Need advice on buying international carry on luggage

I recently bought a new TravelPro w spinners and just used it for my trip last month and really liked it, especially the extra light weight. I bought their matching “flight attendant” bag that has 2 wheels and fits on top of the main bag. It was a good system for me.

I have two, old, RS 22” rolling suitcases and last year bought the RS 20” rolling carry-on which I haven’t used yet.

I didn’t use my new RS rolling carry-on because a bag on top didn’t seem to work well. I actually regret buying it.

My wife and I have 2 wheel Travel pro and like them.

I suspect the issue with spinners is the cost to engineer and produce wheels that can stand up to cobblestones, puts the good ones at a price point above comparable 2 wheel styles.

In my view spinners work well on smooth pavement, airport concourses and planes, but over uneven pavement and cobblestones the small wheels suffer

I’ve had the first generation of the Travelpro maxlite rollaboard for about 8 years and it has held up well. One of the nice things about Travelpro is they sell replacement parts like wheels; I haven’t needed to buy any parts for my Travelpro bag, but I had a different brand bag that had to be thrown away when one of the wheels broke.

We have had our 2 wheel Travelpro 22" for many years. Well made product, light weight (under 6 pounds) and glides well over cobblestones and other rough terrain.

I spent April and May shopping for and searching online for new luggage for my June trip. It’s very difficult to find luggage w/o spinners now.
I wanted a 22” TravelPro w two wheels but they don’t have them anymore, only spinners, and they don’t have a true 22” suitcase. I ended up with a 24” spinner and was very happy w it.
Turns out, I actually like spinners, and had no problems walking over a mile on different surfaces in Paris.

jlschandler

We have had our 2 wheel Travelpro 22" for many years. Well made product, light weight (under 6 pounds) and glides well over cobblestones and other rough terrain.

Me too! (Only for two years though.)

Susan:

I wanted a 22” TravelPro w two wheels but they don’t have them anymore, only spinners, and they don’t have a true 22” suitcase.

Well, not sure what you mean - you can still buy them with two wheels, though I can't confirm whether they are still making them or not. I bought mine from Costco last year for $99. I see them now on eBay brand new for just a little more money.

I ended up with a 24” spinner and was very happy w it. Turns out, I actually like spinners, and had no problems walking over a mile on different surfaces in Paris.

The problem with the spinners is that you lose a considerable amount of room at the bottom of the bag due to having four wheels. This may be less of an issue with a 24" bag. But I wanted a 22" bag so I could take it as a carry-on, and my TravelPro 2-wheel 22" fits in most overhead bins, so I don't have to check bags when going overseas.

I purchase this 20-inch carry-on Victorinox dual caster spinner a few months ago.

I also bought a 20” Delsey two wheel roller carry-on.
I debated which one to take on my trip to Sicily, but finally opted to take the Victorinox spinner, and was very happy with my decision. The dual casters are very sturdy and I didn’t have any trouble rolling it on smooth surfaces and sidewalks, or pulling it (on two wheels) on rough surfaces and cobblestones.

It’s a well made spinner and it comes with a great warranty.

Good luck!

I agree that it's easy to find spinners - maybe RS doesn't make them, but lots of others do.

I'm very happy with my Delsey Hyperlite bag. It's a Macy's exclusive, but there are similar Delsey bags available from Amazon, Ebags, Altman Luggage, etc. Here's the Macy's listing - right now it's on sale: https://www.macys.com/shop/product/closeout-delsey-hyperlite-2.0-20-carry-on-expandable-spinner-suitcase-created-for-macys?ID=2575176&CategoryID=25691&cm_kws=2575176

Andrew, you’re right about losing space w spinners, which is why the 22” wasn’t 22”, interior was 20”.

Totally believe you but I searched intensely in April/May for a TravelPro 22” w two wheels and couldn’t find one anywhere.

Susan--- if you are still looking try this

https://www.ebags.com/product/travelpro/crew-11-22-expandable-upright-suiter/322922?productid=10469949

This is my spinner, a Lipault Plume in Duck Blue. I've never had any issues with the wheels when tilted to two on rough urban surfaces. These are not cheap, but they are sold by many online vendors, the Lipault site is offering a discount right now and I noticed that the red and yellow colors are at less than 1/2 price.

