RS Rolling Carry On

I don't have a problem with mine tipping. I do try to pack heavier items on the bottom. I also usually don't have an attached bag if that matters.

Very little problems, unless you pack heavy items on top and not in the bottom. I usually use the flight bag attached to the extension handle. The wheels are wide and very stable.

Thanks for your responses. I've been looking at lightweight carry-on bags for international flights. I wish the RS one was lighter but it seems to be a popular bag used by many travelers. I found a 4 lb bag at TJ Maxx today, but didn't buy it. It had 4 spinner wheels and looked a little iffy, although it was a Samsonite. I'll try to wait for a RS sale and buy that one.

Mine tends to tip and I just redistribute the contents. I try to put heavier things on the bottom but it may take more than one try.

We've not really had a problem. Perhaps it's because we, as other have suggested, pack the heavier items in the bottom. If you slip a "personal item" type day bag over the extended handles, it will increase the tendency to tip, but it's not increased that much. And being aware of that characteristic we try to keep a hand on it when we do have a bag on top but it's still not a big problem.

You'll see multiple discussions about using a spinner bag vs. a 2-wheeled bag. When I'm hauling my 2-wheeler down long airport corridors, I glance wistfully at those folks strolling (seemingly effortlessly) with their spinners. However, once I'm on the cobblestones of Venice, Assisi, or Paris, I'm quite glad to have a 2-wheeler. When my wonderful sister-in-law traveled in Italy with me a couple of years ago, she brought her beloved spinner. Yes, it did great on flat, even surfaces, but then she had to drag that thing by its two back wheels up over pedestrian bridges, up and down bumpy hills, etc.. It was quite a pain for her as those two little back wheels are not really built to pull over cobblestones and got constantly twisted and stuck in ruts. Consider where you'll be pulling/pushing your bag throughout your journey, and if two or four wheels will make most sense for you.

Hi Pam! Pam here...hahaha... I have used this bag for multiple trips and I agree that it depends on how you pack it as to the tippage factor. If you have stuff in the front pockets or in the top of the lid it does tip. On the way home I usually have paper in the front lower pocket (maps/brochures/etc) or last week when coming home from a birding trip I had a thick birding guide in there with a pair of flipflops in the inside lid. Yes, it tipped over but I was checking it so not a problem.

Mine definitely tips if I slide my personal item on over the handle.

In spite of this shortcoming, I do like the bag and find it handy to use. I ~can~ overpack it so I try to restrain myself with a packing list.

I'd never really had a problem with it tipping -- I usually have the Euro Bag over the handle -- until a recent return from Florida. It tipped twice while I was waiting in a security line. But it was totally my fault because I had packed in a rush leaving the hotel in the morning and it was top-heavy. Just make sure to concentrate more weight in the bottom (wheel) end of the bag and you'll be fine. I've used mine on multiple trips over several years and I'm very happy with the bag. And RS is known for excellent customer service if you should have any problems with the bag.

Thank you all for your help.

We had a lot of problems with them tipping over onto their fronts. Yes, it depends on how you pack them. I got tired of mine and the weight of the case itself (7+ pounds) so went hunting and acquired the Oprey 22" roller, which is about 4 pounds. Makes a huge difference to me, that three pounds, and it is less likely to tip over, in my experience.

Let me add a different perspective here: tipping is not a bug, but a feature. How? Tipping means that the bag is not stable when upright -- very inconvenient when parking the bag. But what about when pulling the bag? Ideally, the bag should be balanced when leaning backward into the pulling position. The bag then feels very light, because the handle isn't constantly weighing down the hand.

My method: pack the main bag as others have suggested, with heavy items on the bottom, but hang my small bag or backpack off the front of the main bag. The combination is very nearly balanced (not stable) when tilted. The handle feels weightless in transit. When stopping, I make sure to wheel the bag right up against a wall or pillar.

This method has reduced the fatigue factor considerably.

...but hang my small bag or backpack off the front of the main bag.

Why not wear your backpack or small bag (assuming it has a cross body strap) rather than try to drag everything. Dragging a toppling roller up or down stairs or escalators would be easier if you don't stack stuff on top of your roller.

My wife's rolling RS carry-on doesn't seem to have stability problems. And her "personal" bag is a small backpack that is big enough for her Mac and tablet.

I think the concept of attaching the smaller bag to the carryon (via an “add-a-bag” strap or other method) sounds good on paper, but in my experience, it isn’t as effective and secure as using the larger bag’s handle. There’s a separate thread in this section called “Trolley Strap” that has a lot of useful info on this feature.

For larger, checked bags, using an add-a-bag seems to work fairly well, but in my experience, with a carryon-sized wheeled bag, unless the smaller bag is pretty small, you often have it dragging the ground or swinging independently of the larger bag, which can get annoying when threading through airport crowds.

I tend to go with a wheeled carryon and a small to midsize backpack with a pass through strap allowing the backpack to fit over the wheeled bag’s handle. And I have yet to own a two-wheeled bag that never tips under any circumstances. IMO, that comes down more to how you pack rather than the bag itself, though I’m sure there are some exceptions.

I’ve also used a standard sized backpack that wasn’t packed too full (allowing it to fit under the seat) with a trolley strap, and that’s fine as well, providing you don’t overpack. If you do, you risk tipping the whole setup, regardless of how “stable” the wheeled bag is.

Of course, you can always use the backpack as a—wait for this—backpack, and carry it on your back;)

My method: pack the main bag as others have suggested, with heavy items on the bottom, but hang my small bag or backpack off the front of the main bag. The combination is very nearly balanced (not stable) when tilted. The handle feels weightless in transit.

My husband uses this system and Anne is correct. He uses a bag similar to RS's euro bag when he does this. The bag, indeed, feels weightless when it is being pulled. I don't do it this way only because I'm too lazy to attach it, so I just sit my bag on the top and hold the handle to it with the same hand as the suitcase handle, which works for me, but it is much heavier. Obviously, you need the correct sized added bag or one that sits on the floor when the bag is upright. So, this indeed is a good way to pull the bag and it is indeed seems weightless.

I have found luggage that I've had in the past with only 2 wheels
often does tip. It's annoying. Thanks.

I have only used 2-wheeled upright bags from either Tumi or LL Bean and have NEVER had a tipping issue. I would never use a 4 wheel bag because when you're walking uphill, you end up dragging the bag on the two front wheels and since they dangle and are more narrow, they break.

Wherever you buy a new bag, make sure you have a 100% guarantee no questions asked. Tumi does not have that unconditional guarantee but LL Bean does no matter how long you own it. If you are leaning toward buying a RS carry-on, make sure there is a similar unconditional 100% guarantee so you don't waste money on a bag you find out later that you don't like.