I've always traveled with a 22-inch rolling suitcase and a shoulder tote that hooks over the suitcase handle. I can fit my purse in the tote for my departing flight—before making vacation purchases. Often for my return trip I expand my suitcase to add my vacation purchases, and also use space in the tote, so I have to check the suitcase.

I purchased a 22-inch Lipault carry-on rolling bag for my most recent 2.5-week trip to Italy. It worked well for me. The big difference to me was the fact that it does NOT expand. Since I would not have this option, I decided to purchase the Lipault 19-inch weekender as well to have more room. The 19-inch weekender was larger than I realized, but still small enough that no one questioned it as my personal item. Even with my purse inside the weekender, I had space left in the weekender and also in the rolling bag.

Just to make sure both bags made it on the airplane, I used the advice I received from a gate attendant years ago and carried the shoulder bag on my shoulder and rolled the other behind me as I boarded. When you stack the bags together, they might seem too big and you might be stopped.

The rolling bag is definitely light and smaller from the outside than other 22-inch bags. It fit very easily into the airplane overhead compartment. The only odd aspect is that the bag is soft so if it's not packed very full the top is not rigid and slumps a bit—not a problem for me.

I apologize to everyone for topping this old post, but I'm currently considering a Lipault purchase and was hoping ellenem or another Lipault owner might see this.

I'm torn between the 22" foldable wheeled Lipault bag (which seems HUGE to me as I'm used to owning a different brand 20") and the smaller 20" that is also offered. But I'm looking for luggage that is lighter and easier to store. The problem with the 20" Lipault is that the dimensions are 20x13x11 vs 22x14x8 for the other option. I'm concerned that the depth of the smaller bag when packed full will make it difficult to store in the overhead bins on certain flights.

Am I better off getting used to the "larger" 22" bag?

Have you looked this luggage up on a site such as ebags where they have, often, many reviews?

Hi Dukey1. Yes, as well as zappos, magellans, and a slew of other sites. There's exactly 4 reviews on ebags, and even fewer (or none) on the others. I've always received (and hopefully given!) good advice from fellow travelers on fodors, so was hoping others might have experience with Lipault. I was also hoping ellenem would see this as I've enjoyed her trip reports and would value hearing whether she's still happy with the luggage a year later. Thanks for checking!

I am still happy with the luggage--the 22-inch rollaboard. I've used it as carry-on for both domestic and international flights without a problem. I DO love how lightweight yet sturdy it is. On the other hand, the prices have increased since I made my purchase just enough that I might investigate other options if I needed to purchase again.

Thanks ellenem! I'm glad to know it's held up well and you're still pleased with the bag. After looking at some different wheeled bag options in a few stores, the lightness of the Lipault really is a draw. I think I'm going to give the 22in a try.

Hi jv, I'm on the verge of purchasing the Lipault, but I'm concerned about the non-expandable issue. What other lightweight carry-ons did you consider?

After researching luggage for three months, I decided to get the Lipault 22" TWO-WHEELED for a specific trip problem on our upcoming three-week vay-cay to Turkey, and I'm more than happy to share my experience so far.

I tested the Lipault out two weekends ago on a trip to Vegas so that my husband could decide if he was going to go for it. Since I'm on "injured reserved", he's the person that was hoisting it into the overhead for me on four flight segments. He was enthused by the fourth hoist for sure.

Pros--
--Box style--I hate compartments because I'm a "layer" packer
--Outside has a good document/newspaper pocket
--Rolls really well with a decent sized handle height (I'm tall)
--Collapses down to nothing for storage (we're moving into an apartment from huge house this year, so that's a bonus)
--Because components are lighter and capacity is limited, this puppy is certainly light
--This thing fit perfectly into four different overheads on our recent trip, plus it had some compression room to allow me NOT to feel guilty when I added my plane backpack on top after cabin was filled.

Cons--
--Dimensions are not perfect for how I've packed up to now. I shall adapt.
--This is MUCH smaller than I'm used to in a roll-on

Why I purchased and things you should consider with my review:

We are carry-on people. That statement can result in a lot of "flaming" on this board, but I really don't care what other people do. That's their business; this is mine.

