Samsonite Freeform Carry-On vs Traveler’s Choice Pagosa: Mid-Priced Luggage Throwdown

I have a confession: my basement basically looks like a luggage store. We have all sizes of suitcases, duffel bags and backpacks to meet the demands of any trip you can dream up.

And yet, there are a few pieces that we reach for week after week – truly, this summer we’ve been pulling them out every single week for a different trip. Those workhorses are our carry-on suitcases.

I’d call us heavy users, but not necessarily connoisseurs, of luggage. We need items that are practical, hold all our stuff and work well without falling apart or looking like garbage. We’ve had a $25 suitcase that completely broke in half, and I know if I dropped $300 on a high-end case that got scratched I’d feel pretty bummed. So we live firmly in the mid-priced carry-on suitcase world, typically budgeting $100-150 for one that I expect to last for 5-10 years.

In this review I’ll dive deep comparing the Samsonite Freeform and Traveler’s Choice Pagosa, which are two popular mid-priced suitcases our family owns. I’ll go over the basics of each, their similarities and differences and which one you should choose.

Why We Needed New Carry-Ons (aka My Sob Story)

You don’t have to read my sob story, but hopefully it’ll give you some context for why I’ve been on a carry-on shopping spree this summer. If you don’t care, feel free to scroll to the next section.

We really appreciate things that last a long time, and suitcases are no exception. When this year began, we were traveling with two hard-sided spinner carry-ons purchased in the last few years and two older two-wheeled, soft-sided suitcases made by Skyway (which you can see in the photo above).

I have to give a lot of props to Skyway here. We purchased one of those suitcases when we were engaged in 2008 and the other came to college with me in 2000! For a mid-priced suitcase to last 26 years is pretty incredible.

Unfortunately, they weren’t meant to last forever. As we went through one airport after another in Portugal in March during our cancelled flight saga, the telescopic handle snapped off of one suitcase. It could still be carried, but couldn’t be safely rolled because there were sharp metal bars sticking off the top. I had actually forgotten about that before our summer trip to London and the Azores but luckily my son reminded me the week before – just in time for Prime Day! I ordered both of the suitcases in this article a few days before we left, intending to compare them and just keep one.

Again, it wasn’t meant to be. Only one of the suitcases – the Traveler’s Choice Pagosa – arrived in time for our flight (the other came a few hours after we left). I assumed that I’d just return the Samsonite Freeform when we got home since I don’t need two new suitcases in one year! Hahaha.

Somehow my college-era suitcase lost a foot along the way in London Heathrow. For better or worse, given the excellent Prime Day deals I snagged I’ll be keeping both suitcases.

Samsonite Freeform and Traveler’s Choice Pagosa: Meet the Contenders (and The Rejects)

Now on to the contenders in my search for the best carry-on suitcase at a moderate price point. Since we rarely fly non-U.S. ultra-low cost carriers, my goal is to maximize the size of my carry-on suitcase while respecting the size limits of U.S.-based carriers. While Southwest allows an oversized 24″x16″x10″, the much more common maximum legal carry-on size is 22″x14″x9″… though there’s usually a little more flexibility on that last dimension in particular. But what I absolutely didn’t want was a suitcase that’s only 20-21″ tall – we often need every cubic inch we can get since we don’t check luggage.

The Traveler’s Choice Pagosa luggage line is my default. I first purchased their 26″ suitcases to help grandma move here to Ohio four years ago and I was really impressed with the quality relative to the price. So three years ago I bought the 22″ version and it’s become the favorite family suitcase. They’ve recently expanded the color selection and added locking zippers, which was a nice surprise. The regular price is $110 though our new one (mauve in these photos) was on sale for $83. Sometimes you can get it even cheaper, and if you’re interested in getting a larger suitcase as well then the 2- and 3-piece sets can be an incredible deal.

But I’ve heard a lot of people rave about the Samsonite Freeform‘s quality relative to the standard $130-150 price tag (mine was on sale for $84 which felt like a steal). As you’ll see later in this review, the two suitcases are more similar than they are different – very close in size and weight, both made with polypropylene shells, and both with expansion zippers outside and a slight compression mechanism inside. Samsonite also offers a set, but only as the carry-on and jumbo sized 30″ case which starts to put you in the realm of airline baggage weight and linear size limits.

So what did I rule out?

On the lower end, I didn’t consider ordering the Amazon Basics 21″ hardside carry-on even though it was under $50 when I was shopping. For starters, it’s a little smaller than the other two options. But more importantly, I’ve actually purchased its big sibling before: in the same move for grandma, I also got the 26″ version of the Amazon Basics and I just wasn’t impressed with the quality. The shell is made of ABS rather than polypropylene (or polycarbonate) so it’s more prone to cracking and overall it just didn’t feel like nearly as nice of a suitcase. We use our suitcases about a dozen times per year and really put them through a lot, so quality matters.

On the high end, I wasn’t willing to shell out $275 for the Away Carry-On or $325 for the expandable Away Carry-On Flex. I did consider the Level8 Creator Carry-On for a minute because it offers better packability due to the wide handle setting and a front compartment for a laptop – both fantastic features that other brands should incorporate – but the $440 price tag nearly made my eyeballs fall out of my head and some of the unpaid reviews aren’t awesome. Notably, both Away and Level8 use ultra-durable polycarbonate so that accounts for some of the price premium.

Comparing the Samsonite Freeform and Traveler’s Choice Pagosa

Let’s get to the heart of things: what are the similarities and differences between the Samsonite Freeform and Traveler’s Choice Pagosa? As you’ll see, they’re much more similar than they are different.

