Delsey Paris Helium Aero Hardside Expandable Luggage [Honest Review]!

I LOVE my Delsey Paris Helium Aero suitcase; it’s by far the best travel suitcase I have owned.

In the past I’ve used cheap luggage, which usually doesn’t make my travel life easy or glamorous!

But after years of traveling this way, I decided it was finally time to ditch the old and buy new travel luggage, (and it wasn’t that expensive either!).

It was time to find something durable, reliable, and stylish.

After many hours searching the internet, I narrowed down my choice and bought the 29″ Delsey Luggage Helium Aero Expandable Spinner Trolley, and Craig bought the 25″ size of the same suitcase.

In this guide, I’ve shared my honest review of the DELSEY Paris Helium Aero Hardside Expandable Luggage based on my own experience, so you can decide whether it’s the right luggage for you.

We’ve had these suitcases for over 7 years now, they are still in great condition, and we travel at least 10 times a year with them.

About Delsey

For over 75 years, Delsey Paris has been a trusted provider of innovative and stylish luggage solutions.

Founded in 1946, this French brand has built a reputation for its commitment to quality, elegance, and functionality.

The brand is credited with inventing the hard-shell suitcase and introducing the retractable trolley system, revolutionizing the way we travel.

Delsey designs its suitcases with utmost precision and attention to detail.

Each piece showcases a perfect blend of aesthetics and practicality, ensuring durability without compromising on style.

Delsey’s mission is simple; with every piece of luggage they make, they want to enhance every traveler’s experience by offering elegance, reliability, and ingenuity.

What’s more is Delsey is dedicated to sustainability and responsible manufacturing practices. They prioritize eco-friendly materials, reducing waste, and minimizing their environmental impact.

Delsey luggage is consistently rated as one of the best travel luggage brands. They have been making travel luggage for seven decades.

Their luggage is innovative, stylish, reliable and popular with travelers. Its style may come from its Parisian roots.

Every Delsey product has a 2, 5, or 10-year warranty or a lifetime warranty against defects in material and workmanship from the date of purchase.

They have repair centers around the world should you have any problems with your luggage.

To find the length of time the warranty is valid, please see the warranty certificate inside your luggage.

To top it off, Delsey has a very good reputation for excellent customer service and support.

Delsey Paris Helium Aero Hardside Expandable Luggage Review

After traveling with the our Delsey luggage on a few trips, we wanted to write a review of the Delsey Helium Aero expandable suitcase to give you a more in-depth look, and because we honestly believe it’s one of the best suitcases for travel.

In the below review, we highlight what makes it one of the best travel suitcases for style, ease and durability – especially given its affordable price.

It’s our first time owning a hard shell suitcase and while it does have a few limitations (which we will get into below) so far I love it and see no reason to return to soft shelled suitcases.

Pros of the Delsey Helium Aero Hardside Expandable Luggage

But first, let’s look into why we love it. Below are some of the main positive aspects of the Delsey Helium Aero Hardside Expandable Suitcase…

1. Great luggage space for packing

The Delsey Helium Aero Expandable has plenty of space inside the suitcase for your clothes in two large fully-lined compartments.

The travel suitcase opens like a clam, which is ideal for two sided packing.

The overall dimensions are 19.5 x 12.5 x 29 inches, which is the largest capacity suitcase in this series.

The interior is simple and I love that it has two full packing compartments with zippered divider and web straps to keep everything in place.

One side has tie-down straps to secure clothing and the other is zipped up with a zippered mesh compartment on the outside, which has a padded sleeve for a 15.6 inch laptop or shoes.

This is so great for optimal organization and separating specific items so you can easily access them.

I put my shoes, underwear organizer, jewellery organizer and scarfs in the zippered compartment section and my packing cells of clothes in the strapped compartment.

I LOVE how organized and tidy my suitcase is now. I can easily find what I need.

On the bottom side of the strapped section there is also a rectangular zippered pocket, which I use to store smaller items such as my travel accessories and smaller belongings like belts and jewelery, and souvenirs.

A zipper-based expansion system can provide an extra two inches of additional packing space for maximum packing flexibility, which really came in handy for me traveling to chilly New York City and needing a lot more warm and thick clothes than normal.

With my 29″ suitcase I can easily fit in everything I need.

Craig’s smaller 25″ suitcase is more than adequate for his smaller packing regime and is international carry-on size, so it can fit in an overhead compartment.

2. It’s lightweight and has superior maneuverability

Although I purchased the large 29″ suitcase, it is still lightweight and easy to use and move around. It’s practically zero weight, so you don’t have to worry about weight restrictions.

Actually, so easy to move around with its large spinner double wheels made for multi-directional rolling.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that I no longer have to drag my suitcase behind me, I can just set it upright, hold the top of the handle and roll it next to me with all four twin spinner wheels moving.

It glides effortlessly and you don’t have to apply any weight with your hands.

I’ve only had to turn it onto its two wheels once to get it over a rickety path. Even when you do that, the suitcase remains light and easy to move.

My last suitcase was a two-wheel roller and one that didn’t roll too well. I felt every bit of the 20 kg I was dragging behind me. I wish I went four wheels sooner and I won’t go back.

Even with all of the reinforcements to the exterior, the Delsey suitcase is still not heavy and will not weigh you down as you’re trying to get through the airport.

Lifting the suitcase is made easy with the pull ergonomic comfort grip handle and side carry handles.

