LEVEL8 28-Inch Top-Opening Hardshell Luggage Review
I opened the LEVEL8 28-inch top opening luggage on camera for the first time. The lid, the extender zipper and the full-width handle are the story.
Reviewed by
Seb and Michelle
We've tested over 6,500 products in the last 5 years – collaborating with over 4,000 brands and bringing our style of reviews to multiple platforms. More about me →
The LEVEL8 Adventure 28-inch top opening luggage is worth buying if you’re a chronic overpacker who hates wrestling a split-open suitcase in a cramped hotel room. It’s 96L expanding to 105L, 12.3 lbs, with a chest-style lid and a full-width top handle. Skip it if you only take short trips.
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How this review was made: written from my own video review of this product. Every opinion here is my own, from using it myself.
| Dimensions (28″) | 29.5 × 17.3 × 14.2 in (with wheels and handles) |
|---|---|
| Weight | 12.3 lbs |
| Capacity | 96L, expands to 105L |
| Shell | German-made Makrolon polycarbonate |
| Sizes available | 20″ (45L), 24″ (74L), 28″ (96L) |
| Warranty | Lifetime on shell, wheels, handles, zippers |
LEVEL8 Top Opening Luggage: What That Middle Zipper Actually Does
I was wrong, and it took me a minute to work it out on camera. I unzipped it expecting the suitcase to split the way every other suitcase I own splits. Nothing split. That zipper is the expander, and this LEVEL8 top opening luggage actually opens from the top, like a chest.
I said it out loud while I was filming: “this doesn’t make sense.” Then the lid came up and it clicked. I’ve literally never seen a suitcase like this before.
And the lid is the whole point. You know that moment when you open a normal 28 inch on a hotel floor and one half is flopping sideways into the nightstand? That doesn’t happen here. The lid sits up on its own, held by a little hook and strap. When I wanted full access I just unsnapped the hook and laid it flat.
What’s underneath is one deep compartment. Not two half-depth sides. One well you drop things into and push down.
12.3 lbs for a Hard Shell This Size
The weight shocked me more than the lid did. I picked it up expecting a heavy-duty hard shell to feel like a heavy-duty hard shell, and it didn’t. For someone like me who is an overpacker, who is absolutely terrible, that’s real. Every pound the empty case doesn’t use is a pound of my clothes that gets to fly.
The shell is German-made Makrolon polycarbonate, and the durability detail I kept coming back to is the bumper guards. Front ones I expected. But there are guards on the back too, which I don’t think I’ve seen in many other suitcases. That matters because a 28 inch spends half its life lying flat on a belt, in a trunk, or on a luggage cart with something stacked on it. That’s the face that gets scraped, and it’s the one most brands leave bare.
The wheels are dual spinners on precision ball bearings. LEVEL8 says they tested to under 2mm of wear after 276,000 rotations. I can’t verify that number myself, but I rolled it around and it tracks whichever direction you push it, which is what you want when you’re running through an airport.
The other build detail I love is the side handle. It sits flush with the shell. You grab it, pull it out, and it drops right back down flat. So it’s not going to get hooked on anything. Anyone who has had a handle snag a baggage carousel lip and watch the case spin away knows exactly why flush-folding is a design decision and not a cosmetic detail.
And the top handle. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen a handle that is the full width of the suitcase. You normally just have that tiny little handle that comes up in the middle. This one runs the whole length. Lifting a loaded 28 inch into an overhead compartment or a car trunk with a full-width grip is a different physics problem than lifting it by a stubby little strap.
That lifetime coverage spans the four parts most likely to fail, shell, wheels, handles, and zippers, which is the full list of things I’d worry about on a bag I’m checking for the next decade.
Check today’s price on Amazon →
Where the Top-Opening Design Works Against You
The lid compartment is shallow, and that’s the trade of this layout. When I unzipped the top panel, there’s a zippered section in there plus a mesh pocket, but it’s flat. You’re not fitting a ton of stuff in there. If you’re used to the packing style where one half of the suitcase is shoes and the other half is clothes, this isn’t that. The capacity lives almost entirely in the bottom well.
There’s also a reach issue with a 28 inch: when I laid it down to open it the first time, my arms couldn’t get across it. When I laid it down to open it the first time, my arms couldn’t get across it. It’s 29.5 inches long. Opening this on a narrow hotel luggage rack means you’re standing over it, not beside it.
