Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner review: Expensive but worth it
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Created with both leisure and business travellers in mind, the Briggs & Riley ZDX range is a collection of soft-sided luggage that combines durability and expandable design with the brand’s signature lifetime guarantee.
The expandable spinners were launched first, and have since been joined by underseat bags, duffles and backpacks.
I’ve had the Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner for years and it’s by far the best suitcase I’ve owned.
It’s joined me on one- to five-week trips around the world since 2021 and it’s still in pretty good condition.
Full disclosure here: I received a review sample of the medium version that I was allowed to keep so I didn’t have to pay for the suitcase.
But considering the number of times I’ve used it since, and the robust guarantee covering all sorts of repairs, I’d be more than happy to pay full price for it.
Here’s why it’s worth every penny – and whether you should choose medium or large.
Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner at a glance
Rating: 9/10
- Price: £599 for medium from Briggs & Riley* / £669 for large from Briggs & Riley*
- Weight: 4.8 kg / 5.4 kg
- Dimensions: 66 x 45.7 x 30.5 to 35.56 cm / 73.7 x 53.3 x 30.5 to 35.6 cm
- Materials: nylon plus aircraft-grade aluminium handle system
- Colour: hunter (green), ocean (blue), black, canyon (coral)
- Warranty: lifetime “Simple As That” guarantee
- Best for: trips of a week or longer; frequent flyers; business and leisure travellers
First impressions
Until I got my Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner, I’ve always used hard shell suitcases that opened like a clam.
The ZDX spinner flipped the script: it’s soft-shell and top loading.
As the suitcase was a review sample, I didn’t choose the colour. I ended up with hunter, which is a sort of dark olive green colour.
I must admit to being a bit disappointed with the colour. Even though the bag was new, the shade made the fabric feel dirty.
Still, the leather accents on the front panel and handles made it feel premium, and more important than anything else, the wheels made the suitcase super easy to manoeuvre.
Key features and specifications
Briggs & Riley’s ZDX range is designed around durability and expandability, and those priorities are reflected in several of the expandable spinner’s features.
Design and build quality
The ZDX expandable spinner feels like it’s geared for business travellers because of its muted colours and clean, classic design.
The exterior is covered in tightly woven nylon that’s tough, durable and resistant to scratches.
There’s reinforcement under the fabric, which helps the suitcase retain its shape even when empty.
There are three padded grip handles – on the top, side and bottom of the suitcase – which makes lifting the bag super easy.
Like other Briggs & Riley suitcases, this one features the patented “Outsider” telescopic handle, which is made from aircraft-grade aluminium.
That means it’s super strong, lightweight and gives you more capacity inside the suitcase.
And then there are the wheels. All four double-spinners rotate 360 degrees with ease, which helps the suitcase glide on almost any surface.
I’ve taken my ZDX expandable spinner on more than a dozen trips a year since I’ve had it.
As most of the journeys are long haul, the suitcase has experienced some seriously heavy use over the years.
Happily, it has fared remarkably well.
You can see signs of wear and tear – scratches on the fabric and fixtures – but it works as well as the day I got it.
The only issue I’ve had is with the zips, which I’ll cover below.
Capacity and packing layout
My ZDX expandable spinner is the medium one.
This offers between 78.7 and 94.8 litres of capacity, depending on whether you have the suitcase expanded or not. This size will suit most travellers (more below).
The large spinner offers between 103.2 and 124.25 litres of capacity so it’s quite a lot bigger.
In terms of layout, the design is very simple.
There are two zippable external pockets on the lid.
The top pocket is for smaller items. I’ll usually keep a lock, some tissues and whatever else I can’t quite fit into my pocket here.
The bottom pocket is considerably larger, with a fabric divider inside.
You can easily slip a laptop plus padded sleeve in here; I usually use it for my neck pillow and other carry-on essentials that I don’t want to carry in my backpack en route to or from the airport.
The suitcase is top loading, which means there’s a single main compartment.
There’s a compression panel with a zippable mesh pocket that helps to keep your clothes in place if you’re packing straight into the suitcase.
As I use packing cubes (just these Amazon Essentials ones*), I use this compression panel as a divider between my clothes (bottom) and my shoes and other items (top).
The lid also has two zippable internal pockets; one is mesh and the other is solid fabric and both offer decent capacity.
I usually use the mesh one for stray items like charging cables while the other one is usually for dirty laundry.
When the suitcase is expanded, the main compartment becomes around an inch and a half deeper, giving you around 20% more capacity.
Sometimes I’ll expand the suitcase just to throw in a winter coat before a flight to somewhere warm and sunny.
Read this: How to pack your suitcase for any trip
Portability and weight
At 4.5kg, the ZDX expandable spinner is far from the lightest option out there and you’ll certainly feel it if you ever need to lift it overhead for storage.
The suitcase is, however, extremely portable.
The aforementioned grip handles obviously help when you’re lifting the bag but the real winners are the wheels.
All four wheels have double spinners – so two connected wheels on each corner, eight altogether – and they rotate 360 degrees with ease.
The mechanism is so smooth and the suitcase glides with such ease that I sometimes have to lie the suitcase down to stop it from moving when I don’t have a handle on it.
I’ve actually had lots of compliments on how well the suitcase handles over the years.
The only surface that the suitcase struggles on is plush carpets – the wheels just sink in.
Security features
The ZDX expandable spinner has no built-in security features.
However, the zip pullers are easily lockable, and the suitcase comes with straps that allow you to attach another bag to the suitcase.
The top external pocket on the lid also features a bright orange lining so if you do keep anything important in there, you’ll see straightaway if the pocket is open.