By way of explanation, we are not doing carry-on to save luggage fees--our Star Alliance Gold ranking means we could check massive amounts of luggage to almost anywhere for nada. Quite simply, plane flights get canceled--and as long we and our luggage are "one", we can get anywhere on a whim. And part of our dedication to a "carry-on only" philosophy means we personally must always pack lighter and more efficiently.

Our other carry-on roll-ons are just a tad over European guidelines. Our Lucas luggage soft carry-ons that we used for New Zealand last year would still work, but we needed something wheeled for this trip because our walking distances between legs are much greater--and again, I'm on injured reserved.

I studied Rick Steves and ebags roll-ons carefully before deciding upon the Lipault 2-wheeled. I also considered the Sub 0.

Needs for this trip that motivated this purchase:
--As stated before, I can't do a shoulder bag plus backpack this time around because of longer walking legs and because of injury
--We will be on a Turkish gulet. There is no room for luggage in the room. Collapse be us.
--We are on flight legs that will allow us TWO "real" carry-ons (I used mileage to upgrade to business). However, those two pieces are subject to being weighed once we get to Turkey. Weight MATTERS. Just in case, I have both a Scottevest and a tropical Big Pockets Vest I can call into action.
--Part of our vacation is cycling. Not only must I bring heavy gel biking shorts, but also I must bring my own gel pad and my own gel seat. Have to make sure that our luggage weight is low enough to compensate.

As to the other carry-on--a backpack type--I considered my current backpack, which is quite good. However, I wanted a rectangular shape to make the most of what we needed to pack. After again researching Rick Steves, ebags items, etc., I'm down to TWO: the Osprey 45 and the GoLite Convertible. Husband is going to take the GoLite for sure after I configured a waist strap for him out of a bungee cord; I'm still undecided. I'm going to wait until my final "cull" to see what will work.

I bought mine for around $140 each at Creative Kid Stuff:
http://www.creativekidstuff.com/.

Wayfair is showing a deal today:
http://www.wayfair.com/Lipault-Foldable-22-Rolling-Carry-On-JPF-0-020-PAU1000.html?refid=TP49-PAU1000

Hi Alessandre - Just noticed your comprehensive review - Thanks! I'm about to order the Lipault from Wayfair, which is still offering the sale price. Might go with Ellenem's 19" weekender as well for a trip to India, although I doubt they will allow 2 items on domestic flights. Are you back from your trip yet? What did you decide?

We liked it. crosscheck. We flew six legs on this last three-week trip. The Lipault just slid into any overhead with room to spare, and since we had to keep the weight down, its 3.2 whatever pounds really helped.

As I hinted, we were going to pair it with a GoLite Convertible backpack because we needed to take so much biking gear, and the Go-Lite's rectangular shape worked out well, too (the Go-Lite has handles, backstraps AND a shoulder strap). I still might keep the Osprey 45 I had considered taking, though as my go-to second piece.

You DO give up some things. My old ugly green (but heavy) Samsonite was the PERFECT packing carry-on for me. My clothes fitted into it perfectly. I rarely expanded it, but I often did so just in the packing process. Then I'd sit on it, and zip the expandable part shut. Bad aspect: I could really overpack that puppy and it could easily weigh 30 pounds or more. It was not a pleasant hoisting-into-the-overhead experience.

I did envy the people standing upright with their 4-wheel-any-direction-cases as we walked miles through the airport. HOWEVER, we ended up the above-mentioned situation where our luggage had to take up 0 room. My husband and I collapsed our unpacked 2-wheel Lipaults, stuck our unpacked Go-Lites inside of them, and it was amazing how the luggage storage was down to nothing. In other words, great apartment luggage!

I hope I've been clear as to pros and cons, crosscheck, but please do feel free to ask more questions.

Really appreciate your reply. I just read the lightweight luggage thread on Flyertalk where everyone is OCD about packing. Most are obsessed with Rimowa ($450 for the 22"), which luckily I cannot consider because I believe it will be too big for India.

So, back to the Lipault: I have the same two concerns you pointed out - lack of expandability and spinner envy. Did you consider getting the 4-wheel spinner vs. the two-wheel? It's less than a pound heavier. If we don't have storage issues, do you think it's a contender? What color did you get? And did your husband buy one of his own?

