When choosing the right kind of luggage, sometimes the question isn’t which brand to go with, but rather what kind of material is best for you. If you’re not set on the hard shell vs. soft shell debate, looking at specific materials may help you come to a decision. So here’s a comprehensive guide on the most common materials for suitcases, duffel bags, and other luggage options.

Most Popular Materials

ABS

One of the most common luggage exterior materials is ABS, which stands for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene—that’s a mouthful! Those tongue-twisting words are the names of specific materials used to give ABS its useful properties. There’s a reason this stuff is king. It’s lightweight, impact-resistant, temperature-resistant, inexpensive to produce—we could go on. Without a doubt, the combined properties of the plastics in ABS has resulted in an excellent material for luggage.

Toughness: Robust and Resilient

Without getting into any of the nitty-gritty chemistry, ABS combines properties of tough plastic and resilient rubber, resulting in a robust material useful for a whole bunch of applications. Most importantly, it can bend and dent without cracking, and can often be bent back into its original shape after getting a little beat up. Manufacturers often add glass fibers are to the resin to boost the operational temperature range from below zero Fahrenheit to nearly 180 degrees! Truly some tough stuff.

Style: Nearly Limitless

ABS isn’t all work and no play, though. It’s an incredibly easy substance to color and dye, which allows luggage brands to produce all sorts of pleasing pallets. Some companies even produce completely transparent suitcases! And since ABS is so easily moldable, it can be manufactured into all sorts of shapes, both for function and for fun.

On Being Green: Fairly Neutral

When it comes to environmental friendliness, ABS sits firmly in the middle ground. It’s not horribly harmful, but it’s not horribly helpful either. Firstly, ABS is made with oil-based products, which are widely considered non-renewable. However, ABS is recyclable at many facilities, and suitcases are often made with recycled ABS. You’ll have to look into specific luggage brands to see whether they opt for recycled materials.

Secondly, ABS is dangerous when burning. Although its combustion usually doesn’t produce persistent environmental pollutants, it does produce gasses that are dangerous to breathe, such as carbon monoxide. However, ABS is quite heat-resistant, and will usually only burn when exposed to excessive direct heat. The stuff usually starts melting, bubbling, and boiling before it burns—a rare case that the average traveler won’t have to worry about. All-in-all, it’s a fairly environmentally-responsible choice, though there are some better options.

By the Way: ABS vs. Polycarbonate

For the consumer, polycarbonate is functionally the same as ABS, just with most of the toughness dials turned up a notch. For example, polycarbonate is a bit more durable, flexible, impact-resistant, heat-resistant, etc. Its only downsides are that it is somewhat heavier than ABS and is a tad more expensive to produce. Because of this, most manufacturers opt for ABS over polycarbonate. If you want some extra durability and don’t mind a slightly higher price tag, polycarbonate is the way to go.

---

Ballistic Nylon

Despite what some people might think, the term “ballistic nylon” isn’t just something the marketing boys came up with. This material was created by the DuPont corporation during World War II with the intent to protect pilots from, well, ballistics. The hope was that bullets and shrapnel would be warded off by this new tough-as-nails material, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. However, it didn’t take long to discover other uses for this handy fabric.

Toughness: No Tears, No Tears

Ballistic nylon is made of a super tight weave of nylon threads. Not just any nylon thread will do the trick, though. This material requires thread with a fairly hefty weight, referred by the industry as “denier” (indicated by a lowercase “d”). Whereas a lightweight windbreaker jacket might use thread under 100d, ballistic nylon typically uses thread over 1000d. This combination of sturdy thread and a tight weave results in a material that’s a bit heaver, but is much more resistant to abrasion and tears.

Style: Back in Black… and Black, and Black, and Gray

The taut weave of ballistic nylon produces a texture which is quite pleasant to the touch. It’s really satisfying to run your hand over the surface of a soft shell suitcase built with this fabric. With regard to color, nylon itself can be moderately difficult to dye. The dyeing process requires applying heat, which can be a little risky because it can stress or damage some fabrics. In addition to that, the tight, interweaving pattern of ballistic nylon in particular makes it even more difficult for the dye to fully permeate the material. Because of this, ballistic nylon luggage is most often sold in black or gray, though some manufacturers will endure the dying process so they can offer more colors options.

On Being Green: Only If Recycled Like Crazy

Looking at the environmental pros and cons of ballistic nylon, it’s not cut-and-dry as to whether this material is an eco-friendly choice. Let’s take a look at the cons first. Off the bat, nylon is a product of crude oil, which is considered by most to be non-renewable. Secondly, like many plastics, nylon manufacturing is criticized by many for its byproduct greenhouse gasses. Thirdly, nylon is not biodegradable, which increases its risk of ending up in a landfill for time indeterminate.

