Do you have a great carry-on bag?

Katie,

It's funny that you posted this, as I just returned from a short trip yesterday and I was thinking during the trip how much I loved my carry-on bag.

My recent trip was only 4 nights, but last year the same bag got me through 11 nights in Europe.

The bag is a 19" Samsonite roller. I don't have a model number right now. I'll look and post it if I can find it.

What I like about it is that it's compact and not bulky. It doesn't have alot of pockets and extras on the outside, which keeps it streamlined. All of this means I never have trouble stowing it. I've even had it under the seat in front of me on one occasion! The telescoping handle works every time and the wheels roll smoothly also. Those things are important too!

I'm anxious to see other recommendations, and I'll look for a model number on my bag.

Happy Travels!
H

We've been going to the caribbean islands for more than 25 years. Only once did we have luggage lost many years ago and it completely cured us to check bags, ever again. I am convinced I will never be going anywhere that I need to check luggage, so the $15 fee didn't faze us. We go for 10 days each year. We have one personal bag and one duffle each. I use a Vera cloth duffle bag and in it I pack my things in those plastic bags that you roll tightly to release the air (not the kind you have to vacuum) out. It's amazing what I can get into it. I just bought another Vera duffle that is carry on size but has casters so it will be easier than ever this year. Maybe fuel costs will decrease if people take less 'stuff' with them and stick to carry on, but I realize if you are a family traveling with alot of small kids, this is probably not going to work for you.

Eagle Creek Switchback 22-inch roller, with a detachable daypack -- love it love it love it and have been using it for about 10 years now.

We bought a couple of the Rick Steves 22" rollaboard bags last summer for our trip to France. The bag weighs just 7 pounds, is very durable, and I like the simple design. On that trip it was myself, my mom, and my 16 yr old DD and we each managed with just this carryon bag, no checked bags, for almost 2 weeks. Upon return, my DH borrowed my bag for a business trip and has now taken it over and uses it almost weekly. The bag sells for only around $120 and comes in a few colors.

My husband and I both LOVE our Travelpro Flightpro 22". We take a couple of 10-17 day trips abroad each year and if we can't fit what we need in there, it just doesn't need to go with us. This bag has lots of interior space once you take out all of the added bags they stock it with. I have a bad back and this is light enough that, even fully loaded, I can manaage just fine. Additionally, my husband travels every week for his work and he beats the heck out of his bag and this one is going on 3 years old and not a single problem!

I also have the Rick Steves 22' rollaboard and love it. The 7 pound weight was a huge consideration in purchasing it.

I've had it 2 years now and went to Central Europe for 4 weeks with it and 2.5 weeks to Turkey with it and just a day pack(backpack style) and had no troubles fitting everything into it.

One thing I do though is I pack everything in ziplock bags. I use every size ziplock...1 gallon, 2 gallon, quart, pint...everything goes into a ziplock. This way I never have to use the expansion option, well, except on the way home when I don't care if I lose my luggage.

And, I purchased my bag on-line (I think it was from ebags.com) and saved the shipping charge I would had to have paid if I purchased from the Rick Steves website.

Katie, What requirements exactly are we specifying too? The 19" more universally accepted carry-on? Or up to 22" which some carriers still accept?

I'm very interested in the list people come up with. I can't seem to find one light enough in weight to be acceptable to me. If people could include what their favorite suitcase weighs empty, would be a big help.

On the article on Fodors.com posted Jun 25th, the first bag recommended is the RedOxx Skytrain.... under the category of "maximum cubic capacity in a bag... ie without wheels".

Under alternatives, listed is the the eBags weekender convertible at the amazing price of $69.

I'm a big eBags fan, and love the Weekender Convertible... inexpensive, hard wearing, and good shoulder straps.

When I need to maximise how much stuff I can carry on legally, I use one of these and an eBags laptop backpack.

Of course moving through airports with one bag on each shoulder is easier if you are over 6' with broad shoulders.. but for me it works very well for trips of almost any duration.

