I used to be a much lighter traveler before my medical equipment and Rx doubled the amount of luggage I have to schlep. I have never had trouble so far carrying my Briggs&Riley 2-wheeled suitcase aboard most planes. It has my Rx and medical equipment taking 1/4 of it!
Another piece of medical equipment and spare batteries weighs another 20 pounds and comes with its own wheeled cart.
The suitcase has been allowed as a carry on to S Korea and Taiwan. Haven’t flown to other international destinations yet. Generally fully loaded it’s about 20 pounds.
It was a special at Costco sone years ago—$189 and then dropped to $139. It’s a chocolate brown, so more distinctive than all the black suitcases. H and I have matching bags.
@ClassicMom98 it’s definitely over. I think it is 24 X14X10 if it’s lightly packed.
I’m beginning to look at all the different suggestions. My next trip is early December so want to get something before that trip. We have an assortment of different suitcases and duffles in our utility room. Most we will likely never use again for air travel as our style of travel has changed. I told my H we should keep them in case of fire evacuation.
Would definitely bring a tape measure and check external dimensions of all luggage you’re considering to be sure it works for your intended airline and country.
I believe some within Europe carriers (especially budget ones) only allow very small and light items aboard. Haven’t been to Europe for decades but plan to go soon, so am following this thread.
@mom60 I use the carryon sized Osprey Ozone for most travel. Wheels are sturdy and it’s very lightweight. It comes in two sizes: 21.5 inches long (42L) for US carriers and 19.5 inches (38L) which appears to fit the European airline specs for cabin luggage - check your airlines’ guidelines to be sure.
@mamaedefamilia my larger bag is the Osprey Ozone. I love that bag but I’m not sure I want to spend over $200 on a bag I won’t use a lot. It’s also rare to find Osprey on sale.
I just spent forever researching this topic as we were planning a week long trip to Colorado and New Mexico with only a carry on and personal item. I wanted a roomy, sturdy, lower price, good for all domestic airlines bag in a color I liked. I ended up finding this bag in Marshalls, after measuring bags at lots of similar stores that were over the regulations. I’m sure many of them would be fine anyway but I’m a bit of a worrier. Then I didn’t buy it right away and it was gone so I ordered it from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B4ZYJ6S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Weight is one of the things I’ve noticed as I’ve been looking. A lot of bags are over 8 lbs with nothing in them. I went yesterday to a travel store and looked at what they had. I looked at the Eagle Creek bag that @atp linked, it’s lightweight and looked well made. I don’t know if I want to spend that much on a bag. REI starts a sale tomorrow and while I don’t see any carry on bags in the ad they do have the coupon off a full priced item.
I said “significantly lighter than 4 lbs.” The wheels/handle alone are usually at least 2-3 lbs, regardless of bag size. Fabric etc. can be very lightweight.
I did my first trip of over a week with a carryon only last spring to London. I bought a travel backpack and stuffed my travel purse (fabric) in there to get on the plane. That worked because I only needed clothes for one kind of weather - damp and cool. And only brought one pair of shoes besides my sneakers. For most trips, it is the shoes and the variety of temperatures and types of activities that require a checked bag.
What is better about the more expensive bags? I have a Travelpro which is light and pretty basic and not as pricey as some mentioned here. Is there a real advantage to a $300 to $400 suitcase? Is it more durable.
I travel about half the time – used to be 3/4 of the time. In the past two weeks, I was in Sao Paulo, Stockholm and London as an example. Will be in Memphis and San Francisco twice by year-end. I almost never check bags unless I am combining a business trip with a personal trip (e.g., hiking in the Rockies for a long weekend).
Given my volume of travel, I have gone through lots of luggage including rolling suitcases from TravelPro, Tumi, Briggs and Riley, and Kirkland, among others. I prefer the spinner so I don’t have to bear the weight, but it does cut down on size. My current bag is from awaytravel.com. I think it is the bigger carry-on with pockets (https://www.awaytravel.com/suitcases/bigger-carry-on-pocket/black). Very happy with it. I preferred my old Kirkland (spinner with hard-sided back and soft-sided front), but the wheels wore out and it is not for sale anymore.
I thought the Briggs and Riley was poorly designed (although great warranty), the Tumi wasn’t sturdy enough and warranty wasn’t great when I had a problem on one of my bags, the TravelPro I had is now too big.
Here’s the awaytravel.com warranty: “Every Away suitcase comes with a 100-day trial and lifetime warranty. Take it on the road and try it out—we’ll take it back in any condition within your first 100 days, no questions asked. After 100 days, if any part of your bag ever breaks, we’ll fix or replace it—guaranteed.”
Don’t know about others, but Mr.'s $200 Tumi has survived close to 1,000 air trips (half of the time, as a checked bag). Most of the time, it is the hardware that fails (zippers, wheels, or handles). The hardware on the Tumi is still going strong.
Did I miss the link to your under 4 pound carryon?
My DD needs a replacement for her Swiss Gear carryon that has been all around the world. It’s a great bag, and a great size, but it’s finally looking a bit worn after almost ten years of use. I’m actually looking for her. We got her the High Sierra regular suitcases that weighed under 4 pounds when she went to the Peace Corps. Every ounce counted in that packing!
So suggestions. Needs to be light weight, durable, and international flight friendly (unlike me, she has never been asked to check her carryon bag).
My Lipault with wheels (not a spinner) is super lightweight, but it’s not great on a long walk from a train station on cobblestones. Lately I’ve been liking my Tom Bihn bag that has backpack straps that tuck away as well as handles and a crossbody strap. DH can’t seem to streamline into a carry on only, so I still have to wait at baggage claim when we travel together.
“Is there a real advantage to a $300 to $400 suitcase? Is it more durable.”
My Tumi rollerboard is about 30 years old now and has been with me on many domestic and international trips (I had status on one airline or another for many of those 30 years). It finally suffered a broken handle mechanism a few years ago - I dropped it off at a Tumi store and got it back a couple weeks later fully repaired.
It still looks almost brand new, when I kinda wish it would just self-destruct so I could get something newer and lighter. But at this rate I think my D will be still be using it another 30 years from now.
In a perfect world I’ve have my Tumi 2-wheeler for rough city terrain (e.g. hauling it a mile or more over San Francisco downtown sidewalks and bart stations), and a spinner 4-wheeler for smoother-terrain trips where it’s all airport and uber.
The wheels/handle alone are usually at least 2-3 lbs, regardless of bag size. Fabric etc. can be very lightweight.