Recently I was planning a trip with my family that was going to take us out of the country for a couple of weeks. I pulled down the old luggage and after a few minutes of looking at the broken and missing parts I decided it was time for an upgrade. What I found out is that sometimes finding the right luggage for your trip can be more stressful than the trip itself.

I headed down to the local mall and decided to look at a number of different luggage sources from the large department stores to the luggage specialty stores to compare prices, features, and to get a feel for what was new and hot in the world of luggage. From my experience I have developed this guide to help you find the right luggage at a reasonable price. So here are what I consider to be some important points I think you should think about when you are looking for new luggage.

You need to consider how you will be using the luggage. If you are a frequent traveler, you have different luggage needs than a casual traveler, or even the person on the grand European tour. Since I also travel for business, I was keen to find an all in one suit bag to replace my 1970s model along with the luggage for the extended vacation. It was also important for the suit bag to have a rigid exterior. I have had business clothing ruined but soft sided suit bags that failed. I found that a number of luggage manufactures are making suit carriers with rigid or semi rigid sides. If you don’t travel that often you can get away with a less durable piece of luggage, but things change and you might find that the cost savings now just makes you buy a better piece of luggage later.

No matter what kind of luggage you are looking for, you need to find the lightest and strongest that you can afford. When it comes to luggage, this is the holy grail. While it is possible to pay hundreds of dollars for a few ounces in weight reduction, you can be smart and find light weight and durable luggage at a reasonable price.

I have found that some features like padded handles are not that important, but I think luggage without features like extendable pull handles and wheels are not really worth a look. I also like a compartment to keep clean and dirty clothing separated. Also, even a suitcase should contain a special compartment for fine clothes like a suit or evening gown. Another great feature that has cropped up in newer luggage are models with 4 wheels that you simply push or pull along. I also like it when matching carry on bags can attach to the handles of larger pieces of luggage. This makes toting things around much easier.

Also, look for special deals. The last time I made a big luggage purchase, I used a special 10% off coupon AND opened a new credit account. Some retailers won’t let you ‘double dip’, but in my situation, I was able to save about 20% off my purchase. This let me buy the better quality luggage at a bargain price. I also decided to make the purchase online to avoid sales tax. This reduced my overall price by another 8%.