Clifton Suitcase from Antler
£179
www.antler.com

It’s been some time since I went on a proper, long-distance holiday, and I’m sure many of us feel the same way. Whilst I still haven’t dared go anywhere far-flung, filling this case with packing and make-believing that I might was a step in the right direction!

We received the medium Clifton suitcase from Antler. Immediately, it looks like good quality, and its polycarbonate shell feels hardy and ready to withstand plenty of knocks. Even though it feels like it’ll give your luggage sufficient armouring, it’s also light, wieldy and pleasantly easy to wheel around. The number one mistake that wheelie suitcases can make is having too short a handle, meaning the case is forever hitting your feet or legs. This is especially a problem that I encounter, as I have quite long legs, but I didn’t have any such trouble from the Clifton. The handle slides out well and doesn’t feel like it’s likely to get stuck (another common issue with wheelie cases), and the case was easy to pull along behind me without any attempts to bruise me!

The other reason the Clifton steers and travels well is the design of the wheels – instead of sitting close to the case, the bit of distance and height means the case can move far more easily, without you needing to worry about the angle you carry it at, It can travel in any direction, at a tilt or sat upright, and I was amazed at how smoothly and intuitively the wheels themselves moved.

We received the suitcase in sage. It is also available in a range of other gorgeous colours, most of which I’d potentially paint a room in my house: navy, blush, taupe, cornflower, grey, lilac, mint, and of course black or white. There are lots of other luggage pieces that you can also buy in the same colours, such as smaller carry bags and day packs, if you want to rock up to your hotel a whole coordinated luggage look. I was really impressed by both our suitcase’s finish and the colours in this range – they provide a fantastic range that should suit everyone and they looked very on trend (or, at least, they were all colours that I like!)

My biggest pet peeve with suitcases is that mine never last for very long, or at least, they don’t last in the nice condition they were in when I bought them. I buy an attractive case and after a trip or two, it has been heavily demoted from ‘attractive’ down to ‘functional’. Give it a bit longer in the field and it gets demoted from ‘functional’ to ‘broken but I can cope.’ The Clifton was built to last. A really cool detail about this case (though not one we wanted to test out too heavily!) is that it’s colour-fast, which means it’s the colour you see on the outside all the way through. This means that any scuffs or scratches, which are the unavoidable fate of any suitcase, will come through as the same colour as the rest of the case, making them far less visible. This hugely extends your suitcase’s lifespan, keeping it looking good for much longer. The case also comes with a generous 10-year warranty, so there’s no need to live with stuck handles and squeaky wheels!

This longevity is as important to me as any other feature of the case: there’s nothing that throws me off my holiday groove like getting to the packing part and remembering that my once-nice suitcase is a pile of junk. All the new sunglasses and holiday outfits can’t hide that buzz-killer, but the Clifton has your back.

The medium case has a packing capacity of 75L, which becomes 83L when expanded (and if you’re anything like me, you’ll almost always have it expanded). Each size of Clifton case nests inside the next, making them convenient to store. Antler proved this to us by sending us a cabin-sized Clifton, with a few additional features, tucked inside this one. You can see that case’s review [here] to check out its extra features.

The case comes with a combination lock, to keep your belongings safe in transit, and its interior is divided with a helpful mix of pockets and sections that help to keep your packing neat. All in all, this is a fantastic case that’s left me inspired to finally book that long overdue trip!

5/5

Pros:

Colour-fast (can’t scratch off the colour)
Hardy case
Plenty of packing space (75/83L)
Long handle
Easy to wheel & steers well
Different sizes nest inside each other
Zipped sections
Great range of colours
Combination lock