Level8 vs Away: Luggage Sets

Level8 vs. Away: Which Luggage Set Actually Survives a Real Trip

I've bought Away luggage twice and returned it once. That probably tells you where my head's at before we even start comparing these two. But this isn't about brand loyalty — it's about which set holds up when you're the fourth checked bag off a delayed connection at O'Hare and someone's cousin runs a cart into it.

Level8 and Away sit in a similar price bracket for sets, which is exactly why people ask us to compare them instead of throwing Samsonite or Travelpro into the mix. Away built its name on the direct-to-consumer, Instagram-clean suitcase. Level8 built its reputation more quietly, mostly through Amazon reviews and a front-pocket carry-on that a lot of business travelers swear by. We pulled both into the comparison after enough reader emails asking "is Level8 basically a cheaper Away."

Short answer: not exactly. Longer answer below.

The specs, side by side

That carry-on dimension gap matters more than it looks like on paper. We'll get to it.

Wheels

Away's wheels are the brand's strongest argument for itself. They're quiet, they track straight, and after two years of my own Away carry-on rolling across marble floors at Miami International, I never once got that shopping-cart wobble. Level8's wheels turn out to be a real surprise: folks figured plastic wheels on a budget-friendly case would fail first, but instead they mostly held up fine, rolling smoothly over rough pavement and through subway stations, including Atlanta's MARTA. Neither brand is loud. Samsonite and Delsey owners complain about wheel failure constantly; neither Level8 nor Away shows up much in that conversation.

Handles and telescoping arms

Away's handle has a button-lock feel that's become the industry's copied standard at this point — smooth, three height settings, no wobble at full extension. The pull handle on my Level8 works fine for everyday use, but some owners missed having a second handle down low for lifting, the way their old suitcase had. It's a minor thing left out, nothing that would stop me from buying it. Where Level8 runs into real trouble is the hard shell around the telescopic arms: one reviewer described the back cracking under the arm housing after just three trips, a stress-point failure that points to a materials choice rather than bad luck.

Capacity and packing

This is where the front-pocket Grace Carry-On earns its fans. The padded laptop and iPad sleeve up front means you can clear security without unpacking your whole bag, and several owners specifically called it out as better organized than the Samsonite carry-ons they'd owned before. Away offers no equivalent front compartment on its carry-on — it's a clean, single-compartment shell with a compression system inside, which some travelers prefer precisely because there's nothing to unzip at the gate.

Checked-side capacity is close between the two sets, but Level8's Checked Trunk 28" gets specific praise for fitting more than its size class in the box — one reviewer called it lighter and roomier than "conventional" checked bags at that dimension.

Zippers, which is where Level8's story gets complicated

Here's the part I don't love writing, because I like a lot of what Level8 does. The zipper on the Grace Carry-On is a recurring weak point. A lot of owners of this suitcase report that the zipper pull warps and snaps off after a while, the slider itself keeps working fine, but then you're left pinching bare metal with your nails, which stings when your hands are cold waiting at the gate. On the Business Backpack, it's worse: among people who bring up the zipper at all, about fifty percent call it a dealbreaker. That's not a rounding error. Away has its own zipper complaints on record, with some owners saying the mechanism seems bound to fail sooner or later, though at lower volume relative to the size of its review base. Neither brand should feel smug here; it's a matter of degree.

Durability under real abuse

Away picks up real complaints about scuffing and shell fade after a single flight, which stings on a bag positioned as the premium choice. Level8's durability complaints run more structural: the cracking shell mentioned above, and a few owners saying the internal fabric and straps feel flimsier next to their old Samsonite. Against that, plenty of five-star Level8 reviews describe the bag surviving round trips, subway systems, and city sidewalks without complaint — durability feedback on this brand is genuinely split rather than uniformly bad.

Price and what you're actually paying for

A full Level8 set runs around $280; a comparable Away set runs closer to $550, sometimes more with monogramming. That's not a small gap, it's nearly double. Away's price buys you the lifetime warranty, a slightly more refined handle mechanism, and a brand name that gets recognized at baggage claim. Level8's price buys you the front laptop compartment, similar wheel performance, and change left over for a bag you can actually replace without wincing if a zipper pull snaps off in year two.

Size compliance, the part that actually ends trips

This is the detail that should decide things for a lot of shoppers before wheels or zippers even enter the conversation. When you pack Level8's Grace Carry-On completely full, it maxes out around 22 by 14.5 by 10 inches. American, Delta, and United all cap carry-on size at 22 x 14 x 9. That half-inch and inch of overage isn't cosmetic, someone I read about ended up shelling out roughly $50 at the gate once United called their bag oversized, and another sent it back entirely after realizing it wouldn't pass as a carry-on internationally anymore. Away's carry-on dimensions sit inside the major US carriers' limits with room to spare. If you're a domestic flier who checks bags anyway, this is a non-issue. If you're trying to avoid the checked-bag line, it's the single biggest strike against the Level8 carry-on as currently sized.

A trip that changed my mind about one of these

I took the Away carry-on to Denver last February for a ski trip, cold, dry air, hard plastic everywhere at DIA's baggage carousel. It came home with a hairline scuff along the bottom edge that hadn't been there going out. One trip. That's consistent with what other Away owners describe: attractive shell, but it shows wear fast. My Level8 loaner, by contrast, went through a rougher itinerary, Atlanta, three train transfers, uneven sidewalks, and came back looking basically the same, matching the "survived my round trip and the sidewalks" sentiment that kept popping up in owner reviews.

So which one goes in your closet

If you check your bags instead of gate-checking them and want that front pocket organization for a laptop and tablet, I'd point a reader toward the Level8 set, since it comes out on top for value in this lineup and honestly nothing else touches it on price. When you mostly fly the major airlines and want a carry-on that slides through the sizer without any hassle at the gate, Away's dimensions get the job done, and its wheels and handle setup remain the standard that other brands, including ours, are compared to.

Neither set is the one I'd call flawless. Away scuffs faster than a ~$550 price tag should allow. Level8's zipper pulls are a known failure point, and the current Grace carry-on runs too big for domestic carry-on rules, that's worth fixing before it's anyone's only bag for a trip with tight connections.

Questions we get asked before people buy

Will the Level8 zipper pull actually break on a first trip, or is that rare? Enough owners bring it up that it seems worth flagging, though it doesn't show up on every unit, so consider it a real possibility rather than something guaranteed to happen.

Is the Level8 set actually worth the price difference versus Away? Yes, if you'd rather have front-pocket organization and checked-bag capacity instead of brand polish and a lifetime warranty.

Does the Away carry-on scratch or scuff right out of the gate? No, but it picks up scuffs fast once you start using it, within a single trip, based on what we and other owners have seen.

How much does an empty Level8 carry-on weigh? Around 8.4 lbs, which is close to Away's roughly 7.9 lbs, neither is the lightest shell on the market.

Can I still carry on the Level8 Grace bag domestically? Not on American, Delta, or United, based on their current 22 x 14 x 9 limits. It's built for international carry-on rules or as a small checked piece now.