Osprey Ozone 18 vs 22?

I actually recently bought an Osprey Ozone 18, in an attempt to get a rolling bag that's as small as my small Eagle Creek duffle bag that I love because I can fit it under the seat in front of me. I have used both for long weekend trips in the U.S.; I need a rolling bag now due to back problems. I do love the Osprey Ozone, which is saying a lot as I have an Eagle Creek 21" that I have owned for about 20 years and love dearly - that's the one I have taken on almost every trip to Europe.

I will tell you that the 18" is actually a little longer than 18", so if you're carrying on an airline (i.e., RyanAir or EasyJet) that has very stringent carryon requirements, it won't work as a personal item.

I haven't taken the 18" for longer than a long weekend, but it does hold quite a bit, for me (I'm a small female, with small feet, so can usually fit in more changes of clothes than some people.) For a 10-day trip, I would take my Eagle Creek 21", or another Eagle Creek bag that I bought specifically because it complies with foreign carrier carryon requirements (which allow wider but shorter bags than US airlines usually do).

I traveled for a month with the 22" Osprey Ozone. I was amazed at how much easier it was for me to handle than the RS 22". The weight difference had more benefit than I expected. Checked it twice, including for the flight home. It survived fine. It held more than I expected--as much as the RS 22".

I was able to carry it on for the flight from the US--a Delta codeshare flown by KLM. However, I had to gate check it when I changed planes in Europe. It was a fraction of an inch too big for the sizer.

I really like it and plan to see if I can fit my things in the 18" for travel this fall. FYI, I called Osprey to see if they were introducing a 20". As of a few months ago, the answer was 'no'.

I had to upgrade my suitcase 1 1/2 years ago to the smaller size requirements, and I wanted an Osprey Ozone - love the looks and the light weight. But, my deal breaker was that the 22" (& 14" width) didn't meet the requirements for Delta/KLM/Air France. And, the 18" just looked too close in size to a backpack, and I also needed it for business trips.

They've lost sales by not offering a 20"! I selected the Eddie Bauer Travex® Expedition Drop-Bottom Rolling Duffel - Medium, and have been very happy with it.

I have used an Osprey Ozone 22 for about 2 1/2 years now, 9 trips from USA to Philippines and Singapore and numerous trips within SE Asia and USA. Have never been required to check it due to size but a couple of times due to weight. The SE Asia carriers have a 7KG weight limit, about 15 pounds, so using an Osprey that weighs a little over 4 pounds is a HUGE benefit compared to a suitcase that weights 7 pounds. Longest trip has been 12 days but always do laundry while on trip, so don't pack too much. Also, you don't need bulky warm clothes for SE Asia so slightly different needs compared to Europe at Christmas! At any rate, love the bag, highly durable, excellent construction, would highly recommend it. Getting a second one for fiance. BTW, I think the top's tapered design makes the bag look smaller than a "square" case, I think that has helped me get past some gate checks.

Thanks for the replies!

It seems the Ozone 18 is no longer available, but maybe you have access to one. The e-Bags website says it is (was) 18 x 14 x 8, 2016 cu in.

I've lived many times for two weeks at a time out of the Campmor Essential Carryon. I thought is was somewhere over 2300 cu in, but the Campmor website now shows it at 19 x 13 x 7, 1729 cu in. No matter, I only put 1400 cu in of stuff in it for 2 weeks.

So if I can do it with only 1400 cu in, you can certainly make do with 2000 cu in and be well within the 21-5/8 to 22 in airline allowance.