Sarah Whitfield
What Sarah covers
- carry on
- checked
- sets
4 pieces on The Travel Gear Guide
- Best Trunk Luggage Without Overpaying 2026-06-16
The Level8 Grace Carry-On is the best trunk luggage for the price at around $140, offering a padded laptop compartment that fits a 16-inch MacBook Pro and better interior organization than older Samsonite bags. Its outside dimensions of 22 x 14.5 x 10 inches exceed the 22 x 14 x 9 limit on American, Delta, and United, so carry-on-only flyers on those airlines should choose the Travelpro Maxlite 5 instead. - Level8 vs Away: Luggage Sets 2026-06-02
The Level8 set wins on value, priced around $280 versus roughly $550 for Away, and its front laptop compartment makes security lines easier. Choose Away instead if you fly American, Delta, or United and need a compliant carry-on: Level8's Grace Carry-On runs about 22 x 14.5 x 10 inches, over their 22 x 14 x 9 limit, risking gate fees or rejection. - Away The Large Checked Review 2026-04-29
The Away Large Checked is still our pick for anyone who checks a bag most trips, thanks to quiet double-spinner wheels and a compression panel that genuinely fits more clothes than a same-sized bag without one. The main flaw is the zipper pull hardware, which loosened and separated from the slider by trip fourteen, making the zipper harder to grip in a hurry. - The 8 Best Checked Luggage Pieces, Tested Over Months of Trips 2026-04-26
The Travelpro Platinum Elite Checked 25" is the best overall pick, with a telescoping handle that stayed smooth even packed to 48 pounds and a compression system that squeezes in extra room. At around $449 it isn't cheap, so budget flyers should look at the Level8 Checked Trunk 28", which undercuts most competitors by $50 to $200 while matching their capacity.
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- Use periods and trip counts are real. If a review says a bag went through nine flights and a season of airport tile, that is what happened.
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