I think I'll be buying a new carry-on soon. My current one, which I like a lot, is by American Tourist. It measures 21" but almost 23" if you included handles and wheels; and weighs about 8lbs.

My only concern is I've read recently on Flyertalk that London Heathrow is now VERY strict with carry-ons. The security is making everyone put their luggage thru the "sizer" and it is only 21". So if I have to put mine in, I'm sure it won't fit because of the handle/wheels. Since I do go through Heathrow at least once a year, I need something that will fit in its sizer. Also, I've read that AA is hiring independent "gate-keepers" at some US airports' security lines (eg, DFW & MIA) who make pax to use the sizers as well; so the problem is not limited to Heathrow only.

What I probably will get next is a 19" 4-wheel spinner and the weight has to be 7lbs or less. I've seen a lot of spinners on my recent trip, and it's nice that you can just roll it "as-is" when walking. I think I'm gonna bring my own measuring tape to the store be make sure the length is 21" or less with handles & wheels included. That's why I'm leery of buying suitcases on line... it's definitely something I want to see and try out in person.

I love my Liz Claiborne 21 inch Penelope carry-on. I travel every six weeks and have used this bag for most of my trips. I also use a laptop backpack from www.avion.com that is great. Highly recommend both.

I just bought a smaller carry-on, the Travel Pro Walkabout 19" and will use that for my next trip. It looks really small but I was able to put quite a bit of clothes in it so feel confident this bag will also fit my needs for short weekend trips.

Flightpro 4 19-inch Rollaboard Suitcase. It's about 7/8lbs and is 19 in. H x 9 in. W x 15 in. L.

I bought it from overstock.com for $90 last year (it's $100 now). If you fly Delta, go through their Skymiles site to earn 1 mile per $1 spent at overstock and $1 shipping.

I just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in Italy and it worked out great (I only rent apartments with washers/dryers).

I have a couple of bags. I have the Samsonite Pro-DLX 21" carryon. It is a great bag. Really well thought-out interior. Pretty rugged. Very nice.

Unfortunately, in Europe, they are kind of ridiculous with the carry-on limits and rolling bags scream to be weighed. So, I also have the Mandarina Duck Work Duffel, for use on European carriers. Another really great bag, if you don't need wheels.

Backpack. It's the only way to fly (and travel). It's great to have your hands free.
I don't even want to bother with rolling luggage anymore. Just got back from New York City using this system for the first time. We stashed daypacks in our backpacks to use on a daily basis as we tripped around. Went from Greenwich Village to Yankee Stadium all in a day using our handy daypacks. On the morning we checked out we still had a few hours of sightseeing to do, so we just wore our backpacks around Central Park and a museum visit (packed lightly). Now before you think this is only for college kids staying in hostels - I'm 62 and like staying in nice places! We are taking our backpacks to Europe for three weeks next month as well as wearing money belts and day packs for day touring.

I have a Samsonite spinner (21inch? it fits in the overhead) and I love it. My back isn't what it used to be and even the two-wheeled bags would wear on me after a while. This spinner is great and when the ground is uneven I can still pull it like a two-wheeler. Even thought the two-wheel rolling luggage puts very little pressure on my back, the spinner puts absolutely no pressure on my back. I love it.

I think shopping for the ideal luggage is up there with buying the perfect pair of jeans .... impossible to satisfy all points and bumps. However, the older I get and the more I travel, the more I simply cannot participate any longer in the race to use all the overhead space with carry-on luggage. I've had men (and women) of all ages and sizes push me away as they place two or three oversized bags in the space I had coveted. And obviously it will be getting much worse. I know I risk loss of baggage and money when I check a bag but it just seems to be worth avoiding the shoving, pushing and hassle. Just a point of view.

I also am a dedicated checker of one small suitcase, and will continue to do so.

I used to do carry-on-only exclusively, but I can't stand to any more. Because I often travel solo it is a pain to have to deal with all my stuff at airport transfers. It is too restrictive with the gel/liquids rules. And I *hate* dragging it on and off planes & the entire fight for overhead compartment space.

