Sink into this comfy, top-rated sofa we've found at Walmart. Pick it up yourself, or next-day shipping is available in some areas. | Read Review
Credit:
Seamus Bellamy / Reviewed.com
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.
Credit:
Seamus Bellamy / Reviewed.com
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
This structured, soft-sided, four-wheeled spinner bag has lots of compartments for all your belongings. Read More
This thoughtfully designed hard-sided carry-on luggage has tons of packing space and comes with lots of extras, like a built-in charging battery. Read More
This Instagram-famous luggage is designed to make travel easier with a cushioned handle, weight indicator, and bag attachment strap. Read More
This high-end spinner bag has lots of packing space and can be expanded from a thickness of nine inches to 11.5 inches if needed. Read More
This sleek, minimalist piece of luggage is just the right size for the overhead bin and is made from aerospace-grade, water-resistant polycarbonate. Read More
The best carry-on luggage—well-made, abrasion-resistant, and thoughtfully designed—can help make traveling feel breezy and manageable. Alongside checked luggage, under-seat luggage, and travel backpacks, carry-on luggage should strike just the right balance of size, value, maneuverability, and durability. Unfortunately, most people don’t have the time to shop around for the perfect carry-on bag. Fortunately, your curious friends at Reviewed do.
Whether you prefer to travel light or insist upon bringing every scrap of clothing you own on your next adventure, we’ve got the best carry-on luggage highlighted in this luggage review, at different price points. Here are the best luggage brands to buy from, and the best bags for carrying all of your belongings with you.
Excellent build quality
Using outside pockets may make it too large to fit sizer
Storage solutions must be purchased separately
Plenty of packing space
Large color selection
It comes with extras travellers may not want
Scratches easily
Zipper pulls may drag on the ground
More affordable than competitors
Useful compartments
Smart details
Scratches easily
Feels heavy
Lightweight
Smooth wheels and zippers
Handle can get stuck if luggage is overstuffed
Scuffs easily
Aluminum bumpers
Built-in power bank
Customizable handle height
Not expandable
Durable
Comes in a lot of colors
Smooth roll
Some complain about the latches
In order to find the best carry-on luggage on the market, our experts have extensively researched user reviews, product specs, price points, and other important factors to determine which brands and options we can recommend to our readers.
Although our experts haven’t tried out all of these pieces of carry-on luggage personally, they rigorously test and evaluate a wide range of luggage and travel accessories on a regular basis—including checked baggage, travel backpacks, travel pillows, and travel mugs. Our team is well-versed in understanding what features are important to look for when finding the best carry-on luggage. The suitcases featured on this list have been carefully selected to meet our criteria, which is centered around the materials, build, design, price, and real-life user experiences for each piece of carry-luggage.
When it comes to carry-on luggage, investing in high-quality bags will pay off the more you travel. The best carry-on luggage tends to be more durable and long-lasting.
Price: Generally speaking, we advise you to spend more on carry-on luggage if you travel more. High-end luggage tends to be more durable to wear and tear, so you’ll have to replace it less often. The same can’t always be said for personal carry-on-sized bags. Sometimes, as these smaller bags, purses, and backpacks can be used as fashion accessories as part of your daily commute, the price of a bag is commensurate with this luggage brand’s recognition, rather than its durability or utility.
Wheels: if you prefer your luggage to glide through an airport concourse on wheels, four wheels are better than two. No matter whether you’re pushing or pulling your bag along, you’ll find it just as maneuverable. That said, two-wheeled bags are still a good get—they’re more portable and can often cost less. For shopping for bags designed to fit under an airline seat, avoid wheels if you can: they eat into the already limited amount of space bags sized to slip under an airplane seat offer.
Handles: Retractable handles should slide in and out of position, smoothly, and offer at least a couple of height settings to accommodate different sized users. This style of handle, however, isn’t desirable in under seat carry-on luggage: the handle mechanism takes up a lot of space in such a small bag. Built-in fabric or leather handles should be wide and padded to make the weight of what’s inside of your bag feel like less of a strain on your hand. Handles located on multiple sides of a bag are a win, as they make it easy to grab it out of an overhead bin, no matter how you had to place it in there.
Organization: Bags that offer a number of easily accessible exterior pockets for small items like a passport, smartphone, or plane tickets are a smart buy. Look for bags with a large main compartment that can be used with packing cubes, or stuffed full of a number of loose items such as a water bottle, snacks, or a hoodie. If you plan on using your bag for work trips or having it double as a tote for your daily commute, be sure that any laptop compartment, tablet sleeve, or admin panels built into it will suit your needs.
Standard, domestic, carry-on luggage size should be less than 45 linear inches (114 centimeters).