However, in defense of nylon (including the ballistic kind), it is a highly recyclable material. Many luggage companies use recycled nylon in their products, with some of them opting exclusively for recycled material. Also, ballistic nylon is really, really durable, which means it’s tough for natural materials such as cotton and hemp to even get close to similar levels of longevity. Because of this, the environmental impact of a given unit of nylon after a number of reincarnations through the recycling process may actually be less than that of some natural materials, which will have to be replaced more often.

By the Way: Nylon vs. Cordura

When researching suitcases, you may see some of them advertised as being made of “Cordura.” It’s helpful to understand that this is not a specific type of material, but rather a trademarked brand—a reputable one, at that. The heft of the Cordura inventory revolves around nylon-based materials, such as nylon-cotton fusions. The brand also has some ballistic nylon materials, often used in suitcases, duffel bags, and other travel cases. They’re known for high quality fabrics, but you should recognize that, for example, Cordura ballistic nylon is not necessarily better than another ballistic nylon by a different brand.

---

Most Natural Materials

Natural Textiles: Canvas and Twill

Many suitcases, duffel bags, and their other traveling ilk are crafted with textiles, which are materials made of interwoven fibers. Any network of fibers, natural or synthetic, is considered a textile—polyester, nylon, cotton, animal hair, and so on. When it comes to luggage, the most common types of natural textiles are made of cotton and linen, though some are made of less common materials such as hemp or bamboo.

When searching for natural textile luggage, canvas and twill will be the most prominent options. These terms refer to the specific type of weave in the textile.

Canvas is a plain-woven material, meaning that the threads are woven in a simple crisscross pattern, much like the lattice of an apple pie crust. Any given thread will go over a perpendicular thread, under the next, and so on. Duck canvas, often referred to simply as “duck,” is simply woven more tightly, resulting in material that’s heavier and even more robust.

Twill, on the other hand, is woven with a slightly more complicated pattern, which itself can vary. Instead of going over and under individual threads, a thread going in one direction will pass over one or more perpendicular threads before going under two or more. That may be hard to picture, but the result is a recognizable pattern of diagonal lines, such as is seen in denim.

Toughness: Sailors’ Choice

Canvas and twill are very durable materials. These kinds of textiles have a long history of being used in demanding applications like sails and tents, and that’s not without reason. The proven vigor of these materials is perfect for suitcases and other luggage bags, where the exterior needs to hold up to the extended stress of travel over many years.

Waxed canvas, sometimes called “tin cloth,” takes natural textile durability to the next level. Some manufacturers will infuse beeswax, paraffin, or some other waterproofing agent into their canvas fibers to ward off moisture and other potentially harmful elements. Though this process isn’t as popular as it once was, waxed canvas luggage really gives off an authentic, high quality look and feel while adding an extra layer of protection for your belongings.

Style: Naturally Flexible

Natural canvas and twill bags (as in, those made with cotton, hemp, or other organic material) are easily dyed. As such, there’s theoretically not much of limit to your color options for canvas or twill luggage. However, perhaps simply due to tastes of the market, you’ll find most canvas and twill bags in shades of brown, gray, olive, and blue. These bags are very often beautifully complemented with natural leather handles and accents. (And vegetable tanned leather is always a plus). Of course, there are artificial leather and completely non-leather options for those not interested in animal products as well.

On Being Green: One of the Best Options

If you’re wanting to keep it green with your travel gear, natural textiles may be the way to go. It doesn’t get much more environmentally-friendly than buying cotton, hemp, or any other plant-based canvas or twill luggage. Provided you buy from the right manufacturer, you could be looking at a bag crafted with no harmful byproducts, no hazardous materials, and a 100% biodegradable future.

---

Leather

Leather is an incredibly popular material for a whole lot of applications, and the travel industry is no exception. Duffels, briefcases, and the like seem to gain an air of quality and sophistication when crafted with leather over many other materials. The natural patterns and characteristics that wear into leather bags with extended use only make these pieces all the more ageless and enviable.

Artisans of leather goods generally praise certain types of leather and manufacturing processes over others. Full grain leather, for example, is the holy grail of industry—a natural sheet of leather with all of its original layers, including any creases and marks in the original piece. Using this type of leather results in a heavier, more robust product with a high quality feel. Top grain leather, on the other hand, has the top layer shaved off and is then mechanically imprinted with an artificial leather grain pattern. The result is a slightly weaker, less “natural” product, but the grain pattern is beautiful and flawless.

Tanning is also a point of contention. The more traditional artisans stick to a time-honored vegetable tanning process, which involves using natural tannic acids from organic material to stabilize the leather over the course of several months. Most leather, however, is chrome tanned, a process that is much much quicker, easier, and less expensive than the former. Each process has its advantages and disadvantages.

