Category
Luggage and travel gear compared on official list prices, published dimensions, weight, materials, and each brand's own warranty and trial terms — reported from official product pages, not hands-on lab testing.
Travel Gear
Carry-on suitcases are one of the few travel purchases where the facts you need are actually published: exact dimensions, weight, capacity, materials, and — most tellingly — what the warranty really covers. This guide compares four widely used carry-ons for 2026: the Travelpro Platinum Elite 21″ Expandable Spinner, the Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential Carry-On Expandable Spinner, Away's The Carry-On, and the Monos Carry-On.
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Travelpro's Platinum Elite 21″ pairs the group's biggest published capacity (46 L, expandable) with its most generous documented trial (100 days, any reason, return shipping paid) and airline-damage coverage via the Trusted Companion Promise. It is also the heaviest bag here and its with-wheels dimensions exceed the big-three airlines' published limits.
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The Baseline Essential's documented case rests on its "Simple as that®" guarantee — lifetime repairs, airline damage included, no proof of purchase — plus the largest expansion range (41–51 L) and the most detailed build documentation here. The price is the con: $695 and 8.6 lb make it the most expensive and heaviest bag in this ranking.
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Away's The Carry-On is the balanced pick: verified 41 L / 7.5 lb polycarbonate hardware with compression and a TSA lock at $275, backed by the published LifetimeCare™ program and 100-day unused returns. Its published protections are each a notch below the best in class — complimentary repairs cap at five years, and the trial excludes used bags.
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The Monos Carry-On is the lightest bag in this comparison (7.01 lb) with a published footprint that exactly matches the big-three airlines' 22 x 14 x 9 in. limit, backed by a lifetime warranty and 100-day trial at $275. Its documentation is the weak point: key specs live off the product page and the warranty's published terms are thin.
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Travel Gear
Luggage marketing and airline rules measure differently, and the gap is where gate-check fees live. Airlines measure your bag's total exterior — and most say so explicitly, wheels and handles included. Here are the published limits at six major US airlines, from their official baggage pages as of 2026-07-18. Five of the six converge on the same number: 22 x 14 x 9 inches. American states the limit includes "the handles and wheels." Delta says the measurements "include any handles or wheels" and adds a 45-linear-inch cap (length + width + height). United tells you to "include the handle and wheels" when measuring. Alaska publishes the same 22 x 14 x 9 with wheels and handles included, plus the 45-linear-inch total. JetBlue writes it the same way: "including wheels and handles." The outlier is Southwest, which publishes a more generous 24 x 16 x 10 inches. Personal items — the bag that goes under the seat — vary more. American allows up to 18 x 14 x 8 inches. United publishes 17 x 10 x 9 inches, and JetBlue 17 x 13 x 8. Delta, Southwest, and Alaska describe a personal item (purse, briefcase, laptop bag) without publishing exact dimensions on their main baggage pages. What about weight? For US domestic economy, none of these six airlines publishes a carry-on weight limit on the pages we reviewed — JetBlue is the only one that says so explicitly, noting it "does not currently have a weight restriction for carry-on bags." The practical constraints they do publish: you must be able to lift the bag into the overhead bin yourself (Alaska says this directly), and it must actually fit in the sizer. Three practical consequences follow. First, measure your suitcase the airline's way: manufacturers sometimes publish a flattering "case" dimension separately from the true exterior with wheels — a bag sold as 21 inches can stand 23 inches tall at the airport. Second, expandable bags obey the rule only zipped down: expansion depths of 10 to 11 inches exceed every 9-inch depth limit above, so treat expansion as packing room for the trip home. Third, basic-economy fares can change the math entirely — United's page states basic economy includes only a personal item on most routes, with a full carry-on reserved for select international itineraries. A final honesty note: these are the airlines' published limits, which change; sizers, aircraft type, and gate agents decide the outcome on the day. Check your airline's current baggage page before you fly, and when in doubt, measure the bag yourself — wheels, handles, and all.