Pros:
✅ Big enough to hold an entire week of clothes and toiletries
✅ Easy to maneuver
✅ Lightweight, yet sturdy
Cons:
⭕ Expensive
Pros:
✅ Holds a lot of stuff
✅ Looks cool
✅ Fits a lot of clothes
✅ Has wheels that don’t get stuck on everything
Cons:
⭕ Expensive (but hey, if you’re willing to spend this much money on a suitcase, you probably don’t really care about the cost!)
Pros:
✅ It’s lightweight, which makes it easy to carry around.
✅ The color is really nice and looks great.
✅ It’s expandable, so it can hold a lot of stuff if you need it to.
Cons:
⭕ It doesn’t have wheels on the bottom, so you have to carry it by hand or put it on the ground.
Pros:
✅ Lightweight, yet durable.
✅ Easy to maneuver in tight spaces.
✅ Great for short trips or long.
Cons:
⭕ Collapsible handle doesn’t stay in place, so you have to keep adjusting it.
Introduction
I’ve tested a lot of luggage. A lot. But that’s what it takes to bring you the best advice on how to find your perfect carry-on bag.
We run the numbers.
We test the best carry-on luggage to find out which ones are worth your money. We look at everything from how much they weigh to how many pockets they have to how comfortable they are when you’re carrying them around.
But what really matters most? Do you need a bag that fits all of your stuff or one that looks good enough to make up for its lack of space? Do you need a bag that can survive in the hands of airline baggage handlers or one that is easy enough for anyone with two working hands and an IQ above 75?
There are no simple answers here, so we ran some numbers. And we found some interesting results.
We talk to experts and test on our own.
For this guide, we talked to travelers, luggage experts, and people in the industry. We also tested each bag on our own.
Most importantly, we carried these bags around for weeks at a time to see how they held up in real-life situations and different conditions, environments, and locations.
Last but not least, we had friends try out all of our finalists as travel companions so that they could give us their opinions on what they liked oor didn’t like aabout each bag.
We dig deep into the data.
The best way to make sure you have a great product is to dig deep into the data. We do this by using consumer reviews, expert reviews, and user feedback, all while taking into consideration any advertising or marketing campaigns that may be influencing our opinion.
We consult with our users to understand their needs.
We consult with our users to understand their needs. We ask them what they want in a product, what they don’t like about the products they have, and how important various features are to them.
We put their responses into a chart that we use when we test products. It helps us know what to focus on and where we should spend more time testing.
We test products hands-on and in real life.
We test products hands-on and in real-life situations. We don’t just replicate lab tests, but test the best travel luggage in real-world scenarios. In fact, we’ve spent countless hours testing bags from airports and airplanes all over the world you’re literally reading our findings from such destinations as Florida, Texas, and New York City.
We also make use of an array of tools for testing luggage: a scale for weighing bags that are too heavy to carry onto an airplane; a battery of tests, including tumbling them around a track like skaters do at the Winter Olympics; dunking them in water tanks so we can see how they perform during storms; and even submerging them in aquariums filled with live fish.
Finalists are field-tested by our expert reviewers.
We field-test all of the finalists by taking them on a variety of trips. A trip could mean going to work, the gym, or even on a hike through the wilderness with your gear strapped to your back.
The best luggage should be comfortable, safe, and versatile enough to handle any situation thrown its way including being tossed around like a rag doll in an airport baggage handler’s conveyor belt hellscape.
The best products make the cut.Takeaway: Our process for researching, evaluating, and testing products is thorough and fair.
Our process is thorough and fair. We use data to make decisions, test products hands-on, consult with experts, and talk to our users.
The best products are chosen based on how well they stand up under a variety of conditions and in real-world situations.