No one has charged me yet for a single checked suitcase weighing well under 50 lbs. but IF they want to I will happily give them the 15 bucks!

I think suze raises an interesting point. I have always been a dedicated checker myself, and I have used a 20" wheeled convertible back-pack carry-on from Tumi almost exclusively since 2003. I can easily carry it on most airlines (it weights a little less than 7 pounds empty, 22 pounds fully packed), but I almost always check it.

Unfortunately, I'm also very very cheap, so I doubt that I'll willingly check any longer, except for an upcoming trip to the Philippines, when I won't be charged for my checked bag.

I wanted to buy the newer version of my Tumi, but it's now 2 pounds heavier, so that's not going to happen. After reviewing all that lugagge, I'm actually leaning to the Eagle Creek line now, but I'm also tempted by the back-pack style Skytrain (or a similar cheaper bag).

Any suitcase that measures 22 x 9 x 14 fully packed (including wheels and handles ... i.e., 45 linear inches) usually meets the carry-on requirements for most U.S. airlines, but I have to say that a 22" wheeled bag can look pretty big when fully packed, and depending on the brand may be larger than the carry-on limit (see yk's post).

British Airways allows 56 x 45 x 25 cm, so most 21" bags (sometimes called 22" bags) should fit in the sizers at Heathrow, but a lot of other European airlines have much more stringent size and weight requirements, some as small as 6 kg (12.4 pounds) for the cheaper airlines. I don't think that's doable for me even packing as light as I typically pack.

It's interesting, though, that some airlines list smaller limits for Heathrow (55 x 40 x 20 for Luthansa, for example), and most standard 21" bags would not meet that requirement because they are 9" deep.

What I find can be misleading is the dimensions that's listed for various suitcase. When they say 22", it's difficult to know if that includes the handles/wheels.

That's why I plan to buy a 19" (not including handles/wheels) and will only buy it after I see it in person and measure it with my tape! Call me anal, but the last thing I want is to have to check my carry-on just because it's 1/2" too big.

It's not even so much about paying for a checked bag, but rather the hassle of waiting at baggage claim, and the ever-increasing risk of missing luggage.

yk, I think you're absolutely correct. For example, even though there is an Eagle Creek Hovercraft 22, I reviewed the Hovercraft 20 to ensure that it would meet the carry-on requirements, and I felt that it still might not make the cut on some airlines.

The one thing I can say is that foreign airlines (especially European airlines) are much more likely not to weigh or measure your bag if it does not have wheels. I would feel completely confident in saying that the Red Oxx Skytrain or the Tom Bihn Aeronaut would be carry-on bags under any circumstances. And some travelers who pack lightly might be able to get away with them for total carry-on travel even on some of the more restrictive airlines (those that allow only 8-kilo bags, for example). Though I don't know anyone who could manage the 6-kilo airlines.

I realized I made a mistake earlier, it is a 21" bag from Rick Steves that I have.

I have a 22" bag that I have had for years and weighs the same, but when I took the measurements for it, it was just a touch over the Air France limit. I did not want to chance having to check it, so got the new 21" bag. Now my old bag stays on a shelf unless we need it for a road trip or something.

I have the Tom Bihn Aeronaut that's listed in the article. It's pricy, but very well made, and although I first thought it looked small, it can fit quite a bit.

I've used it both as a carry on for long trips when I have a checked suitcase as well, and as a lone bag for quick weekend trips. I found it was a good size for both uses as it's soft and only takes up as much space as it needs to.

Note: Tom Bihn bags have (or had?) the infamous label in French. Fine with me but some with certain political leanings should be forewarned. Consult google for more info.

