Travel gear can get expensive quickly.
Spend any time researching luggage, merino clothing, travel strollers, backpacks or packing systems and you’ll quickly find products costing two, three or even ten times more than budget alternatives.
The marketing is often convincing. Premium materials, better durability, lifetime warranties, sustainable manufacturing and superior comfort all sound appealing.
But does spending more actually improve your travel experience?
After researching dozens of popular travel products and comparing feedback from experienced travellers, we’ve found the answer is a little more balanced.
Some premium products genuinely transform the way you travel. Others offer only small improvements that many families may never notice.
In this guide, we’ll help you decide where it’s worth investing, where you can confidently save your money, and how to choose travel gear that suits the way your family actually travels.
The Biggest Mistake Travellers Make
Many travellers assume that more expensive automatically means better value.
In reality, travel gear tends to follow a curve.
At the very cheap end, quality can be poor and products may fail quickly.
In the middle range, quality often improves dramatically.
At the premium end, improvements continue, but they become much smaller compared with the increase in price.
For example:
- A $150 suitcase is often dramatically better than a $50 suitcase.
- A $500 suitcase may only be moderately better than a $150 suitcase.
Understanding this principle can save families hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars over the years.
When Budget Travel Gear Makes Sense
Budget gear is often the right choice when:
- You only travel occasionally.
- The item receives relatively light use.
- Technology and materials have improved significantly in recent years.
- Replacing the item would not create a major inconvenience.
For many families, budget travel gear provides excellent value.
The goal isn’t to buy the cheapest option available. It’s to find products that offer the best balance between price, reliability and performance.
Luggage: Budget vs Premium
Luggage is one of the easiest travel categories to overspend on.
Premium suitcases often promise smoother wheels, stronger materials and lifetime warranties, but many families simply don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to get reliable luggage.
The key is choosing a suitcase that matches how often—and how far—you travel.
Budget Luggage
If you travel once or twice a year, there’s a good chance a quality budget or mid-range suitcase will meet all your needs.
Some of our favourite value-for-money options include:
- American Tourister Soundbox – A durable hard-shell suitcase with expandable storage and smooth spinner wheels, making it an excellent choice for family holidays.
- Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner – Surprisingly well-reviewed and ideal for travellers looking for dependable luggage without spending a fortune.
- SwissGear Sion Softside Spinner – A great option if you prefer soft-sided luggage with plenty of pockets and easy organisation.
These suitcases offer:
- Excellent value for money
- Smooth 360° spinner wheels
- Practical compartments
- Plenty of durability for occasional travel
❤️ Our Budget Recommendation
If you’re looking for the best balance between quality and price, we’d recommend the American Tourister Soundbox. It offers many of the features found on premium luggage while remaining affordable enough for most families.
Check Pricing and Availability on Amazon.
Premium Luggage
If you travel regularly—particularly internationally—a premium suitcase can be a worthwhile investment.
Popular choices include:
- Samsonite Winfield 3 Hardside Spinner – One of the most trusted hard-shell suitcases available, combining durability with smooth handling.
- Travelpro Platinum Elite – A favourite among frequent flyers thanks to its robust construction and thoughtful design.
- Briggs & Riley Baseline Collection – Premium luggage backed by one of the best warranties in the industry.
- Rimowa Essential Cabin – An iconic luxury suitcase known for exceptional build quality and effortless rolling performance.
Premium luggage typically offers:
- Better-quality materials
- Smoother and quieter wheel systems
- Stronger handles and heavy-duty zippers
- Longer warranties
- Greater durability over years of regular travel
❤️ Our Premium Recommendation
For most travellers, we’d choose the Samsonite Winfield 3.
It delivers premium quality and durability without reaching the price of luxury brands like Rimowa, making it an excellent long-term investment for frequent travellers.
❤️ Numadi Tip
If your family travels once or twice each year, we’d happily recommend buying a quality mid-range suitcase and spending the money you save on experiences instead.
However, if you’re travelling regularly, especially on long-haul international trips, investing in quality luggage can make airports, train stations and city streets noticeably easier to navigate.
Broken wheels, damaged handles and cracked shells are some of the most common reasons travellers replace cheaper luggage, so durability becomes much more important as your travel frequency increases.
Merino Clothing: One Area Where Premium Often Pays Off
Merino wool is one category where many travellers become lifelong fans after trying it.
Benefits include:
- Excellent temperature regulation
- Reduced odour build-up
- Packing fewer clothes
- Greater comfort during long travel days
Budget Merino
Affordable options include:
- Decathlon
- Costco (where available)
These products introduce travellers to the benefits of merino without a large upfront investment.
Premium Merino
Popular premium brands include:
- Icebreaker
- Smartwool
- Mons Royale
- Merino 365
Premium merino often provides:
- Softer fabrics
- Better fit
- Increased durability
- Higher-quality finishes
Our Take
Unlike many travel products, premium merino delivers benefits you’ll notice every day.
