Carry on suitcase recommendations

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
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For 25 years, I traveled extensively (Platinum for Life on American, Gold for Life on BA (the same as Executive Platinum), Star Alliance Gold, etc.). I used to leave suits and shirts at a hotel in London for several years as I was there monthly. Like @HImom I have just lost Star Gold. My business travel is starting up plus I have pent-up trips. My family travels a lot – instead of a country house, we took the kids every year on interesting trips (Europe, Asia, Central America) and always had several trips a year to family in Canada.

I have tried many brands over the years: Travel Pro, Briggs & Riley, Tumi, Samsonite spinner, Away, Pathfinder. As I got older, I like having wheels and particularly four wheels so I am not carrying weight. Note to an earlier poster: you can easily use the four-wheeler as a two-wheeler when the roads are bumpy just by putting it behind you and tilting the cart. Some very frequent flyers who don’t like wheels swear by Red Oxx as the best brand ever created. Brands I have liked but not purchased: Lat 56, Vocier and Troubadour Goods (for weekend trips as opposed to longer-term).

I didn’t like the design of Briggs and Riley (was years ago) but they offer a legit lifetime warranty. The Travel Pro, Tumi and Samsonite went hundreds of thousands of miles each (although my Tumi briefcases lining tore fairly early and Tumi does not stand behind its products so I won’t buy Tumi again). We have had High Sierra rolling duffels – good but didn’t last as long as I would have expected. I like the Away a lot – it is my current bag. The problem with hard-sided bags is that you have to open up the suitcase to take out your toiletries for inspection. The Away can be ordered with a soft pouch on the front for toiletries. I just looked and mine is the Bigger Carry-On with Pocket. I ordered it with the battery but actually use it pretty infrequently.

My wife is using my old Samsonite spinner but it isn’t quite fitting wheels in overhead in some of the planes this year – I wonder if they have reconfigured them – whereas the Away fits. It also seemed heavier. So I’m going to buy her an Away.

I did talk with the CFO of Samsonite at one point. They were acquiring companies at a fast rate and he thought their bags would be getting lighter and less expensive because of investment in better technology and less expensive because of economies of scale. From wikipedia, Samsonite brands include: American Tourister, eBags, Gregory Mountain Product, Hartmann Luggage, High Sierra, Kamiliant, Lipault, Samsonite, Samsonite Red, Speck Products, and Tumi.

I’ve had ebags briefcases and son used an ebags backpack for work (he’s a techy) before his company ordered swag. Well thought out/practical but clunky (not “board room”) design. Not sure if the suitcases are clunkily designed.

Like @Mjkacmom, I hate to check luggage. I didn’t check bags for a two week business trip to Australia. I do have to check bags when I combine work and vacation (e.g., attached a hiking weekend with some work in Colorado) and bring a Mountain Hardwear duffel with all of the hiking paraphenalia.

@HiMom, there are different fare categories. JetBlue has Blue Basic (no carry-ons) and Blue Economy which costs a little more. The latter lets you take a bag or more on. United has Basic Economy (no carry-ons).

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I keep toiletries in my backpack but I still prefer soft-sided carry-on bag for its variety of pockets (a few hard-sided suitcases also have pockets but they’re much less usable) and its ability to be squeezed a little in order to fit in the overhead bin if necessary. I do use hard-sided as checked bags as they appear to be more durable.

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My D and H travel frequently (more often before covid) and she swears by Away. H has a Rimowa carry-on, which he loves.

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Thanks everyone for your recommendations and ideas - made my husband and I realize we should be the ones getting the new suitcases vs our college students! Still using Costco hard side and former Corporate employee branded soft sided suitcases. With our travels, we realized we do prefer hard sided and are a big fan of packing cubes.

Wrote down several of these brands for when we are ready to upgrade for ourselves and can justify the higher price point.