Note the sizing and weight in the Description & Features. Look at the yellow one to get a better idea of how the interior is made.

What you can't see in that picture is that there is a zipper in the liner which allows access to the handle rails. Many bags have this option. I put things that fit on either side of the rails and between them up to the level of the depth of the rails. That creates a flatter surface for packing my can't-leave-home-without-'em Eagle Creek Pack-it Specter Compression Cubes. And yes, I have them in Volcano Red, Brilliant Blue and Strobe Green.

Almost forgot -- there's a link to airline size requirements right on the Lipault listing.

As for a tote, Baggallini is a great source for "personal" bags with sleeves that go over the spinner handles. I have more of them than I need, but my favorite is the Hobo tote. I can get my essentials (meds, electronics and small purse) in them. There are larger options, but you need to make sure that they aren't too big for your airline. I had to size down a bit for British Airlines. The Hobos always work and can be used as a (rather large to me) purse.

About the small purse. My new favorite is this Baggallini crossbody. I got it in black and liked it so much that I got another one in red. It's bigger than my other small purses, so I can put more stuff in it, but with just the basics, I can fold it over and easily fit it in my Hobo tote.

The Baggallini brand can be purchased from many online vendors and TJ Maxx sometimes has them at very good prices.

I am using this:
"Eagle Creek No Matter What Flatbed 20 inch"

Didn't pay full price for it. THe material is non-woven and thus is easy to clean. I don't like spinners because 4 wheels take up too much precious space. Two wheels is good enough. There is a 22-inch version but it may be too large for some European airlines. They are very strict with luggage sizes. Many will make you to place your carry-on in their sizers at the boarding gate. If they ask you to gate check it, you will have to pay for it as extra luggage. These airlines make a lot of $ from baggage fees.

TravelPro bags are on sale at Ebags website!

Just to add to the mix, I was recently looking for a light weight personal carry on tote to replace my heavier Travelpro Tote. I usually buy Baggallini for travel handbags. That said, I compared the weight and details of the Baggallini Ave.Tote to the Hedgren Intercity Tote.
Hedgren was the choice. Lighter in weight, roomier, RFID inner pocket, trolley sleeve that fit well, good quality, water repellent, removable crossbody strap, and $30 less than Baggallini.

Good posts here. I'm a Travelpro fan and have owned many of their bags, all of which have lasted for years. I'm not sure where the "22 inch shortage" is coming from, but they're all over Amazon and Ebags. Big plus is the availability of replacement wheels should one fail. And they're reasonably priced, particularly when on sale, compared to what I consider ridiculously overpriced brands like Tumi.

Having had many spinners and two wheelers, though, I'm kind of coming back to the two wheeler side. The spinners do involve a sacrifice of space, and though I really like them on bigger bags for mobility, the carryons are fine with two wheels if not packed too heavily.

As for the international travel issue, my RS rolling bag (current model, purchased in 2017) fits well within the dimensions allowed by several international carriers. We're heading to Paris on Norwegian this fall, and it should be no problem, though I can't say about the intracontinental airlines like Ryanair.

I like the RS 21" wheeled carry-on
I don't want spinners because the FOUR wheels take up (approx) 2" of the overall height of the case.
You are losing 2" of space that could be holding clothes.
The only time the spinners help are in the airport lines. Everywhere else, the case is tipped on its side and pulled quickly down a sidewalk, etc.

The luggage industry is soooo competitive. Any online search can cause your head to go numb if you are new to traveling and don't have specific criteria. I don't blame Rick for not going the spinner route. It's probably not his personal recommendation or preference. Trying to be all things to all consumers can cause a company to lose its focus and "go into the weeds."
Luggage design has its trends. I think LLBean, in many ways, has lost its focus and has gone "into the weeds."
Because you seem to know what you are looking for, you should be able to locate a case to your liking.