First let’s start with the dimensions – I’ve measured the sizes myself to confirm versus the manufacturers’ stated sizes and they’re pretty close (my luggage scale needs a new battery, so for now I’m sharing the advertised weights).

	Travelers Choice Pagosa	Samsonite Freeform
Exterior dimensions	22″ x 14″ x 9.5″	22.5″ x 14.5″ x 10″
Weight	7.26 lbs	6.5 lbs

As you can see, the Samsonite is a hair larger but it’s also a hair lighter – at least when they’re empty. Realistically, when the two are fully loaded and clocking in at around 24 lbs and 25 lbs I don’t think anyone would be able to tell the difference.

Both suitcases have impact-resistant polypropylene shells. The Samsonite is definitely more rigid than the Traveler’s Choice but in typical use I doubt you’d notice a difference. I only pay attention because I have a kid who likes to sit on the suitcase (see below, on the 26″ Traveler’s Choice) when we’re waiting in lines at the airport, and the Samsonite will be slightly better for that. We actually have polycarbonate Samsonite Fortifi 20″ (purchased randomly from a discount store at a fraction of retail) that she usually uses that’s a hair smaller and ultra-strong, and you can definitely tell the difference because it hardly flexes when she sits on it.

The textures of the outsides seem to be the same, so I anticipate that they’ll be about equally susceptible to scratches and scuffs.

Both of these mid-priced carry-on suitcases come in a nice range of colors – 12 from Traveler’s Choice and ~17 from Samsonite (though some are discontinued and have limited stock). But if you’re only considering darker colors because they won’t show dirt and scratches as much, that brings you to ~9 from Samsonite and ~7 from Traveler’s Choice. While some people care about color from an aesthetic perspective (I like fun colored luggage as much as the next girl!) there are two practical reasons it can be helpful: first, if you wind up checking your luggage sometimes it’s much easier if you have a distinctive looking suitcase; second, if you travel with multiple family members it’s easier to have a different colored suitcase for each person’s stuff especially if you’re in different rooms.

Both of these mid-level carry-on suitcases come with locking zipper closure and expansion zippers for more space. In fact, the locks are nearly identical and both made by Sentry.

You’ll get a telescoping handle with a few heights on each suitcase, as you’d expect. Those handles feel a little different – the Samsonite’s is smooth and glossy, while the Traveler’s Choice has a matte finish. I have a slight preference for the matte feel, but that’s totally subjective. On the subject of other handles, I’m split – the Samsonite handles sit flatter toward the body of the suitcase and then pop out more easily when you pull them. However, the handle on the top has tacky rubber on the underside that I absolutely can’t stand – it’s a pet peeve and I’ll absolutely have to put one of these on it.

The suitcases each have one unique exterior feature (neither of which I care much about). On the Samsonite Freeform there are little feet along the spine so that you can place it upright on its side. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the need to do that and they protrude, making the exterior size a hair larger – potentially problematic if you fly a really strict international carrier. The Traveler’s Choice, on the other hand, has a slot on the inside for a power bank and then a hatch in the exterior of the shell that opens to reveal both USB-B and USB-C ports. But these days with so many concerns about power banks and the requirement to store them in your personal item rather than in the overhead bin, I’ll just ignore that feature altogether.

The interiors follow basically the same idea, but executed in different ways. On the non-expansion side, you get a panel that zips fully closed. Each one gives you some zippered pockets, but I slightly prefer the Traveler’s Choice here because there’s one mesh pocket and one solid pocket – better organization, and the smaller mesh pocket is perfect for things like jewelry.

On the other side of each suitcase you get a compression mechanism but I think that the Traveler’s Choice Pagosa is the clear winner. Instead of just little non-adjustable elastic straps, you basically get integrated packing cubes and you can tighten the straps in between them (or leave them loose if you need to). If I’m traveling solo and will live out of my suitcase, I use those sections for socks and underwear. When I’m traveling with the family, they’re perfect for things like goggles and travel towels that we might not need every day.

The final comparison I’ll (sort of) make is the suitcase wheels. We haven’t had a chance to take the Samsonite for a spin yet, but based on our other Samsonite I anticipate the wheels will be at least as capable as the Traveler’s Choice. We’ve had no issues thus far, so I’ll call this a draw.

I know that was a lot of info but hopefully it’ll help you decide on the Traveler’s Choice Pagosa vs Samsonite Freeform.

Pros & Cons

Here’s a quick summary of where each of these suitcases shines.

Samsonite Freeform advantages:

• Slightly more durable shell
• More usable handles
• A little lighter

Get the Samsonite Freeform here →

Traveler’s Choice Pagosa advantages:

• Usually lower price point
• Better interior organization
• Unique colors

Get the Traveler’s Choice Pagosa here →

Short lists, eh? As I said from the beginning, these two suitcases are much more similar than they are different!

Verdict

So which of these two suitcases should you choose? There isn’t a clear winner but I’m still partial to my reliable old Traveler’s Choice Pagosa.

In fact, I went into my Amazon account the other day to start a return for the Samsonite Freeform and figured I’d just get a third Pagosa. But then Amazon offered me a 20% refund to keep the suitcase so they wouldn’t have to eat the return shipping cost! At $67, I just couldn’t imagine returning the Samsonite (particularly with both suitcases back up at full price).

But I completely understand if you prefer the Samsonite Freeform after reading this review – it’s very well-made for the price point and impressively light for the higher capacity.

Wondering what to put in the suitcase once you’ve got it? Check out these detailed packing lists by destination and season!