The best carry-on luggage is both efficient and stylish, letting you keep personal items by your side so you don’t have to worry about anything getting lost in transit. As a frequent flyer who always tries to avoid checking a bag, I traveled with 12 different hardside and softside suitcases from a number of highly rated travel brands including Monos, Away and Béis. After testing these suitcases on multiple trips over the past six months, I selected the Away The Bigger Carry-On as the best carry-on bag, thanks to its generous capacity, great organization and built-in compression. It provides enough packing space for a full week and feels solid and sturdy at a reasonable price.
The best carry-on luggage from brands like Briggs & Riley, Monos and Away let you efficiently keep … [+] your personal items by your side in style.
Illustration: Forbes / Photo: Retailers
Other luggage that scored high marks include the Monos Carry-On Pro—a hardside option with a spacious laptop compartment—as well as the Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner, a durable softside suitcase with plenty of pockets. Below, I’ve rounded up the 10 best carry-on luggage to bring with you on your next trip.
Our score: 10 | Dimensions: 22.7 x 15.4 x 9.6 inches | Weight: 7.93 pounds | Capacity: 47.9 liters | Colors: 9 total, including Coast Blue and Olive Green | Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
Best for:
Six-to-eight-day trips
A thoughtful interior compression system
A comfortable underside grab handle
Skip if:
You prefer a suitcase with a front pocket
I have been using Away suitcases since 2018, and I often recommend the brand’s bags to others as a great option for those looking to dip their toes into hardside luggage (first-time Away user and Forbes Vetted senior reviews editor Anna Perlingtested The Carry-On on trips to Paris, Austin and New York earlier this year).
I traveled with the Away Bigger Carry-On a ski trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland and filled it with … [+] over a week’s worth of bulky clothes.
Astrid Taran For Forbes Vetted
The brand’s Bigger Carry-On is the most-used suitcase in my carry-on collection. Its compression system is truly strong enough to squeeze multiple overstuffed packing cubes into the bag; it also has comfortable grab handles, an integrated TSA lock and great accessories, like a laundry bag. Away’s website states that this suitcase could fit up to nine outfits and enough clothing for up to seven days, but I feel its capacity is undersold. I traveled with this bag on a ski trip to Switzerland, where I couldn’t check a suitcase due to having back-to-back connections on different airlines (I wouldn’t recommend doing this, by the way). I was able to stuff the Bigger Carry-On with eight days’ worth of bulky sweaters and layers, with no zippers harmed in the process.
At almost 48 liters, it offers incredible capacity for being a carry-on suitcase—I’ve slid it into dozens of overhead bins on a variety of different airlines and never had a problem with its size. The only other suitcases on this list that beat it in terms of capacity is the Briggs & Riley Sympatico, which clocks in at 52 liters, and the Béis Carry-On Roller, which offers 61 liters of space—but only after you expand it. Since the Away Bigger Carry-On is not expandable, it’s all the more impressive that it can pack in so many things. It’s also one-third of the price of a Briggs & Riley bag, so when it comes to true bang for your buck, the Away Bigger Carry-On tops them all.
Best Carry-On Luggage For International Travel
A Durable Exterior With Tug-Proof Zippers
Travelpro
Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner
Our score: 10 | Dimensions: 21 × 14 × 9 inches| Weight: 7.8 pounds| Capacity: 46 liters| Colors: 8 total, including Shadow Black and Bordeaux| Warranty: 5-year limited warranty; covers cost of repair for damage by airline if registered within first 120 days of purchase
Best for:
Five-to-seven-day trips
Durable material and sturdy zippers
Two large exterior pockets
Skip if:
You prefer a modern aesthetic
A carry-on for international travel needs to be constructed with durability in mind: The Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner’s exterior fabric feels so sturdy that I confidently recommend it for longer, international trips. (This suitcase is also featured on our list of best luggage as the top pick for international travel, based on additional testing by Forbes Vetted’s editorial director, Brinda Ayer.) The chrome zippers, in particular, feel extra durable and tug-proof. After stuffing it with clothes on three different trips, I understood why this brand is a favorite of pilots and flight attendants.
I chose the Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner as the best softside carry-on option due to … [+] its durable exterior and sturdy zippers.
Astrid Taran For Forbes Vetted
The carry-on is outfitted with interior compression straps, accessory pockets, a water-resistant toiletry bag and a removable suiter system. The handle has a rubber contour grip and four adjustable heights, plus a top handlebar with padding that helped me hoist the suitcase into overhead bins with ease.
Compared to other chic, minimalist options that made our list—, like the Béis, Monos and Away hardside suitcasesthis bag certainly looks more utilitarian than fashionable. Other softside options on the market have a bit more panache, like the Briggs & Riley Essential Baseline. However, for a well-made bag that is built to handle international travel, fans of softside luggage would be remiss to cross this option off the list based on style alone.
At under 8 pounds, the Monos Carry-On Pro is fairly lightweight, yet feels far from flimsy. I’m so impressed by this suitcase’s satisfying heft that I asked several friends to roll it around to experience it themselves. They all agreed: This suitcase feels dependable enough to leave momentarily standing without fear of it rolling down a hill.
Its polycarbonate shell feels equally tough. I traveled with this suitcase on three different domestic trips and noticed barely any scuffing afterward, despite the fact that I was using one of the lighter colors, Sage Green. That durable exterior provides a layer of confidence around the suitcase’s laptop compartment, which is spacious enough to hold a 15-inch laptop along with a few other small travel accessories. The bag’s 360-degree spinner wheels are incredibly smooth, and I appreciate that its telescopic handle stayed firm after blocks of bouncing across Boston’s cobblestone streets. This suitcase also comes with a helpful laundry bag and two shoe bags to make packing easier, and an integrated TSA lock for enhanced security.
The brand’s website advertises this bag as spacious enough for five-day trips, but the bag’s laptop pocket does subtract some of that space, which is why I deducted points. After multiple trips, I would recommend three-to-four days as the sweet spot. Another thing to note is that the handles tend to lock up if you pack this suitcase to the brim, so overpackers may want to opt for an expandable bag, like the Briggs & Riley or Béis suitcases that also made this list.
As a premium travel brand, Briggs & Riley suitcases don’t come cheap, but there’s a reason the brand’s bags have sustained a loyal following. These suitcases are well-made, durable and long-lasting—meaning that one investment can serve you on many trips for years to come.
The Briggs & Riley Sympatico has handles latched onto the back of the suitcase, giving you extra … [+] packing room.
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