(ABC 6 News) –Between long lines, flight cancellations, and delays, your luggage is the last thing you want to worry about at the airport.

Does that mean you have to spend a small fortune to get a quality piece of luggage?

Thankfully, the answer is no. Consumer Reports does the hard work for you, putting luggage through a series of tough tests to find some budget-friendly picks!

Think you have it bad when it comes to traveling? Now imagine what your luggage goes through, especially if your trip involves flying.

Tanya Christian with Consumer Reports, says, “We are dragging, dropping, pulling these bags to kind of simulate what it would be like somebody was traveling with a piece of luggage.”

Christian says its luggage tests mimic the airport experience and everything in between.

“Our tests find that you don’t have to spend a lot to get a quality bag,” says Christian.

Testers fill the luggage with fabric to simulate a bag packed with clothing and then run it along a conveyor belt studded with obstacles for thirty miles. To check handle strength, a machine lifts the weighed-down bags five thousand times! This test checks for resilience by applying 220 pounds of pressure to the top and sides of the baggage.

The next test is a simulated downpour to see how much moisture is getting through the zipper and seams of the luggage. To assess maneuverability, men and women of different sizes wheel the luggage over curbs, stairs, and sidewalks.

A final travel tip from Consumer Reports: “If you often check a bag it may be worth it to get peace of mind by having a tracker on your bag. That helps you locate it in case you ever lose it,” says Tanya Christian.

CR says if you’re packing breakables, a hard-shell piece of luggage is the way to go.

Soft-sided, on the other hand, is more lightweight and can flex and compress into tight spaces.

No matter which type you choose, check the dimensions of your luggage to make sure it meets your airline’s carry-on requirements or plan on checking your bag.