BTW, I know what you mean about the old suitcase. Other than weight, my ancient 22" Travelpro is fine and I'm afraid that I will miss the expandability. I also fear that the duffel-like Lipault will be good for informal vacations, but not as great for business travel. I do like the way it looks though, especially in chocolate.

I did look at the 4-wheel, and I think there was another reason besides the one extra pound for my not getting it. But I can't remember!

I do know that being able to roll the luggage down the airplane aisle sideways would have been better.

Thanks for the detailed review. I've been looking at this as well. And, yes, my only other problem is spinner envy too.

My other wheeled carry-on is the 21" eBags Motherload wheeled duffle. I like having the option it has of using two compartments or one. For our 2nd bag, though, I was weighing the virtues of ultra-light (hence the Lipault) vs. the spinner. I'm currently looking at this one (or the 22" version), since it's on sale, but ooof, it's heavy!


http://www.ebags.com/product/victorinox/avolve-20-spinner/205204?productid=10188220&rlid=DETAIL

Just ordered the 4-wheel Lipault as well as this 6.4 lb. 20.5" Wenger - http://luggagebase.com/product/10314/Swiss-Army-Luggage-Wenger-Neo-Lite-21%22-Pilot-Carry-on-Spinner.html

Will compare and report bag.

that is, report back.

Oh great. Thanks Crosscheck!

I'm back with a preliminary report. Ordered both the chocolate Lipault 4-wheeler and the Wenger Neo-lite spinner, both from Amazon, which was also offering the discounted price.

The Lipault arrived the next day via Amazon prime, and the Wenger took about 5-6 days because it came from Wayfair.

LOVE the Lipault - As others have said, it looks tiny, but because it is more like a duffel, you can squeeze a LOT in - exactly the same amount as my previous 22" Travepro.

As a dry run for India, I have taken it on two east coast trips (from LA) - one for 4 days to the Hamptons, and one for 8 days to move my kids into college/visit friends. For both trips I packed 2 pairs of sandals, one pair of sneakers, 3 daytime outfits, 3 evening outfits, plus beach and workout clothes (all summer clothes, so not so heavy, but I did include white jeans, a hoodie and a light blazer).

The Lipault is very cool and stylish looking, less feminine than expected...In fact my macho college freshman wanted to keep it as his overnight bag. I am thrilled with the 4-wheels - worth the extra pound for me. Very cleverly designed. Will clearly work for intl - wheels hardly protrude at all. Looks so compact in the overhead bin that you feel very smug. Wheels are sturdy and it should also do fine on cobblestones/dirt roads. So far the only disadvantage is that it is not expandable.

Wish we had known about the Lipault for our Kenya trip when Mr. Crosscheck became psycho about carry on issues (http://www.fodors.com/community/africa-the-middle-east/mr-carry-on-and-family-go-on-safari-a-porini-migration-adventure.cfm)

Returning the Wenger. It actually is a fine suitcase - very lightweight (same weight as the Lipault), fits the same amount and does expand a little. But although the body is 21 inches, the wheels add 2 inches, and 23" could be a concern on Indian domestic flights.

We leave in a week - thanks to all for helping me find what seems to be the perfect luggage.

Thanks so much, crosscheck.

I have used the 4 wheeled 22 inch Lipault for 3 trips now and it gets better each time as I "learn" the little secrets to this fantastic bag. My first trip was for a 4 night trip to NH where I needed 1-2 workout/hiking outfits each day (with layers for cool weather), evening jeans and layers, several shoes (running x2, hiking, lake front shoes and casual travel shoes (boots). I always go carry on but I like to travel with some comforts of home including a light robe, slippers, MP3 speakers, hairdryer, travel candle... you get the picture. In addition to the carryon I also used the Lipault weekend bag, which is 3 or 4 inches larger than the shoulder tote I usually take. The combination of the two is more that enough for a week or longer trip.

