Carry on Bag..Eagle Creek 20 Load Warrior or Steves

[braumeister]

I took a look at Norwegian's limits and they are: 1 carry-on bag: max. 55x40x23 cm. I looked at other airlines and they all seem to be around this size and the ones that aren't (Ryan Air) are airlines I can easily avoid.

So it's over by .5cm. I'm wondering if this will work?

FWIW, we just did four Norwegian flights, two across the pond and two Air Shuttle within Europe. Nobody had their carry on bag checked for size. I'm guessing that since they are not doing well in terms of profit these days, they may not be interested in hassling their customers like they used to.

 

[CaliKid]

FWIW, we just did four Norwegian flights, two across the pond and two Air Shuttle within Europe. Nobody had their carry on bag checked for size. I'm guessing that since they are not doing well in terms of profit these days, they may not be interested in hassling their customers like they used to.

I have to give a +1 here. I travel extensively domestically and internationally and it's rare they have people put their bags into the measuring box and usually it's for people that are way over. I personally would take a chance on 1/2 centimeter. I think it will be fine. In fact, I would be surprised if it's ever flagged. On the other hand since you appear nervous about the subject you might feel better getting a smaller one so you don't "worry' about it.

 

[brett]

Our experience in Europe, Asia, Australia, and NZ is that our bags never get checked for size.

They do however get checked for weight. Just came back from Thailand and Australia.. Our bags were weighed on five of our ten flights. Scoot, the discount arm of Singapore Air, allows 10KG and they allow up to .9KG over before charging. Jetstar allow 7. We upgraded to 10KG. On the same trip the agents on our Delta, Korean, and United flights did not weigh but presumably they performed the eyeball test.

All flights that did weigh, weighed DW's carry on bag AND he purse. My carry on an small nylon hold all were both weighed. Never once were the dimensions checked. Are carry on are inside the limits. I suspect the airline clerks are very good at eyeballing bags for size hence the reason we were not sized.

Our experiences in Europe with the discount airlines has been the same, with perhaps less often even being weighed. Cannot recall if DW's purse was even included in those weigh-ins.

We always travel with the assumption that our carry on bags will get sized and weighed. We find it much easier to be well within the limits than worry about whether we will be checked.

 

[Scuba]

We took several flights within Greece and they definitely sized and weighed all carry-ons that were even close to the size limits. Some of the planes we took were small and had smaller overhead bins, so there is a reason for the smaller limits. We used Eagle Creek 40L backpacks for our carry-ons. Worked great because they are very lightweight and they’re also flexible so they could be stuffed into the luggage sizer. We just had to be careful not to overstuff them so they would meet size and weight requirements.

 

[Scuba]

Thanks for the feedback. I already travel light, so going a little smaller shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve taken one month trips with a 22” with space to spare. For me, the extra space let’s me be lazy in packing and it is nice to have in case I buy stuff.

I agree with going cheap (my current bag), but the Eagle Creeks look nice and I’m thinking of splurging. I noticed that they have a Gear Warrior International, which is 35x55x20cm and expands out to 24cm. It’s also lightweight and available on Amazon (5% discount).

Hmm...just checked out Rick Steves Rolling Carry-On, which has about the same dimensions/capacity, and it’s on sale for $128.

One nice thing about Eagle Creek is their lifetime guarantee. They actually honor it and will repair or replace any damaged luggage, no matter how old.

 

[brett]

Two years ago I paid $130 USD for the Eagle Creek 20" No Matter What wheeled carry on.

Based on four two month land trips and several shorter in between I view that cost as reasonable given the quality of the product. Still like new. Product has been replaced by a slightly newer version. I looked at some higher end product lines from different manufacturers. I could not justify the large difference in price. I buy on wheels, weight, zippers, and exterior material...plus warranty.

It has been plenty big enough for me. In fact, I sometimes carry some of DW's things in order to get her Rick Steves carry on to the 10kg weight.

 

[deserat]

I just received a Tumi Tegra-Lite® Max International Expandable Carry-On https://www.tumi.com/p/tegra-lite®-max-international-expandable-carry-on-028720TG# for my Million Miler gift from Delta last week. I still haven't used it because I always use a large bag and check it, at least for work. Maybe I'll take it to Prague next month.

Love Tumi, but the pricetag is ouch! I wandered into a Tumi store at an Italian train station a few years ago and fell in love with the small carry on bag in black
- was perfect....until I saw the price - yikes!!!!

Ended buying an Osprey wheeled carry-on on sale - but if I find that Tumi on sale.....

 

[tulak]

I ended up going with the Eagle Creek Gear Warrior International. I also had a Rick Steve’s Rolling Carryon for comparison, but I liked the style and build of the Eagle Creek better. I found the Eagle Creek holds it’s form much better, plus, it had the right amount of extra pockets (not many), which I prefer.

I’ve already taken one trip and it worked great. I’ll be using it again next month to Europe. That should be more interesting, since I’ll be weight constrained and I need to carry a couple of heavier items (unfortunately, that’s non-negotiable). I might have to be creative to get it to 8kg.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. As I expected, it’s been great not having to check luggage. I’m glad I finally broke that habit.

 

[Scuba]

I ended up going with the Eagle Creek Gear Warrior International. I also had a Rick Steve’s Rolling Carryon for comparison, but I liked the style and build of the Eagle Creek better. I found the Eagle Creek holds it’s form much better, plus, it had the right amount of extra pockets (not many), which I prefer.

I’ve already taken one trip and it worked great. I’ll be using it again next month to Europe. That should be more interesting, since I’ll be weight constrained and I need to carry a couple of heavier items (unfortunately, that’s non-negotiable). I might have to be creative to get it to 8kg.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. As I expected, it’s been great not having to check luggage. I’m glad I finally broke that habit.

Can’t beat Eagle Creek IMO.

 

[athena53]

Can’t beat Eagle Creek IMO.

I agree- I have a couple of Eagle Creek bags that I bought at least 10 years ago and they've been everywhere- road trips, on and off of too many planes to count... still in great shape.

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

DW has a travelpro - seems to be very popular - make sure you put some “flair” on it for those times your bags are mixed with others.
I just bought an Osprey Farpoint - but have not used it yet - search YouTube for videos about packing and lightweight travel

 

[Sarah in SC]

I’ve been reading the OneBag reddit forum and learned a lot about the Farpoint.

I still use one of two convertible max carryons: a cheap but durable eBags and a Patagonia. Sadly have nearly quit using the old top load backpacks that have been so many places. They just aren’t as practical as one that opens up.

 

[brett]

I would not trade my Eagle Creek bag. My spouse would not trade her Rick Steves rolling carry on. Both are excellent products. After eight years of extensive travel DW's Steves bag still looks like new.

I would be less inclined to spend a great deal on carry on luggage for the simple reason that it gets far less wear and tear. It is not subject to rough handling through the bag checking process. At most, we have had a bad gate checked but only when the aircraft was a small jet or turbo prop with limited overhead space. In our case, both bags bet far more wear and tear on wheels and handle so this is more important to us than looks.