And this size is not a carry-on. If you want the top-opening design in something that fits an overhead bin, that’s the 20 inch at 45L, not this one.
The Dust Bag Is the Part I’ll Use Most Between Trips
It comes with a dust bag, and I’m keeping it. My luggage sits in a closet between trips and it tends to get super dusty, which on an island with the humidity we deal with is not only a cosmetic problem. A hard shell wipes clean, but the lining doesn’t, and that 100% RPET recycled polyester interior is the part you want staying fresh.
Set the TSA combination lock before you leave for the airport, the printed instructions are in the box, and fumbling a four-digit reset at a check-in counter is a bad way to start a trip.
Top-Opening Doesn’t Mean Less Room
The assumption I’d have made before holding one: a chest-style lid must cost you capacity. It doesn’t. The 28 inch starts at 96L and the center zipper takes it to 105L. That’s a standard expander, just positioned where my brain expected a split seam.
Once I unzipped it and watched the case grow, the logic landed. One deep well plus an expander is more usable volume for someone who packs by jamming everything in and pushing it down. You compress downward instead of trying to balance two halves and get the zipper to meet. There are compression straps inside the main compartment and side privacy pockets for valuables, which I spotted and immediately knew I’d be shoving things into.
Who Should Buy the 28, and Who Should Buy the 24
Buy the 28 if you’re checking a bag for a trip over a week and you overpack. That’s the exact person this is built for: deep single compartment, 105L expanded, light enough empty that the airline weight limit is your clothes and not the case.
Skip it if you mostly travel carry-on or do short weekenders. A 29.5 inch case is a commitment, and the 24 inch at 74L gets you the same lid design in something you can open in a small room without standing over it.
Skip it too if you want a split-case layout with two usable halves. The shallow lid pocket isn’t a second packing zone.
Pros
- Chest-style lid stays propped up and unsnaps to lay flat, so nothing flops sideways in a hotel room
- Light for a heavy-duty hard shell at 12.3 lbs, which leaves more of your allowance for clothes
- Bumper guards on the back as well as the front, where most 28s leave the shell bare
- Full-width top handle instead of the usual small center grab handle
- Flush side handle folds back down so it won’t hook on anything
- Two-tone colorway looks sharp, with three color combos available
Cons
- The center zipper reads as a second opening and confused me until I unzipped it; it’s the expander
- Top lid compartment is flat and shallow, so you can’t fit a ton in there
- At 29.5 inches long I couldn’t reach across it to open it the first time
What we’d improve
Two things that wouldn’t be hard for the next version to fix:
- The expander zipper looks like an opening seam, a different pull color or a small printed “EXPAND” tab would stop first-time owners doing exactly what I did on camera.
- The lid pocket is flat and underused, a gusset of even an inch would turn it from a document sleeve into a real second zone for shoes or toiletries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the lifetime warranty cover airline damage?
LEVEL8 states the lifetime warranty covers functional aspects including the shell, wheels, handles and zippers. That’s a functional-defect warranty, not an airline-damage policy, so carrier mishandling claims still go through the airline. Check the current warranty terms on the listing before you fly.
Will the 28 inch pass airline weight limits once packed?
The case itself is 12.3 lbs, so on a typical 50 lb checked allowance you have roughly 37 lbs of contents before you’re over. Expanded to 105L you can easily out-pack that limit, so weigh it at home. The expander is a volume feature, not a weight exemption.
Is there a carry-on version of the top-opening design?
Yes, the 20 inch at 45L. The 24 inch checked at 74L sits in between. Same top-opening lid concept across the range, so you can pick the size without giving up the feature.
Can I use packing cubes in a top-opening suitcase?
Cubes work well here, maybe better than in a split case. One deep compartment means you stack cubes vertically and lift out the one you need without disturbing the rest. The compression straps hold the stack down when you close the lid.
How do I clean the shell and lining?
The polycarbonate shell wipes down with a damp cloth. The RPET recycled polyester lining is best spot-cleaned and left open to air out after a trip, then stored in the included dust bag so it doesn’t sit collecting dust in a closet.
Learn more
LEVEL8 Adventure Top-Opening Luggage 28″
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About the reviewer
Seb and Michelle
We've tested over 6,500 products in the last 5 years - collaborating with over 4,000 brands and bringing our style of reviews to multiple platforms.