My husband and I have bags from EBags (ebags.com)

We have the Weekend Convertible, which we've used for 2-3 week trips to Europe (with minor hand-washing). These bags are very expandable, have sensible zippered compartments, and are backpack convertible (better than wheels for urban environments and cobble stones). Unbelievably priced at $69.99.

http://tinyurl.com/5adau

I used the Rick Steeves backpack carry-on for two weeks in China last year. First time traveling that light and it worked great. I didn't get the wheeled version because I was told that most surfaces would be uneven or unimproved. As it turned out I could have used wheeled luggage even in the more rural areas. Packing the backpack, especially in the more humid areas, was a hot way of starting the travel day. i was envious of the cooler wheeling.

A good website to consult for carry-ons and specifically, how to get it all in one bag is:

http://www.onebag.com/

Since Intl. requirements can limit the weight of a carry-on to 11 lbs, I'm hunting for one that's light but has wheels! There are just too many long walks through airports to schlep one on my shoulder. Are lightwt & wheels contradictory needs?

Are lightwt & wheels contradictory needs?

To a greater or lesser extent, yes. There are light wheeled bags, but they will always be heavier than the non-wheeled counterpart.

I've been using my Swiss Army eMotion 360 22" carry-on for 5 trips to Europe now and hundreds of domestic trips. It's the perfect bag for either case, I've used it on a trip for 3 days and the same single bag for a 46 day trip. The selling point for this bag, in my opinion, is that it's the lightest rolling bag that converts to a back pack. Most of the wheeled backpacks are very heavy before you even put anything in them, due to their bulky hardware. The eMotion 360 is only 5.5lbs empty and it has wide, comfortable padded straps that tuck in the back when not in use. It's 22x14x11 and I've been able to fit everything I need in there. It's small and streamlined but it comfortably holds 2-3 pairs of shoes, 3-4 pairs of jeans and a dozen shirts, hairdryer, toiletry bags etc. It was expensive, about $350, but I really feel it was the best travel investment we've made, hubby and I both bought one. Also, their warranty is amazing. The handle broke when I dropped it on an escalator and all I had to do was take it to a luggage repair shop in my city and they sent it UPS to Swiss Army and they sent me back a new bag, zero cost to me. There's a lifetime warranty. http://www.sonomaoutfitters.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=303841!145

At best the wheels, handle, frame, etc. add 5 lbs. & at worst it can add more like 10. With an 11 lb. allowance... well you see the difficulty!

There's an 11 pound allowance??? Where do they weigh your carry on bags? I've only seen that it had to be a certain size dimension but not weight? When we check in for our flight they never even look at our carryon bags, we just say zero checked bags and they give us our boarding pass. Is this something new? I need to know about this since we only fly with carryon. We've gone to Europe 10 times with carryon only and never had it weighed, the last time being in fall of 2007. Is this domestic or international that they weigh your carryon bag? I've just never had anyone even glance at our bag. One time going through security it was so full that it was having trouble passing under the camera curtain but all they made me do is take my bulky jacket out of the front pocket and it passed through just fine. Can you let me know any info on this? Thanks!

There's an 11 pound allowance??? Where do they weigh your carry on bags?

I imagine that some of the budget airlines are 11 pounds, and am sure that many of them would weigh it, though I'm not sure where.

Even the European legacies can be bad about this. Most of the Star Alliance carriers (Lufthansa, Swiss, SAS...) have an 8kg limit (17lb). SAS, at least in Copenhagen, will ask to weigh your bag when you check in. I have had them do this, even when travelling long-haul business class. However, they normally only ask if the bag has wheels. I have never had them ask to weigh my non-wheeled bag. If you make it past check-in, however, you seem to be homefree.

Oh, ok, I guess we've just been lucky that no one has ever asked to weigh our bags, that's what I love about this bag it really looks very, very small even though you can really stuff it full. We've always flown Continental in business class so probably maybe checking in at the first class counter they don't bother to weigh them since the limits are higher? I know they let you have 1 more piece of carryon, totaling 3 whereas in coach it's 1 carry on + 1 personal item totaling 2. I guess I better call and check if things have changed. That would be terrible if we packed really light in order to do only carry on and then had to check bags anyway! I would have likely sacrificed that 2nd pair of shoes! LOL

U.S. airlines flying to Europe typically do not weigh carry-on bags because the limit used to be so high (about 40 pounds on most airlines). I can't imagine how you'd fit that much stuff in a carry-on size bag, but there you go. Plus, business-class passengers usually get to bring on almost anything they want (and that even goes for British Airways).