My initial gripe with the 22 inch 4 wheel, and all of the Lipault bags was the single zipper compartment on the outside. It is hard to get in and out of and I was so used to 2 compartments where one was easy to store my toiletries with quick access for getting through security. My first trip I had to put my toiletries in the tote and wasn't happy about it. Then for my recent trip I realized that once the 22 inch is packed and zipped up, I was able to re-arrange space, open the zip of the main compartment along the top only and slide my toiletries in horizontally. This also "firmed" up the top of the bag so there was a stronger "base" for my shoulder bag to rest upon when attached at the handle walking through the airport. My only gripe with the weekender bag is the strap. I wish it was more comfortable and had a little more style to it. I ended up taking the shoulder strap from a smartly designed Lulu Lemon bag I have. The strap also stylizes the bag a bit as it feels a little too masculine for me


My most recent trip I packed: Boots, Heels, running shoes, 4 sweaters, 2 Blouses, 4 pants (3 jeans, 1 dress pants), Jacket, 1 packable puffy raincoat, Sleeping clothes, 1 pr yoga pants, 1 long sleeve dry-fit shirt, 2 L/s t-shirts, 2 belts, 3 scarves, clutch, make up, toiletries, hairdryer, flat iron, jewelry, under garments, i-pad and all the other little misc. necessities in the 22 inch and the weekender (I keep my purse inside the weekender for boarding)! The list is what was packed and does not include the clothes I traveled in Also, this bag is so much smaller and more easily stored overhead than other roll aboard suitcases. It looks petite next to my other carry on traditional luggage. And fitting into the overhead is a piece of cake!

If it sounds like I take a lot of shoes - it is because I can't help it - AND i have small feet!!

Wow, Sharily, terrific review. Will help other would-be Lipault purchasers! I took mine to India and it was fantastic, no issues with domestic flights (that is until we went crazy shopping and had to check an extra bag). I am now considering getting the weekender to use instead of a backpack.

I purchased the "reporter" bag in black at Tuesday Morning online. It was only 40 dollars. I am using it as my smaller carryon for this trip. Smaller than the Weekend bag. I like the sheen of the fabric. Will probably get a larger Lipault for future trips.

Just checked - they still have the small reporter - plus a small 20" roll bag for $109...hmmm might have to get that too!


www.tuesdaymorning.com

I just bought the 22" 2 wheel bag. Found it on sale for only $90 at a local luggage store. Used the bag over the weekend and it is really terrific! Very light and holds far more than I ever imagined.

I am amazed you can fit that much into a 22 inch bag!

Back with another report: The Lipault not only works for summer, it's a miracle for chilly weather. I took it on a 4-day work event and packed the following: 2 pairs short boots, 1 pair trailrunners, 1 pair pumps, cocktail dress, slacks, blazer, 2 pair jeans, bathing suit, work out outfit, cashmere shawl, long sweater, hoodie, 3 silk tees, 3 scarves, umbrella. A fellow traveler stopped me in the airport to say she has the whole set in every size. Truly an amazing piece of luggage.

Does anyone have any experience with the Lipault hardshell? I bought the larger one after studying many women in the airport rolling 4 wheeled suitcases. They seem to move easier with less tension on the wrists. I have the 22" Lipault 2 wheeled carry on which I used for a trip to France last year and could not believe how many items could be stowed in that small space. I also have the weekend bag which I love for the ease on loading it onto a rolling bag. I am somewhat apprehensive about this hardshell for airline travel. Any replies would be appreciated.

I purchased 2 sets of Lipault 22 in luggage and the matching 19 in weekender and I absolutely love this luggage. I have used it the US for trips and will be using it this week for 10 days in Italy. I keep seeing that the cons of this luggage is that it doesn't expand BUT you should see all I can get in this amazing luggage. I will take 5 pair of pants, 7 shirts, 5 pair of underwear, 5 pair of socks, a pair of boots, a curling iron, and makeup in 22 inches using the bundling technique then taking the bundle out and putting in a compression bag. I use the weekender for my purse, Ipad, small blanket, snacks, and odds and ends for on the plane. I can roll the bag right down the center of the isle and have no problems picking it up to put in the overhead. This luggage is worth every penny that I paid for it and I can honestly say that I will never check baggage again!
When I first got the luggage, my husband laughed at me and said I'd never be able to get all my clothes into it...he tried it on one week business trip to Houston and got 5 pair of pants, 5 shirts, underwear, socks, a pair of shoes, and a sports coat into it and mow he uses it every time he travels!