Travelpro Maxlite 5 Spinner 21” for domestic travel

I’ve never had my carry-on bag scrutinized after 10-12 inter-Europe flights on budget airlines. I find that the gate staff is often too busy getting the plane to take off on time to slow down the line. That doesn’t mean you will never be forced to pay a penalty for a slightly oversized bag. It might happen especially as airlines look for new revenue streams in the future. It’s also possible it’s more likely to happen if you’re getting your boarding pass at the check in desk instead of online.

I did have a Gatwick to Rome flight on Wizz this year and spent about 2 hours in the line to get a boarding pass (printing online/phone costs extra). There was a tour ahead of us where 100% of the tour group members had a giant suitcase above the WizzAir limits. Each individual person argued with the airline staff and at one point the line didn’t move an inch for 30 minutes in a row. It meant we got to the airport more than 2 hours early and had to run through gatwick to catch the flight. Suffice to say, the airlines have plenty of people egregiously trying to break the rules that they might not to bother nickel and diming you over a carry on being 1.8 inches too long or what have you.

What does that mean for you? I would just buy the bag you want and take the small risk of Wizz air or Ryan Air hitting you with a €15 fee or something. If you’re going to be obsessive about it, maybe you want to strictly follow the rules so you never have to think about it. But I will say that having a slightly bigger bag can be helpful, it’s annoying to maneuver packing a bag near its limit of interior volume space.

"*Standard TSA size is 22x14x9”. *"

Actually it's not TSA...each airline determines their own sizing. I would go with the smaller 20" one so you are compliant with carryon regulations for many legacy US airlines. No point in buying a bag too big.

A couple of years ago I was looking for a bag that was lighter than the RS carry on. I was traveling Delta to Paris then connecting on an Air France flight to Milan. A number of folks here had had the experience with Air France where their bags were put into a sizer at the gate. I wanted to avoid that so I strictly went by the measurements.

I also found that it was easier to go by the metric measurements as the inch measurements are often rounded - sometimes rounded up, sometimes down so I was very confused looking at them. The metric measurements are usually on each manufacturer's website.

ALSO, go with the lightest weight bag that will work for you. Some airlines have a weight limit as well.

I wouldn't buy a 23" bag for carryon in the US, knowing that 22" is the maximum. Take a look at Osprey's Ozone bags. They make a 4-wheel spinner that weighs 5 pounds (almost half a pound lighter than the Maxlite) with a 38L capacity. It's 22x14x9. I have an older version of the two-wheeler that weighs 2kg. I have not seen a lighter wheeled bag, and I have looked.
For the intra-European flights, the baggage sizes are all over the map, and you're right to expect to check your bag on those if it's US carryon size.
Two good alternatives to Amazon are Sierra and Macy's, as both carry a broad selection and generally include bag weight. You've already learned to check the dimensions and not be misled by the title.

Our experience last October was our RS rolling Ravenna carryons were acceptable for our Swiss International flight but had to be gate checked for our Swiss domestic flight. The gate agents in Zurich were walking thru the crowd measuring bags. They were doing the same in Milan on the way home but we had checked our bags. It does happen just be aware. The only thing we’re noticing on frequent flights domestically is that both United and Alaska have become very strict on one carryon and one small personnel item. I have not seen them measuring carryons. But expect that in the future considering the amount of people we’re seeing lately trying to cram oversized luggage into the overhead bins.

One of the Maxlite 5 spinners is a 22X14X9 Compact. I purchased this last year and really like it. I haven't checked it, but held up fine on my RS tour, etc. The Compact is true to size, well, it could be slightly less than 22". I fly Delta and BA so I went for the smallest size (Delta), which is 22X14X9. I found the other Maxlite bags didn't follow the rules, mainly too wide as I recall. If someone at the gate is having a bad day, I don't want to be the one having to check my bag because I'm an inch off.

Macy's has the TravelPro Walkabout 6 2-wheeled rollaboard on sale for $120. It's 22x14x9, 5.4 lbs. That's a pretty light bag for that price.