Toughness: Naturally Rugged

Leather is really tough. Under a microscope you can see that it’s made of millions of tiny fibers interweaving in every direction. This is what lets leather flex in any direction and still maintain a high level of durability. It also means that full grain leather tends to be more durable than top grain leather because it still has all of these fibrous layers.

One thing to watch out for, though, is that natural marks and creases in full grain leather tend to be a little weaker than the rest of the material. This isn’t an issue the consumer has to worry about, though, because skilled leather artisans know which pieces of leather will be durable enough. Top grain leather, though missing some of its layers, will be more uniform in strength.

Style: Ageless and Dignified

When it comes to the aesthetics of leather, there’s not much to say that you don’t already know. Leather, in its many forms, is a beautiful product. It can be produced with a variety of grain patterns and finishes, resulting in a surprising amount of diversity. Some luggage manufacturers will even dye their leather bags for a little more creative expression. These bags are often beautifully accented with brass buckles, buttons, and other furnishings to complete the elegant look.

On Being Green: Getting Tan

Leather’s environmentally-friendly status is a little complicated. First off, is sourcing leather from animals an eco-conscientious process? Land and food resources are required to produce genuine leather, but because these are renewable resources, they aren’t as often frowned upon. In that sense, leather is fairly green.

The tanning process is where the divide starts to wedge itself further in. Vegetable tanning, which uses only organic materials like leaves and bark, is a very environmentally-responsible process. The trouble is that this process is slower and more difficult, so fewer manufacturers use it. Chrome tanning, on the other hand, is the industry standard, and the process relies heavily on chromium salts. Without getting into the details of this tanning method, many argue that chromium salts are hazardous to health and harmful to the environment. If you’re wanting to go green with your leather, you may want to look for manufacturers who use vegetable tanning over chrome tanning.

By the Way: Leather vs. Vegan Leather

Vegan leather is the go-to material for those who want to avoid animal products. However, it’s helpful to know that vegan leather is the loser in almost every other category. Using the word “leather” is misleading, as the two products only share visual similarity. Vegan leather is generally regarded as being lower quality than genuine leather, largely because it tends to be much less durable and will have to be replaced for more often.

Ironically, vegan leather also tends to be much less friendly to the environment. Right off the bat, it’s often made with petroleum-based material, which is widely considered to be non-renewable. Because of that, vegan leather is rarely biodegradable. And because vegan leather bags will have to be replaced much more often than genuine leather bags, you’ll really want to ensure they’re properly recycled. If you’re against using animal products but really crave that leather aesthetic, try to find vegan leather produced with recycled materials.

---

Most Protective Material

Aluminum

Metal is known for being tough stuff, but it’s usually pretty heavy. Aluminum, however, is a perfect blend of robustness and lightness, perfect for travel applications. Because of this, luggage made with aluminum is easy to haul around without compromising on protection. Of course, it isn’t as light as some modern compounds such as ABS, but it’s a really classy material with a tried and true history.

Toughness: Well, It’s Metal

Luggage brands turned to aluminum in the early 20^th century because it’s such a tough material. Despite being lighter than some other metals, it’s still quite sturdy. Furthermore, most aluminum suitcases and trunks today are built with rivets and ridges in the design, providing some additional structural reinforcement (in addition to looking cool).

It’s important to note, though, that aluminum suitcases won’t retain a flawless exterior forever. Although it’s a tough nut to crack, aluminum will pick up smalls dents and scratches more easily than something like ABS. Don’t let that deter you, though—a little visible history can add some character.

Style: Ultra Sleek

Beyond robustness, many people choose aluminum luggage because it looks so sleek. Perhaps its pale, silvery ridges evoke impressions of yesteryear’s aircraft. It’s a truly timeless look, and it can even be spiced up with a nice coat of paint or an anodized dye. Next to natural silver, for example, cherry red tends to be a popular color.

On Being Green: The Recycling King

There are mixed marks on aluminum’s eco-friendly scorecard, but the results tip in its favor. From the start, aluminum is an incredibly abundant resource. However, its extraction is a fairly costly process in terms of energy and emissions. Critics of the industry state that the metal’s extraction and refinement processes produce a lot of greenhouses gasses and toxic byproducts.

On the other hand, aluminum is the world’s most recycled metal. It’s estimated that about 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today thanks to recycling. Furthermore, aluminum recycling uses an estimated 5% of the energy cost it takes to extract and refine it fresh. Because this metal can be used repeatedly and so efficiently, it’s a pretty environmentally responsible choice.

---

There you have it! With a pretty broad grasp of the pros and cons of the luggage industry’s most common materials, your search for the perfect suitcase, duffel, backpack, or whatever it may be should be just a little easier.