For our daughters, we decided to stick to my original plan and bought them each a Monos Carry-on Plus ($250+USD). It ranks along side the Away, is a newer company (out of Canada, but made in China) and has the aesthetic I think this generation likes - ie: the Apple design :slight_smile:

Again, appreciate everyone’s thoughts and time.

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@coffeeat3 - how have the Monos bags held up? We were away for thanksgiving and all of us just used a carryon. D’s bag was overstuffed and very hard to move - thinking a new bag might be a good idea for her. Her current one is a samsonite. I don’t know if I can justify paying over 500$ for carry-on bag!

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I use the Away with the soft-side pocket. Works for toiletries for me.

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I got vetoed on the Monos and each of our college student got an AWAY hard-sided larger carry on and are quite happy with it - no outside pockets or charger - just the basic one. So far so good. We have a retail outlet near us and they liked to pick out their own- just checked and $295 + free shipping if not near a store. Each has been on several flights with summer travel and college sports team travel and look good.

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Wow. This is a good deal.

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/travelpro-walkabout-5-21-2-wheel-softside-carry-on-created-for-macys?ID=10463163&CategoryID=26195&isDlp=true&swatchColor=Ocean%20Blue

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I got something similar years ago, I think at Kohls. It has been good for me, and the expandable option is nice if we come home with more stuff and check a bag. (Our United/chase Visa gives us free checked bags.)

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We slowly shifted all of our suitcases to travel pro over the past decade. They are holding up very well. We have varied sizes but the most mileage are on the carryons with the front pocket for a small laptop. I usually shift that to the bag by my feet though because I get nervous about others jamming things into the overhead space or pulling my bag out and shifting it.

Most of them have been found at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx on clearance. After I had a brand new bag chewed up by a sorting machine in Chicago, I just can’t pay full price, but I still want quality and a spinning roller. The handles on the travel pros are made for gliding it in front of you or a fast paced drag behind you through LaGuardia.

They have a variety of pockets that make sense and the zippers are very high quality, including the expanding feature.

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My daughter flew frontier over thanksgiving. They made them put their backpacks into a little box at the gate and if the item didn’t slide in and out without any resistance, they had to pay $100 for a carry on. I saw her backpack and it wasn’t big but she and her boyfriend had to pay $200 at the gate. I told her I would have put every item in the backpack on and wore it onto the plane.

I hate Frontier.

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My husband and I both have this bag (Travelpro Platinum Elite 21" Expandable Spinner) and love it. It is light, roomy and rolls very well. I have taken 10 day European trips with this bag and a large backpack. It also comes with a nice little garment bag.

My S has the Away carry-on and also has had good luck with it.

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I have that Travelpro carry on…and I really like it.

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My brother and sister each bought my mom a travelpro carry on, so she gave one to me. I really like it because it is light and opens on top (unlike Away). I can pack a lot in it. Away has better wheels and easier for rolling. I use both. You can’t beat Travelpros price.

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LL Bean also has some nice duffles which I use for carry-on & like very much.

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CC comes though again. Ordered two of the suitcases at Macys - got the four wheel spinner ones since my kids prefer those. Will see if they like these.

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I’m a big fan of two-wheelers. Have you ever seen a crew member with a spinner? I have not, and we fly a lot. :slight_smile: They know better.

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Agree so much. My 30 year old Tumi 2-wheeler recently got declared obsolete by Tumi while in for repair. They no longer make 2-wheel carryons so I ended up with a 4-wheeler and while it’s fine, I really, really miss my old one!

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With carry on baggage, check with airline re: size restriction. Depending upon destination and specific plane, a 23” bag may be deemed too big for the overhead. Just travelled to Europe (on EU carrier)and carry on size allowed was 21.5, regardless of ticket class. They don’t always check, but sometimes… I’d hate to have to unload medications, etc at the last minute so a bag can be checked unexpectedly.

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I was going to buy a new carry-on and since I usually fly Southwest checked its limits. 24" it said. There is NO WAY a 24" carry-on would fit in the overhead. No way. My 20" barely fits.

So I didn’t buy it and used my old one.