do. Still, the lightweight feel and finicky function are less confidence-inspiring than we'd like.

Reliability

This suitcase feels below average in the reliability category. The plastic shell is sturdy but not enough that we'd advise sitting on it. And the zippers feel like they're only of fair quality. We notice a lot with this type of hard-shell suitcase that the transition from stiff plastic shell to zipper fabric is very abrupt. Jumping from a very rigid material to a much less rigid one is a recipe for ripping (as our lead tester knows from her sail repairing days).

The flexible zipper must then serve as a shock absorber as well, and that's not what they're made for. This issue is compounded with the bag'sexpandable feature, unzipping even more flexible fabric in the middle of two inflexible shells. We wouldn't recommend this bag to frequent travelers for that reason. That said, it made it through testing just fine, and, if packed well, the contents of the bag can help add rigidity and reduce wear and tear.

This bag also has a TSA-approved lock system, which means that TSA has a special key to open the bag and search it if need be, but that the general public shouldn't have access to it. We really appreciate this added security, though the zippers have uncomfortable metal loops to accommodate the lock.

Weight

At 11.9 pounds, the Paris is on the heavier side of the bags we tested. It's got wheels, so it's not like the thing needs to be ultralight, but the heavier it is, the less you can pack before you run into weight restrictions on an airplane. You can normally check a 50-pound bag, and it's very easy to hit that mark with a suitcase this size, so don't pack it in too much when you're heading for a flight.

Style

The Paris Titanium has one of the more polarizing looks in our review, with some testers feeling charmed and others annoyed by its shiny surface. It reflects a lot of light and has a lot of lines, some of them arching. If you like having a bag that stands out more than your average black roller bag, that's a plus.

Value

For us, the value just isn't great for this suitcase unless you can find it on mega-sale. There are options with more thoughtful organizational features that pack in just as much stuff and seem sturdier. This is one of the lighter large bags we tested, though, so if you're really concerned about keeping your luggage light enough to fly with, this could be the right bag for you.

Conclusion

The Delsey Paris Titanium Hardside is flashy with just enough straps and pockets to hold your stuff in place as you open it. It rolls pretty well, with a fairly sturdy handle, and we think it will stand up to normal casual travel use.