Europe-based carriers, on the other hand, typically have much more stringent limits and always have. And the super-budget airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet almost always weigh or measure carry-ons.

Someone mentioned that only bags with wheels usually get weighted, and that's pretty much true.

Expect more weighing in the future, for both checked and carry-on bags from all airlines, which are definitely going to start enforcing their policies very strictly because of the price of fuel.

Last summer we flew Air France from SFO and only had carryons. AF has a 12kg limit, which is around 22 pounds. All 3 of us had our bags weighed and then they put a sticker on the bag indicating that we met the requirements. Our bags were again weighed at CDG for the return flight.

Thanks that's good to know. Do you think they are trying to say below that the total of all three carry on items must total 18kg or less or is it just the last item? It's kind of worded strangely. This is from AF's website regarding hand baggage:

1 piece of baggage (measuring a maxi of 55 cm, 35 cm, 25 cm maxi*)
+ 1 smaller-sized item
+ 1 accessory (examples: handbag, laptop computer, camera, etc.)
weighing a total of 18 kg.

Also, what do they consider a "smaller-sized item"???

It means that everything (all three items) together cannot weigh more than 18kg, but this only applies in business class.

Great thank you. That's what I was thinking. Still I wonder what the "smaller item" is? I guess I'll call them and ask.

I love my suitcase! But think I may have to part with it....it's a Pink Jansport 22" rolling bag. I personally don't like pink but I sure can see it on the carousel!

Now,however,I am determined to only carry on but think they may not allow this bag. How stringent are the European airlines, we will be on Brussels Air? Will I have to go buy a 20"? BTW, it fit easily in the overhead bin on AA from LAX to ORD.

I've just bought the High Sierra ATQ 22" Carry-On Wheeled Backpack. With out the attached day pack it weighs 7 1/2 lbs. I have a Hedgren rolling duffle (which I check) so needed something I could put on my back when pulling it, but I can wheel the carry-on through the airports etc. I looked at a lot of wheeled backpacks and this was the best except for the Victorinix and Hedgren Wheeled Backpacks which were much more expensive. The ATQ has padded straps but a waist belt would have been good.

I couldn't possibly do carry on only on my next trip as I'm travelling for work and leisure in the North American and European winter then doing a cruise from Florida to Rio. - total time is 2 months. I need to carry work and leisure clothes plus laptop and paper work. I'm going to buy an ultralight notebook like the Asus EEE and if I can't carry on the ATQ, I'll slip the notebook into the daypack and check it. There is only one flight where I'm concerned so fingers crossed. I'm not using any LCCs.

I also use an Ebags convertible carry on.

I've had it for at least five years (purchased for under $50) and it still looks new. One corner has some rubbing on the flap over the zipper other than that it could have just come out of the box.

I like the waist and sternum straps, the compression straps and the very useful organization pocket in front.

If you have a convertible, ditch the shoulder strap. Use just one of the pack straps when you want to carry it over one shoulder.

It weighs about 3lbs empty. I use it to travel for business and pleasure (up to 4 weeks at a time) either way it's about 15 pounds packed.

Here's what I pack for pleasure travel:

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=1440268

I bought a Vera Bradley rolling tote on Ebay..can't wait to try it out in a couple of weeks. My dilemma was the following: If I have one checked luggage and a tote bag, I was finding the tote was so heavy and I looked and felt terrible. So, I decided I wanted a rolling tote. It looks very roomy and I'll look great wheeling instead of schlepping...isn't that the most important?? !!! LOL

The problem comes if both your carry-on and your checked luggage have wheels. Unless one can ride on top of the other... two wheeled bags are a bit difficult to handle.