Warranty and repair
Quality aside, the reason why Briggs & Riley’s luggage is so expensive is because of the brand’s comprehensive “Simple As That” lifetime guarantee*.
This guarantee “will cover the repair of all functional aspects of your Briggs & Riley bag for life” – even damage by airlines – but not cosmetic wear and tear.
You don’t need to register your suitcase or show proof of purchase.
To get your suitcase repaired, you’ll have to send it to one of their authorised repair partners, and cover the one-way shipping cost.
Once repaired, they’ll send the suitcase back and cover the return shipping costs.
For smaller repairs, they also sell DIY kits* that you can use to do your own repairs. This is handy if the shipping will cost you a lot or if you don’t have several weeks to wait for repairs.
I’ve had to get the zip on my suitcase fixed – the stitching was starting to fray from all the zipping and unzipping.
A courier collected the suitcase from me at a cost of £15 and returned it to me a few weeks later, as good as new.
Performance in the real world
My Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner has been with me to every continent save for Antarctica.
It has boarded flights, cruise ships, trains and even came with me on tours I squeezed in before a flight.
Most of my trips are long haul and are between a week to five weeks long, and I generally do more than a dozen such trips a year.
In other words, it’s extremely well travelled, heavily used and thoroughly tested.
Ease of use
The ZDX expandable spinner is nearly perfect.
The capacity is more than enough for what I need on most trips and the wheels make handling the suitcase a breeze.
The external pockets have also been handy for journeys to and from the airport.
The only thing that I don’t like is that it’s top loading.
On bigger trips I have to take everything out just to get to one thing at the bottom of the suitcase.
In contrast, the clam shell-style suitcases I had before allowed me to access the two sides separately, so I could just unpack one side and not the other.
That said, a top-loading suitcase like the ZDX expandable spinner has way more capacity than the clam shell-style ones, even without the expansion.
Durability
Given how much I travel, I’m surprised I haven’t had to send my ZDX expandable spinner in for more repairs.
There are signs of wear and tear of course, but mostly just scratches.
One time I thought the handle had broken but it turned out to be a loose screw.
The only serious issue I’ve had so far was with the zip, but that was fixed under the Briggs & Riley guarantee.
What I liked
The Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner is seriously durable and handles like a dream.
I love that it’s expandable, which has made packing so much easier, especially on return journeys when I might have more stuff.
I also love the external front pockets for easy-access storage.
And then there’s the comprehensive guarantee, which adds tremendous value.
What could be better
Honestly there are very few things not to love about the Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner.
I find the fact that it’s top loading annoying but that’s more of a preference than a flaw.
Similarly, if I had the choice, I could have gone for a different colour.
The suitcase could be lighter, but it’s also hardly the heaviest.
The price is probably the only sticking point for the average traveller.
Is it worth the price?
The Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner is pricey, and certainly at the top of the range for suitcases.
After all, you’re paying £599 for a medium suitcase* and £669 for a large one*.
As a frequent traveller, I think it’s well worth the money.
Consider this: you’re getting a high quality suitcase that handles extremely well and it’s one that you can use for life.
If you only do one or two trips a year then it’s probably not worth the money because realistically your suitcase isn’t going to experience such heavy usage.
Other brands to consider
There are endless options when it comes to suitcases but not all of them come with lifetime guarantees, and the ones that do aren’t always as comprehensive as Briggs & Riley.
For a more affordable option, you could try Antler*, which has suitcases starting from just over £100 in a range of colours.
It offers lifetime warranty*, covering things like material and workmanship defects, but you must register your product within 30 days of purchase.
The coverage is also not as robust – airline damage isn’t covered, for example.
For comparable coverage, there’s Monos*, which has suitcases that are upwards of £300.
Their standard warranty* covers a lifetime of functional repairs, like a broken wheel, but you can also upgrade the coverage to include airline damage.
And then at the very top end you have Rimowa; expect to pay at least £700 for a suitcase here.
Its lifetime guarantee will cover functional repairs but not airline damage.
Final verdict
The Briggs & Riley ZDX expandable spinner is expensive but it’s a real investment piece for frequent travellers.
It handles extremely well and is also covered by a robust lifetime guarantee.
Because of this, I can honestly say I don’t foresee needing to buy another suitcase again.
However, if I did have to buy another suitcase, I wouldn’t go for the ZDX expandable spinner.
The top loading design is just too inconvenient on a longer trip where I might be staying in a different hotel every night but I appreciate it’s not a problem for most people.
Briggs & Riley would still be my top choice though – their expandable hard shell, clam-style Sympatico range* would be what I would go for.
Medium vs large spinner
For the average single traveller, the medium version of the ZDX expandable spinner has more than enough capacity, especially when you consider weight restrictions on most airlines.
I generally like to pack light because I hate carrying stuff.
On shorter, week-long trips, especially to warmer destinations, I usually struggle to fill my suitcase.
Because the ZDX expandable spinner is a soft shell suitcase, it can emerge from baggage claim looking (temporarily) a bit squashed when it’s half filled.
To mitigate this, I’ll sometimes throw in a couple of extra items – an extra pair of shoes, for example – just to give it a bit more bulk.
But when a trip is two weeks or longer, or I’m doing a range of activities or visiting somewhere cold, it has just the right amount of capacity for me.
It’s also expandable, which I’ve used on work trips where I’ve been given lots of extra stuff to take home.
I would only recommend the larger suitcase for a family travelling together and using just one suitcase, or if you’re an exceptionally heavy packer.
Realistically, if you filled the suitcase to capacity, you’ll be well over the 23kg checked luggage allowance that most airlines allow.
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