Don’t get a spinner if you plan to travel to places where there will be some walking on cobblestones. 
I am a big fan of Tumi for carryons.
This past trip was the first time I’ve taken with just a carry on bag in years. Most of my flying trips are of a longer duration and I check my bag. I have another short trip in early December that I think I’ll just do carry on. 90% of the time I fly out of my small regional airport and they are fairly lax on size as most of the planes are small and everyone has to gate check their carryon. My flight was on American and the website says 9 inches for the depth. I’m finding a lot of the brands are too deep. My next trip is Delta and they also say 9 inches. Out of curiosity I checked Alaska which I also sometimes fly and they have the most generous carry on dimensions of all the airlines that fly out of my airport I hate having to deal with my bag if I have a tight connection and need to hurry through the airport.
@MomofWildChild thanks for the tip that EBags gives the external and internal dimensions. I don’t want a cheap bag but I know I won’t use the bag enough to justify a Tumi or Riley and Briggs. I’m not afraid of spinner wheel problems but hadn’t considered the loss of space. My son has a spinner we bought him back when he started college that is still rolling strong and he is 30 yrs old.
I don’t consider myself a heavy packer but I don’t know how some people travel for weeks with just a carryon. My problem is shoes, in warm weather I like a pair of sandals, flats,running shoes for exercise and another lower profile athletic type shoe that can be worn with a dress or skirt when I’m doing a lot of walking. For my trip last week to Santa Fe I took booties, trail runners and a pair of short Uggs. I wore the boots on the plane but would have preferred to wear a pair of flats.
I have a feeling I’m overthinking this as I won’t use the bag very often.
Go to a luggage store and try some. Everyone has their own preference and budget.
I travel frequently, carry-on only. I’ve tried spinner (didn’t like), hard side(don’t like), 2 sided(don’t like). Currently in Oceania with a Lipault 21 inch softside. It’s my current favorite, took it to London and Spain last month. It’s been on 3 continents. Bought from Amazon, sale price. Ebags alsohassome good prices.
Mom60- shoes are my (and my husband’s) issue, too. When we go to Colorado in the summer the shoes are the main item! He has to take biking shoes, we take hiking shoes, I take 2 pairs of running shoes- then all the sandals and other “regular” shoes.
This last trip to Europe was 2+ weeks so it just simply required a checked large bag for me. I carried on a duffle and used crossbody Travelon purse for the whole trip instead of my regular shoulder bag. I also need a carry-on size for when we’re just going for a few days someplace. Thanks for this thread.
…Dh travels internationally at least once a month. He has a Tumi carryon with 2 wheels, not spinner. I personally don’t like it - there isn’t much space inside due to the collapsible handle but it works for him. He travels so much he has his packing down to a science.
D17 used a soft-sided 2 wheeled carryon the first year of college but asked for a clamshell spinner. Despite having the same dimensions, she finds she can store more in the clamshell design. I can’t necessarily recommend it b/c she hasn’t had it long enough for me to know how long lasting it will be.
I will say that we still have several heavily used Travelpro 2-wheeled carryon suitcases that are 25+ years old and still going strong (just signs of wear on the trim, but wheels, handles and zippers still work).
D17 flew to Spain in August to study abroad. Despite using a portable luggage scale at home to weigh her large checked bag, the United rep at Newark made her remove items when it weighed in on their scale at 52 lbs. Dh was totally annoyed as he couldn’t believe the rep was fretting about 2lbs when he’s seen others get away with more. In any event, we had to open her huge suitcase in front of everyone to figure out what to take out. Her carryon backpack was already stuffed full.
Dh’s tip…he took her running shoes from the checked suitcase and used the laces to tie them to the strap on her carryon backpack. Since Dh travels with just his Tumi carryon and a backpack, he does this with his own running shoes to save space. It’s amazing how much space a pair of running shoes takes. Removing her sneakers, as well as a small purse she didn’t need and left behind with me, brought her under the 50lb limit. Dangling the sneakers on the back of her backpack was the perfect solution. Just something to think about next time you travel and want to bring several pairs of shoes.
If you have tight or risky connections, wearing the running shoes may be a good idea for when you have to run across the airport to get to the next flight before they close the door.
@mom60 what are the other dimensions? I read the airlines requirements as 45 linear inches. If it’s 9.5" deep but only 21"x13" it should be ok?
I just bought a second carry on for our trips last weekend. I hate worrying if there will be space for my stuff. I always check a bag and bring a backpack, but we were only going for 2 nights and we had a 5:20am boarding time on the return. I didn’t want to spend time checking a bag for that reason.
