Carry on Luggage Recommendations [light weight, spinner]

Parent Cafe
1

We bought some nice Briggs & Riley luggage 15+ years ago. Great stuff, but it’s heavier than most options today and some is getting banged up.
I’m heading to Germany with my sisters for a couple of weeks and all of my baggage handling will be on me. My H is pushing for me to buy something new.
Requirements:

  1. Carry on for most airlines. I see that Alaska is a bit more restrictive (22x14x9) than other carriers, so something close to that is best.
  2. Expandable, mostly for return flights
  3. Lightweight
  4. Four spinner wheels. Otherwise I may as well keep what we have.

Away, Monos, Beis, Samsonite, Travelpro, B&R :exploding_head:
Help!

2

The problem with expandable is that they don’t meet the size restrictions when expanded. Most domestic carriers don’t care, but they frequently do on international flights.

Brand wise, I’m a fan of Eagle Creek, Osprey, and Thule.

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My husband travels exclusively on Alaska and really likes his 45L backpack.

https://www.rei.com/product/243293/peak-design-travel-pack

Sorry. No spinner wheels. :slight_smile:

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4

If you are looking for something really lightweight, check It Luggage:

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5

The OP may be more willing to take the risk of a delayed checked bag on the way home than on the way out.

An alternative way to have expandability is to brings second bag that packs small and flat when empty. This would be a non wheel backpack or duffel. Then, if extra space is needed on the return, use that.

Note that some airlines charge for putting a carry on bag in the overhead bin (versus in the smaller under seat area).

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Love my TravelPro. Meets all your requirements.

My H just bought a Briggs and Riley and loves it. Not that much heavier than my TravelPro but it’s the European carryon size so slightly smaller.

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7

Wirecutter recently reviewed carry-ons. B&R was their top choice if you’re willing to spend the $. You may have the best.

Having said that, if you get another, maybe you want something different – smaller (fits European carriers), hard-sided, etc – so that it’s simply another option rather than improvement.

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8

I have a TravelPro soft sided carry on spinner. I think it weighs only a few pounds and it’s been really good for trans Atlantic travel (though I haven’t taken short flights on the continent and do know that carry on sizes are more restricted there - so worth checking that).

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9

I have a Travelpro also, and I like it a lot. It checks all of your boxes. Mine also happens to be light blue, so if it does get checked, it stands out in the sea of black bags.

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10

Another huge fan of travelpro! I like the soft sided as it’s super light. I actually prefer the 2 wheel one (not the spinner) because there is more interior room in the 2 wheeled one vs the spinner

https://travelpro.com/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=713501284224&tw_campaign=21695516790&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADKdx3se0N_N5u3ax-PSaPQ4JTdLG&gclid=CjwKCAiA3ZC6BhBaEiwAeqfvyp7pITSiRR-vE2zwUYnpOx4brSgCCnnN1seAVaTcvz8yKgdBe620-RoCc4AQAvD_BwE

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11

A place near us that does luggage repair told me that the 2 wheel ones have far fewer repairs. I’m guessing that more damage happens when checked.

But it intuitively makes sense that the way the spinner wheels stick out, they are more likely to hit things/get caught and get damaged.

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12

My husband was slow to make the shift from a 2 wheel to a 4, but now that he has a spinner, it’s so much more maneuverable that he won’t go back. We never check bags so as long as we don’t do something awful to it, the wheels should be OK. I’ve been a spinner convert for years.

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13

I don’t like the spinner because you have to hold it standing up straight above it whereas with the two wheel you tilt it back and you can put another bag on top of it while you’re hauling it kind of behind you. I’ve tried the four wheels because I think one of our bigger suitcases has four wheels but it’s just not my preference Plus I like more space.

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14

We’re still Briggs & Riley. Newer models are lighter and you can select international sized carryons.

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15

My spinner tilts back no problem (and I add a bag on top too.)

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16

We get all our luggage at Ross. They carry good selection of Samsonite in different sizes at discount prices. Add additional 10% off on Tuesdays for those over 55 years old

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Thats good to hear. Ours must have been wonky (or maybe operator error!)

Update- I just checked our bigger bag with the 4 wheels- it tilts. Operator error (and its DH who handles the bigger bag!)

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18

Yes, non wheel backpacks are lighter, have more interior volume, and can squish to fit in overhead bins.

But I seem to among the very few in airports who prefer them.

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19

I looked for:

• hardside
• spinner
• fastens without zipper (this is quite hard to find)
• lightweight
• meets international carryon size restrictions
• not too expensive

I have the Samsonite Framelock and love it. This is a good “black friday” deal on it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQRWSVHL?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I also have a set of samsonite softside spinners in various sizes that I can take when I need something bigger.

But I find myself loving my little hardside guy and I can fit all the stuff I need in it for a 5 day trip. It’s fantastic.

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20

You may need to distinguish between US and foreign carriers. I’ve found the difficulty with many foreign carriers is not in meeting the dimension rule but the weight limit. With Lufthansa, for example, it is 17.6lbs (8kg) and I’m never able to meet that. I’ve seen airlines weigh luggage at the boarding gate, and often they put your personal item on top of the carry-on and weigh it together. Even if you bought your ticket thru a US airline if the metal belongs to one of their partners then the partner limit is the one that applies. US carriers generally don’t have a carry-on weight limit. A handy chart is at Carry-On Luggage Chart

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