A 22" spinner isn't going to cut it as a carry-on. It's too long to fit most carry-on restrictions.

True most U.S. carriers are very lax with their rules but I prefer knowing my bag can work on any airline.

Over the years I packed lighter and lighter. I used less and less of my available carry-on space - and kept getting lighter. I scaled back my bag as I went.

Now I have a shoulder bag that fits everyone's requirements for a personal item (even Frontier or Ryanair). It's a good thing because the trend is for airlines to enforce carry-on restrictions more closely, charge for check bags, add a fee for checking an oversize bag at the airport and even charge for "full size" carry-ons.

The last couple years I've limited myself to under 12 lbs (10 is ideal for me) and couldn't be happier - plus I get compliments both on traveling light AND my clothing.

HELP CONFUSED looking to buy carryon we are going to try and go 14 days to Italy with carryons and maybe small backpack.
It seems in shopping most bags are slightly 1/2” to 1” bigger than printed size. This means a 22” won’t work on. Norwegian or Vueling who we are taken. Where they are strict on their sizing does a sizing box of 21” measure that or is there some wiggle room. Hate to buy the” right “ size only to be surprised. They do include wheels and handles

It seems in shopping most bags are slightly 1/2” to 1” bigger than printed size.

Consumer Union video on Carry-on lugage testing:
https://www.consumerreports.org/video/view/travel/4624131504001/finding-carry-on-luggage-that-fits-overhead/?autoplay

Finding Carry-on Luggage That Fits Overhead 01:35

Our experts measure suitcases with laser precision to see which will
be allowed onboard and which won't. We find you can't go by the specs
on the tag. Most of the bags we tested didn't measure up.

This is an update since I responded to this question back in July. At that time I didn't mention that I had an older Eagle Creek Load Warrior which has 2 wheels and is slightly smaller than the Lipault I linked above.

Much to my surprise, on a recent domestic trip, my husband was required to gate check the Lipault for a smaller plane, but my EC sailed through and it's not even touted to be an international bag.

Somewhat recently I decided to do 2 back-to-back RS tours that will require 3 flights on 3 different European airlines with, you guessed it, 3 different carry-on requirements. Having a international bag won't help with the one that allows 1 carry-on only, but it will work with one of the others and might work for the one that has an 8 kg weight limit if I can pack light enough.

When the sales hit, I ordered the Eagle Creek Load Warrior International Carry-on. It arrived today. According to my digital luggage scale it weighs 4 lbs 6 oz. That makes it 1 lb 11 oz lighter than the Lipault and 1 lb 2 oz lighter than my older EC. At 51.5x35.5x20 cm, it meets the measurement requirements for the 3 airlines.

Short of using an even smaller backpack, at the moment this seems like the smallest and lightest international bag within my price range.

I link this website intermittently for sizes weight allowed on specific airlines. Caveat is, you always want to double check the airline website directly, but it might help to determine a luggage size that works for many
https://travel-made-simple.com/carry-on-size-chart/
The smaller regional airlines are harder to avoid having to gate check, despite luggage fitting the airline's posted measurements. My experience in North America is they at least gatecheck it free. Your experience may vary.
I generally recommend you shop luggage in person with measuring tape and scale with you.....or have a free return option.

I actually really like my RS 20" wheelie. I've had it for over 3 years and it still looks and works like new. My H just used it and found it better than his, as well. The configuration of the front pockets win me. I'm still trying to justify getting another, which would be an Ebag.

Our recent Consumer Reports rated carryon luggage. The RS bag is tied for 4th place with LLBean and Kirkland (Costco) just 3 points from the top brand, but RS is actually rating as high in ease of carrying, ease of packing and stowability, which the other two have lower ratings in. #1 is Briggs and Reilly but it doesn't win for me due to the low points for ease of carrying and ease of wheeling, which is the most important for me. #2 is Ebags, which isn't a surprise, and all features are rated best...so not sure how Briggs and Reilly won out. #3 is Eagle Creek, so no surprise there. Travelpro is tied with 5 for 5th place, but it has no top marks in any category.