I just got whatever one was ~$45 at Target. It worked fine. I’ll probably only use it once a year at most, so spending hundreds of $$$ for a carry on isn’t practical for our budget.
I stuff socks and other things into my running shoes to save space, but I like the tying on idea!
We’ve had terrible luck with international carriers weighing and measuring. We’re fine when we leave the US but coming back is much stricter, even if it’s the same type of plane.
I typically put shoes and toiletries in a back pack that I use as my “personal item,” and then just have clothing in my carry on bag so I can stuff more. Also a big convert to using packing cubes.
I’ve seen tall guys carry their running shoes hanging off their shoulders (or around their neck). Makes sense, since they would take far too much area of their luggage. I have not seen anyone stop them yet, but I’ve been too timid to try the same with a second pair of shoes.
I stuff socks, headlamp, running watch etc in the running shoes in the suitcase.
I wear a “wallet on a strap” instead of a purse most of the time. I also have a Longchamps tote as my underseat item, and a carry-on suitcase. Sometimes – but not always – I’m told to put my wallet on a strap in the Longchamps, and other times no one says a word. It would be just my luck that I’d get yelled at about my running shoes.
We still usually use our 30+ year old soft carry on bags without wheels that we can stuff under the seat if we have to. I like the 3 compartments to sort stuff when in a hotel- in fact for long trips I may pack three days of clothes in the small one so I don’t have to open the big suitcase every day. For the few trips we take I have recently found inexpensive ones (unmatched- carryon and checked) at Target. Spinner wheels are fantastic for being able to change directions.
They’re expensive but I swear by my Away luggage - including carry-on. I’m very rough on my luggage though and tend to go through it pretty quickly. I try to not check bags though so I like bigger carry-ons.
My sister and her husband both use Away too. Between us, we’ve traveled to and around Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and I think one more that’s escaping me), Australia, and obviously the US. They traveled to Spain last year but I can’t remember if they traveled around Europe too or if it was just a trip there and back. None of us have ever had a size issue.
I wear my bulkiest shoes - whatever they are - and pack my other pair or two. I’ve never brought more than 3 pairs though (including the ones I wear on the plane).
Romani, I just finished ordering my son the Large AWAY bag in brick. I think it was almost 2 years ago that he asked for the big carry-on.
The great thing about a tote is that you don’t have to close it. I use a tote for my personal item and you can have things piled high in it. If wrist wallet or shoes were an issue you just put them on top.
I’m not comfortable having an open tote in an airport or on a plane! Especially if it’s stuffed. I used a large work tote this week when I traveled by plane but it has a long zipper on top - much more comfort in positioning it under the front seat that way!
I bought this a few months back, due to promised adherence to carry on size rules, and survived my first trip in a while with carry on only. I was given a hard time regarding carry on weight in Europe last summer, and wanted to be sure to have something that fits European requirements and is light as possible. I also like to walk fast with luggage, and avoid the spinners for uneven surfaces. This little suitcase did stand up well in my single trip with it, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VH1GW1J/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Shoes are my issues also, as I am often hiking on trips as well as doing city things. Glad to hear so many of you agree!
When I was getting ready for our trip last summer, and learned that my carry-on bag was “too big” for one of the airlines, I made a spreadsheet of luggage dimensions for the carriers that serve our area. It is interesting to see how different they can be - some airlines tolerate a “deeper” bag, but then ask that it be “shorter”. I also measured every piece of luggage and all the various totebags/backpacks/you-name-it that we have so that I know which piece(s) will work.
My go-to carry-on is a two-wheeler that I picked up on the cheap ($39 ???) several years ago at Target.
I’ve got quite the collection of IT luggage carryons. Hard sided, soft sided, two wheel and four wheel. They are super lightweight. The hard sided ones have an expansion zipper to accommodate different requirements. I’ve picked them up at TJ Maxx nd Marshalls.
We’ve had our hand luggage weighed on a number of occasions. Some airlines don’t weigh the personal item so we’ve stuffed it to the hilt and then transferred some things back to the carry-on.
I carry a lightweight backpack as my personal item. It can be folded into itself so that it’s a very small pouch.
I do love our Costco carry-ons but they are just too heavy (around 8 lbs when empty) to use for international travel.
I am trying to become a more economical packer - still always have too much stuff. A hard and fast rule for my family is to always have 3 days worth of stuff in the carryon incase the checked luggage decides to take a detour.