Find the Best Carry-on Luggage for Frequent Flyers

When you fly, your carry-on luggage takes a beating. Dragged for miles through airport concourses, shoved into overhead compartments, squeezed under airplane seats, inferior carry-on luggage is going to show wear quickly.

Everyone dreads a broken pull-handle, stuck wheels, or the worst: a rip or tear that spills your personal belongings out for everyone to see. No, that's not your massager. That's a massager.

There is a lot of cheap, inferior carry-on luggage out there. You need quality to deal with the rigors of frequent air travel.

I'm going to show you how to select the best carry-on luggage.

Here's what you should look for in carry-on luggage, part by part:

Size
Carry-on guidelines vary by airline. Look for carry-on luggage that meets the most stringent airline's requirements. Currently that maximum is 45 linear inches. That's the total length + width + depth. Many pieces of carry-on luggage run about 22 inches long, 15 inches wide, and 8 inches deep, meeting this requirement.

Remember this formula: Maximum carry-on size = 45 Linear Inches. Or, Length (in inches) + Width (in inches) + Depth (in inches) = 45 Inches

The pull handle
Look for a telescoping handle that locks securely closed when not in use. Check for sturdiness: if a handle seems flimsy in the store, the rigors of flying will probably give it more of a test than you were hoping for.

Look for special touches that make pulling your carry-on luggage more comfortable:
Ergonomics: Eagle Creek's Tarmac ES 25" ($285 list) offer an ergonomically-designed handle.
Rubberized: Ricardo Beverly Hills' Del Mar Lite 21" ($240 list) has a rubberized handle.

The luggage handle
Bolts or screws should attach the handles to the carry-on luggage. If the handles are only stitched on, pass.

The wheels
A few things to look for in carry-on luggage wheels:
Inline skate wheels - they roll smoothly
Spinner wheels are another option. They easily turn 360 degrees
Both wheel types are superior to the old fashioned standard wheels.

The strap
Padded strap - to ease strain on your shoulders
Stitching - straps should be connected to the carry-on with extra stitching so that they can handle the stress of carrying the entire weight of your carry-on luggage

The fabric
Cordura or ballistic nylon are the best and sturdiest
Denier: generally, once you've chosen Cordura or ballistic nylon, denier (a unit of a thread's fineness) is not a factor. With polyester fabrics, a higher denier is better, but a high-denier polyester will always be inferior to even a low-denier Cordura or ballistic nylon

The zippers
Check the pull tab. It should say "YKK." YKK is the strongest type of zipper.

The frame
Honeycomb - carry-on luggage with a honeycomb frame is both light and rugged

And that briefly covers the most important things to know when shopping for carry-on luggage. Check bags for fabric type, stitching, handles, zippers, wheels, and frame, and you'll wind up with a durable, quality bag that will last.