If you travel regularly, enjoy hiking or prefer packing light, this is one category where spending a little extra is often worthwhile.
View and compare a range of Merino styles on Amazon.
Travel Strollers: Buy for Your Destination
Travel strollers are a great reminder that there is rarely one perfect product.
Instead, there’s simply the best stroller for your destination.
Budget Travel Strollers
Budget models are generally:
- Lightweight
- Compact
- Affordable
However, they can struggle on:
- Cobblestone streets
- Gravel paths
- Uneven footpaths
Premium Travel Strollers
Premium travel strollers often feature:
- Better suspension
- Larger wheels
- Higher-quality construction
- Easier folding mechanisms
Our Take
If you’re exploring historic European cities, investing in a better stroller may be worthwhile.
If most of your travel involves airports, shopping centres and smooth footpaths, a budget model may perform just as well.
Choose the stroller that matches where you’ll actually be travelling—not simply the one with the biggest price tag. We wrote a mopre detailed guide on the best travel strollers for cobbled streets, as Im sure many of us have been frustrated with at some point!
Travel Accessories: The Mid-Range Sweet Spot
Travel accessories include:
- Packing cubes
- Travel organisers
- Travel pillows
- Passport holders
- Electronics organisers
This is one area where premium prices often offer diminishing returns.
A well-reviewed $20 packing cube set can perform almost as well as one costing three times as much.
The same often applies to travel pillows and organisers.
Our Take
Buy products with solid reviews from trusted brands.
Avoid both the cheapest options and the luxury-priced alternatives unless there’s a specific feature you’ll genuinely benefit from.
If you’re looking for recommendations, you might also enjoy our guides to the Best Packing Cubes for Family Travel, Best Travel Organisers and Travel Essentials Every Family Should Pack.
Before You Buy
Whenever we’re considering new travel gear, we ask ourselves one simple question:
“Will this genuinely make our trips easier, or is it simply nice to have?”
If you’ll use it on every trip and it improves comfort or convenience, spending a little more may be worthwhile.
If it’s likely to spend most of the year sitting in a cupboard, a quality mid-range option is usually the smarter purchase.
Another useful tip is to read a mixture of reviews. Professional reviews are helpful, but real-world feedback from travellers who have used a product over several trips often provides the best insight into how it performs over time.
Sustainability and Durability
One of the strongest arguments for buying premium travel gear is durability.
A product that lasts ten years may create far less waste than replacing a cheaper version every couple of years.
However, sustainability isn’t simply about buying the most expensive option.
The most sustainable purchase is often:
- A product you genuinely need.
- A product that suits your travel style.
- A product you’ll use regularly for many years.
Buying premium gear that rarely leaves the wardrobe or garage is unlikely to be the most sustainable choice.
Sometimes the most environmentally friendly decision is simply looking after the gear you already own.
The 80/20 Rule of Travel Gear
Many mid-range products deliver around 80% of the performance of premium alternatives for a fraction of the price.
For many families, this is where the best value lies.
Spend where you’ll genuinely notice the difference.
Save where you won’t.
Rather than chasing the latest travel trend, focus on buying equipment that is reliable, practical and suited to the way you travel.
Where We’d Spend More
If travelling regularly as a family, we’d be most willing to invest in:
- Merino clothing
- Comfortable luggage with quality wheels
- A travel stroller suited to your destination
- Comfortable walking shoes
- A reliable travel backpack
These are the products that directly affect your comfort throughout every trip.
When you’re carrying luggage through airports, walking around cities or spending long days exploring, quality can make a noticeable difference.
Where We’d Save Money
We’d be more cautious about overspending on:
- Packing cubes
- Travel organisers
- Passport wallets
- Trendy travel gadgets
- Luxury luggage features we may never use
In many cases, reliable mid-range products perform almost as well as premium alternatives.
We’d rather save money here and spend it on experiences once we arrive.
❤️ Numadi Verdict
If you’re travelling once or twice a year, we’d usually recommend buying reliable mid-range travel gear and putting the money you save towards experiences instead.
That extra day exploring a national park, taking a family boat trip or enjoying a memorable local meal will often add far more value to your holiday than the latest premium travel gadget.
However, if you travel frequently, there are a few products—such as quality luggage, comfortable footwear and merino clothing—that can genuinely improve every journey.
Buy for the way you travel, not simply for the price tag.
Final Thoughts
Expensive travel gear isn’t automatically better.
Sometimes premium products genuinely justify their higher prices through durability, comfort and convenience.
Other times, the difference is surprisingly small.
The smartest approach isn’t to buy the cheapest gear or the most expensive gear.
Instead, understand how your family travels, identify the products that will make the biggest difference to your experience, and invest wisely.
For most families, the best value is usually found somewhere in the middle.
After all, the goal isn’t to own the most expensive gear—it’s to make travelling easier, more comfortable and more enjoyable.
Continue Planning Your Next Adventure
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