Most domestic airlines have a carry-on luggage size limit of 22 x 14 x 9 inches, including wheels and handles. For international flights, the standard carry-on luggage size is a bit smaller and must not exceed 21.5 x 15.5 x 9 inches.
Here are the carry-on luggage size restrictions by airline:
| Airline | Inches | Centimeters | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | 21.5 x 15.5 x 9 | 55 x 40 x 24 | 22 lbs. |
| Aeromexico | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | 22 lbs. |
| Air Canada | 21.5 x 15.5 x 9 | 55 x 40 x 23 | 22 lbs. |
| Air France | 21 x 13 x 9 | 55 x 35 x 25 | 22 lbs. |
| Air New Zealand | 17.7 x 22 x 10 | 45 x 56 x 25 | 15 lbs. |
| AirTran Always | 24 x 16 x 10 | 60 x 40 x 25 | -- |
| Alaska Airlines | 24 x 17 x 10 | 61 x 43 x 25 | -- |
| Alitalia | 21.5 x 13.5 x 9 | 55 x 35 x 25 | 17 lbs. |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) | 22 x 16 x 10 | 55 x 40 x 25 | 22 lbs. |
| American Airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | -- |
| British Airways | 22 x 18 x 10 | 56 x 45 x 25 | 51 lbs. |
| Cathay Pacific | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | 15 lbs. |
| Delta Air Lines | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | -- |
| El Al | 22 x 18 x 10 | 56 x 45 x 25 | 17 lbs. |
| Frontier Airlines | 24 x 16 x 10 | 60 x 39 x 24 | 35 lbs. |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | 25 lbs. |
| Japan Airlines | 22 x 16 x 10 | 55 x 40 x 25 | 22 lbs. |
| JetBlue Airways | 22 x 14 x 9 | 55.5 x 35.5 x 22.5 | -- |
| KLM | 21.5 x 10 x 13.5 | 55 x 25 x 35 | 26 lbs. |
| Korean Air | 21.4 x 15.5 x 7.5 | 55 x 40 x 20 | 26 lbs. |
| Lufthansa | 22 x 16 x 9 | 55 x 40 x 23 | 17 lbs. |
| Philippine Airlines | 45 total linear | 115 total linear | 15 lbs. |
| Qantas Airways | 41 total linear | 105 total linear | 15 lbs. |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 45 total linear | 115 total linear | 15 lbs. |
| Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) | 22 x 16 x 9 | 55 x 40 x 23 | 18 lbs. |
| Singapore Airlines | 45 total linear | 115 total linear | 15 lbs. |
| Southwest Airlines | 24 x 16 x 10 | 60 x 40 x 25 | -- |
| Spirit Airlines | 22 x 18 x 10 | 40 lbs. | |
| Sun Country Airlines | 24 x 16 x 11 | 60 x 40 x 27.5 | 35 lbs. |
| Thai Airways | 22 x 18 x 10 | 56 x 45 x 25 | 15 lbs. |
| United Airlines (UA) | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 35 x 23 | -- |
| US Airways (US) | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | 40 lbs. |
| Virgin Atlantic | 22 x 14 x 9 | 56 x 36 x 23 | 22 lbs. |
The TSA permits certain duty-free liquids in your carry-on bag as long as they're packaged in a one quart size bag.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has the same packing restrictions for both international and domestic carry-on luggage. If you’re bringing any liquids, gels, or aerosols in your carry-on luggage, such as toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, or sunscreen, they must follow the 3-1-1 rule: Each liquid must be in a 3.4-ounce or smaller container ("3"), all containers must be inside one clear quart-sized plastic bag ("1"), and each passenger is only allowed one plastic bag ("1").
In addition, make sure to review the TSA prohibited items list, which bans firearms, flammable items, explosives, and other potentially hazardous items. Restrictions may vary a bit with each airline, so it’s best to check the airline-specific carry-on rules if you’re unsure what you’re allowed to pack in your carry-on luggage.
To decide between hard-shell or soft-sided carry-on luggage, you’ll need to evaluate your packing style and preferences on durability and design.
Both offer similar packing space, but with different interior designs: Hard-shell carry-on luggage typically features a butterfly opening with two separate compartments on each side of the zipper to help keep contents organized and secure, while soft-sided luggage usually has one large interior compartment—but more exterior pockets. While its flexible material allows you to squeeze extra items in, since it has more give, it may not protect your belongings as well as hard-shell luggage.
Hard-shell carry-on luggage is more weather-resistant, but its plastic shell may be more susceptible to scuffs and dents on impact. That said, hard-shell luggage is generally easier to clean than soft-sided luggage.
Johanna Read
Contributor
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
Shoot us an email
