LEVEL8 Luggage Review: Honest Opinion by Travelers

After carrying our backpacks across Latin America for two years, we were more than ready to swap them for suitcases for some of our upcoming trips. In this article we’ll provide a review of our beautiful LEVEL8 suitcases, including key design features and tips on choosing the right one for you. Plus, we’ll highlight our favourite characteristics which we think make their suitcases perfect for many kinds of traveler.

As a couple who travels regularly we want our suitcases to be durable and functional but also stylish. When choosing our luggage we tend to look out for features that ensure its safety, as well as help maximise the available space, so we can confidently pack our bags with everything we need for any type of adventure.

This is a sponsored blog post in collaboration with LEVEL8, who kindly sent us a few items to try out. As always all thoughts and opinions are our own.

LEVEL8 Luggage Review: Overview of the Brand

LEVEL8 is a premium New York-based luggage company founded in 2008. Their aim is to provide travelers with reliable, high-quality suitcases that are also incredibly stylish. Their hard shell luggage is available in various sizes and colours, including carry-on and checked-in versions, so you won’t have trouble picking a suitable one for your needs. They also sell travel accessories such as packing cubes, which we personally find essential for keeping everything organised.

You can start browsing through the official LEVEL8 website.

Where Do LEVEL8 Ship To?

As mentioned, LEVEL8 is based in the US but ships worldwide. Mainland US, Canada, UK, and Europe all receive free shipping. Yippie! Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East are subject to different shipping rates. Check their shipping page for more details.

The website promises fast shipping and we received our suitcases in less than a week, which is fantastic for an international order.

Which LEVEL8 Luggage Should You Buy?

Whilst all of LEVEL8’s suitcases share key features, they also sport slight differences. When choosing the perfect luggage for you, we recommend thinking about a few things. For example, perhaps you would benefit from a dedicated laptop compartment? Maybe you want the maximum amount of internal space? Or you just fell in love with one of the many available colours, like I did with the yellow Voyageur set.

All of LEVEL8’s luggage is available in multiple sizes. However, when picking your hand luggage you want to pay attention to the exact dimensions. Unfortunately, all airlines seem to have different carry-on requirements these days, and you don’t want to end up paying additional fees. We suggest choosing a carry-on that fits with your most used airlines baggage policies.

Although having a matching set looks great together, in the end we decided to try out two different designs. We got the Voyageur Checked 26″ in yellow (obviously), and the Luminous Textured Carry-On 20” in olive green. (Don’t judge me! I know I’m always wearing something yellow but it’s my favorite color and I just couldn’t not get a yellow suitcase). We also appropriately named them Sunny and Ollie.

Features of LEVEL8 Suitcases You’ll Love

We were so happy when we saw that the luggage came with a dust bag. This is a small but lovely addition to avoid dust accumulation on our suitcases when we’re not using them.

The next feature we love is that the cases are built with a German-made Makrolon® polycarbonate hard shell. I admit that I had to Google what that actually meant. Well, it turns out that this material is essentially what makes their luggage so durable; exactly what we need when they’re constantly in use.

Both the carry-on and checked-in cases are fitted with TSA approved integrated locks. Being able to lock our suitcases is important, especially for our checked-in bags which we can’t always keep in sight. Trust me, replacing even just a few missing items can be costly, not to mention emotional if you end up losing something sentimental. With TSA approved locks security can open our bags without damaging them, which is unfortunately what would happen with your average built-in locks.

Their cases also all come with 360° Spinner Wheels. Having four multi-directional wheels makes it easy to push and pull the suitcases, instead of just dragging them behind us which makes our arms ache after a while. The aluminum telescopic handle also feels sturdy, so we haven’t had to worry about it snapping in half whilst out and about.

LEVEL8 cases are incredibly stylish and colourful. Whilst looks aren’t everything, we cannot not highlight the beautiful, sleek design and range of available colours. When I have to live out of my suitcase for a year, I want it to make me feel happy and excited every time I look at it. That pop of colour from the yellow Voyageur set always puts a smile on our faces when we’re headed to the airport at the crack of dawn.

Small Features of LEVEL8 Luggage that We Love as Travelers

Whilst the key features above would likely appeal to any type of traveler, it’s the small design elements that really stand out to us as long-term travelers.

Like being able to zip-close both sides so our clothes stay organised. There’s nothing worse than trying to open your luggage and having half of your nick-nacks fall out. Especially in a public space.

Apart from its yellow colour, we also chose the Voyageur collection because of the handle design which allows the interior luggage space to be utilised fully. When we embark on a long adventure we could quite literally visit the Atacama Desert and Antarctica on the same trip. This means that even if we’re minimal with our packing, we’ll still need to pack all kinds of climate appropriate clothing. The handle design means that we can organise our stuff easily with packing cubes without the need to play a game of Tetris around the handle bar, which can result in losing precious space (and our sanity).

Having a waterproof pocket inside the Voyageur is also absolute genius. This allows us to store slightly damp clothes, like swimwear that didn’t have time to dry, or to pop a few products in there that could leak when in transit. The material is also easy to clean in case something does spill; because something always seems to spill, no matter how carefully we pack!

Cons of LEVEL8 Luggage

Of course an honest review wouldn’t be complete without expressing some of the design cons and a few of our concerns.

Clam shell designs take up more room when the luggage is fully open. If you need something in a hurry, it’ll be harder to get anything out of the case quickly. Especially if you’re in a tight space like the aisle of an airplane. We personally don’t mind this design but it’s not everyone’s cuppa.

You certainly won’t be able to use these cases as a ‘personal item’, only as a ‘large cabin bag’. In addition, the carry-on luggage sizes probably won’t fit all airlines’ baggage policies either. Again, this happens with many other suitcases too, since airlines love to have different carry-on luggage allowances. In Europe particularly they have become super strict, and will try to charge you extortionate amounts if your luggage doesn’t conform. Luckily, the Luminous Textured Carry-On 20” (37 x 23.5 x 54.5cm) is fine for airlines like easyJet and Jet2 but not with Ryanair.

You could still get scratches. Obviously, just because these are high-quality suitcases it doesn’t mean that airport staff will handle them with any more care. So, we always expect some bruises as we take Sunny and Ollie around the world. However, the material makes this less likely, and the textured surface makes it harder to physically see them.

The external wheels could get damaged but then again, most suitcases these days have this type of design. We would still much rather move the luggage around easily on four-wheels than have muscle pain for days after traveling.

Most hard-shell suitcases aren’t expandable, although some of the Level8 designs allow you to gain extra space for more efficient packing.

Final Thoughts: Why Should You Invest in a Quality Luggage like LEVEL8?

For years, we were reluctant to spend more than the bare minimum on suitcases. Which, as you would expect, resulted in us using them for less than a year before they were completely broken. We still recall the (now) funny memory of trying to wheel my luggage through the busy city of New York without a handle, which was broken by being manhandled at some point during the preceding flight.

Of course, accidents can happen even with high-end products. However, when you’re told that it would cost more to submit a claim and get your cheap case repaired than to buy a new one, it makes you realise that in the long run you’ll end up spending more money on buying flimsy suitcases than investing in a quality piece. Not to mention the environmental impact of throwing away things on a regular basis, and the extra stress of going shopping for a new luggage instead of exploring a new destination.

For this reason, we’re pleased to have a sturdy and stylish Level8 luggage that we’ll love and use for years to come.