American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage Review – Is It Worth It? [Video]

American Tourister is owned by Samsonite, a company that knows a thing or two about producing quality luggage. Both brands dominate the luggage industry, creating affordable, durable, stylish travel solutions.

With a range of fashionable and functional luggage options, American Tourister has become a favorite in the midrange luggage market. The Cascade Hardside line of luggage, which we’re looking at today, is an excellent example of the company’s ability to mix quality and affordability.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage

The Cascade luggage collection consists of functional and versatile hard-side pieces with a sleek and modern design. The range is bright and bold, and American Tourister is producing a luggage range designed to stand out from the crowd.

Like many midrange luggage collections, it doesn’t offer perfection. It lacks aspects such as an integrated luggage lock and crisp interior lining, but only you can decide your must-haves when purchasing luggage.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage Review

For this review, we examined the carry-on in the American Tourister Cascade collection. This handy little bag is perfect for both short and longer trips, offering plenty of space for toiletries, clothing, and any other necessities you can’t leave home without.

We tested all the features across the case, from handles to wheels and zippers to interior organization.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage Overall Rating

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American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage

The American Tourister Cascade Hardside Spinner is a beautifully designed suitcase with lots of interior packing features and a removable laundry bag.

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American Tourister Cascade Hardside Style and Look

American Tourister’s bags can quite often have a functional and utilitarian look. This couldn’t be further from the design the brand chose for the Cascade Hardside, which has a wave-like molding on the exterior and a tonal gradient film that changes the color shade from top to bottom.

These cases make a statement at the airport, in a hotel, and on a cruise ship, as they’re available in a selection of bright and bold colorways. Even better, it won’t pass unnoticed on the luggage carousel.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Size and Compartments

Measuring 22 x 15 x 9 inches, the carry-on Cascade is small enough to fit in the overhead compartment of most planes, especially on international and long-haul flights. These measurements include the handles and wheels, but check the size limits of any airline you fly with to ensure you don’t have to check your bag.

If needed, a zipper can expand the suitcase by 1.5 inches. However, we recommend using this feature sparingly, especially if you are flying, as it might make the case too big to fit in the cabin.

The carry-on Cascade weighs 7.4 pounds, which isn’t the lightest case we’ve reviewed. Be careful when packing, or you might risk making it too heavy to lift comfortably.

As a hard-sided suitcase, the carry-on Cascade has no exterior compartments but has 2 large interior packing areas. The first has a compression strap for cinching your clothing into place. These can help prevent wrinkling, but for any important outfits, we’ll still recommend getting your hands on an iron or travel steamer.

There’s another compartment separated by a zippered dividing panel, which helps keep your items from spilling out everywhere when opening up the case.

We were especially impressed by the extra pockets this little case comes with.

The zippered panel has a wet pocket and 2 elastic shoe pouches, which are extremely convenient. There’s also a small zippered pouch useful for jewelry and other small items. This case even has a removable laundry bag, which can reduce the number of packing cubes you need to bring with you to stay organized.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Durability and Materials

All the pieces in this American Tourister collection are made with ABS plastic, which is lightweight and flexible. While this material is relatively durable, it’s not quite as strong and resistant to damage as other plastics, such as polycarbonate. This isn’t a big problem with carry-ons since you can pay attention not to knock the case into anything, but checked bags often get tossed around, so that’s something to keep in mind.

We’re more confident in the bag’s ability to resist abrasions and scuffs. The entire case is covered in a gradient film, which adds a layer of minor protection and helps the case achieve its fashionable look. The same can be said for the wave ridges on the case, which create traction and reinforce the structure.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Wheels

All 4 wheels on the Cascade cabin bag are double spinners, so they glide seamlessly on most surfaces, even when rushing around corners. We tested indoor and outdoor surfaces and had no significant issues with how they rolled.

The wheel attachments are slightly recessed, which helps them remain securely attached to the bag while reducing its overall bulk. We also liked that the case’s color scheme extends down to the wheels, a nice little design touch.

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Handles

We were thoroughly impressed by the telescopic handle on this Cascade. Despite being a carry-on, there are 9 different height settings to choose from, which can be changed via a small button. We appreciated this height adjustment to find a comfortable setting.

The case has 2 carry handles located on the top and side. We would have liked one at the bottom of the bag to help lift it in and out of the overhead compartment, but this wouldn’t be a dealbreaker.

Both handles were cushioned for comfort when carrying or hauling a heavy case for long periods. There was also plenty of room to slide your fingers through the handle without them being squashed. Travelers with large hands will appreciate this!

American Tourister Cascade Hardside Locks and Zips

Since this is a cabin bag, we weren’t surprised by the lack of an integrated TSA lock, but we still think it would have been a nice touch. However, the zipper pulls are designed so that you can add your own, which is useful if you think you might have to gate-check your carry-on.

The zippers were high-quality. They opened and closed smoothly, without snagging on the lining or anything in the case, even when packed full. Since the pulls are large enough to attach a separate bag lock, they’re comfortable to grip and tug. We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of jingling despite their size.

American Tourister Brand Warranty and Customer Service

American Tourister offers a limited global warranty on all of its bags. This guarantees protection on all damages caused by manufacturing defects for 3 or 10 years.

These types of protection parameters are industry-standard, but we’re a little worried it could be hard to redeem the warranty since it could be hard to prove an issue is, in fact, a design flaw. This is pretty common across all midrange luggage brands. If a no-questions-asked repair service is essential, you might want to consider a more premium luggage brand such as Briggs & Riley.

Other American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage

American Tourister’s Cascade line also includes medium and large-sized checked bags. The brand commonly offers 3-piece options, so we’re not surprised by how small the range is. It has everything most travelers will need for short- to long-term travel.

Other American Tourister Cascade Hardside Luggage

Final Thoughts

American Tourister’s history of producing high-quality luggage that can last years has made it a quick favorite among customers in the midrange budget market. While known for functional, understated pieces, the brand had started to branch out into more stylish bags, as seen by the Cascade Hardside line.

Though there are a few minor design features we wished were a little smoother and more streamlined, we were overall impressed by this trusty bag’s striking look and organizational capacity.