With our last luggage set, we had three suitcases that ended up with a handle that got stuck when trying to lift it up and down.

It was a nightmare and very embarrassing when trying to check in and you had to wrestle with the handle for five minutes to get it to go down – and vice versa!

With the Delsey suitcase, it’s an easy push of a button and the handle slides up and down like a perfectly oiled machine.

No stickiness lurking around.

The Two post handle is adjustable to different heights and you can stack smaller luggage on top or wrapped around the handle.

The Delsey suitcase also has an exterior integrated TSA-accepted lock which can only be opened by TSA Agents.

3. It’s stylish

No more rushing up to every suitcase on the carousel and checking the luggage tag to see if it’s mine! Yes. Black polyester bags be gone.

I don’t need luggage labels giving my address away anymore, my gorgeous pink Delsey spinner suitcase is a stand out. And Craig’s too!

I can even spot our Delsey bags from outside the window of the airplane.

Available in four colors, including black, brushed charcoal, emerald green, purple, and titanium.

I love the color of the suitcase and the sheen given by the hard shelled exterior.

Why not let your luggage be a stand out?

4. It’s durable

I like a travel suitcase to last me a long time. With industrial grade aluminum tubes holding this together, this was built to last.

It’s not an investment I want to be making over and over again. I’ve traveled with many broken and worn out suitcases and it’s a gigantic pain in the butt, so durable travel luggage is welcome.

The Delsey Helium Aero Expandable Spinner Trolley suitcase is constructed out of 100 percent lightweight polycarbonate with a glossy finish.

This pure polycarbonate material makes it resilient to scratching. (Most luggage in this price range is made of a flimsier ABS-polycarbonate blend.)

The hard shell also protects what’s inside your suitcase a little better than a soft shelled and makes it more water proof.

You can even sit on your suitcase while you wait!

Not to mention, the hard shell gives you maximal protection for knife slashing thieves!

The sturdy, ergonomic and comfortable handle system is composed of industrial-grade aluminium and snaps up and down with the push of a button.

5. It’s safe

One of the downsides to a soft shell suitcase is that they are so easy to break into.

Not only is the Desley’s hard shell casing the best material for maximum security, but it also has a 3-dial TSA-accepted combination lock where you can set your own 3-digit code.

This TSA combination lock allows easy-access for you, but not for thieves, since the Transport Safety Authority need a special key to open your case if they need to search it.

No thieves will get through the telescopic handle locks.

Con of the Delsey Helium Aero Expandable Suitcase

No travel suitcase is perfect.

You want to choose the one that best suits your travel style and ticks off most of your must have requirements.

The Delsey Helium Aero Expandable Suitcase does for me in that it’s easy, stylish and durable.

That being said, here are a few things I don’t like…

1. Shows up dirt

Although I know this is a little nit picky, I did notice that it can easily show dirt because of its shiny coating.

After a few uses, scratches and bumps can appear on hardshell suitcases from over enthusiastic baggage handlers (which is not unique to Delsey, this is pretty much all hardshells) and I can see that these bumps and scratches will be quite noticeable because of its deep metallic finish.

That being said, it’s really easy to clean and you can just as easily wipe any dirt off.

You can’t expect things to look nice forever, but it would be nice if they did! And with soft shell suitcases, you have wrinkles to worry about, which you don’t with a hard shell.

2. A bit awkward with hotel luggage racks

The suitcase can be awkward in small hotel rooms as it opens like a clam and is hard shelled.

That means it doesn’t go well on luggage racks and has a hard time staying on.

You have to leave it on the floor, which may not be a deal breaker for you, but it does minimize floor space and will mean you need to consider this when choosing a hotel room.

3. Doesn’t compress much

Although it’s an expandable suitcase, and has some extra space so you can extend the capacity, it can only extend so much.

If you think you can just sit on it and squish in those sneakers you forgot to pack earlier, you will find that it’s not easy to squeeze additional items into a fully packed case.

Because it’s a hard shell, you can’t squeeze it into tight spaces as the size doesn’t compress.

Again, this isn’t a defect of Delsey but all hard shells, though it’s something to think about.

4. No outside pockets

I miss the outside pockets and front compartment you get on a soft-shelled suitcase, where I could quickly access small things or throw in last-minute items I’d forgotten to pack last minute.

Again, this isn’t a deal breaker for me but it might be for others.

The good thing about not having an exterior front pocket on the outside is there is less chance for something to get lost or stolen by baggage handlers.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to finding the perfect suitcase, there are so many factors that come into play, but above all, convenience, durability and ease of use are paramount.

That’s why the Helium Aero Expandable Suitcase is a game-changer.

Although most hard shells offer little wiggle room when it comes to space, the expandable feature of the Delsey Helium Aero allows you to effortlessly increase your packing capacity somewhat.

It’s lightweight and has smooth maneuverability, but what truly sets the Helium Aero apart is its premium style. Every aspect, from the smooth-rolling double-spinner wheels to the ergonomic handle, is so well designed.

We’ve used our Helium Aeros on at least 10 trips a year for over 7 years now, and they are still going steady, so we can testify it’s built to withstand the rigors of travel.

We’ve taken our suitcases on road trips, international flights, ocean cruises, and river cruises.

Of course, everything has its drawbacks and limitations, but overall, this is a suitcase has saved us a lot of hassle and is the best companion to travel with, offering a safe and reliable place to keep our luggage. We highly rate it.

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