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Is there such thing as a quality bag that doesn’t break the bank? By The Way Concierge talked to travel pros for their favorites.
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“What’s a reasonably priced suitcase that will last? Do you have carry-on recommendations in the sub-$250 range? I’m always buying $80 suitcases with wheels that die after a year, but I also don’t want to buy a $300-plus bag on principle.” — Anonymous
You won’t get far in the luggage world with $80. With options under $100, you run the risk of getting the Shein of suitcases: made fast and cheap, and destined for a landfill. But there’s still hope with sales, secondhand steals and stores like T.J. Maxx.
To find you a trustworthy bag that will stand the test of time and tarmacs, I gathered dozens of recommendations from flight attendants, travel writers, foreign correspondents, heavy commuters and other frequent fliers. Let’s unpack their picks.
It’s time to start shopping for holiday flights
The best duffel bags and backpacks
Because I’m in my no-wheels era, happily toting a large North Face Base Camp duffel ($159), let’s start with duffel bags and backpacks. I believe that, with no wheels, you’re more nimble and are rarely asked to gate-check.
Travel writer Sebastian Modak, who spent 2019 running around the world as the New York Times’s 52 Places Traveler, carries both these days and is a devotee of the brand Peak Design. He was drawn to the bags for their photographer-friendly compartments, but he fell in love with them for their durability and sleek look.
“The backpack that I used for the 52 Places trip still looks like the same as the day I bought it,” he said.
Peak Design bags are not cheap, but they’re of value. They’re also fair-trade certified, carbon neutral and weatherproof. The 45L travel backpack that Modak used for his New York Times gig is about $300, and the 30L backpack he uses more often now is about $230. He also has the 65L travel duffelpack (about $220).
Its traditional duffel bags are a little less expensive. The 35L travel duffel is international carry-on approved and about $140. For more room, there’s a larger 65L option, described on the website as a “a monster gear-hauler,” for about $170.
I polled some other frequent travelers: Samantha Schmidt, The Washington Post’s Bogotá bureau chief, says she has been using her Osprey backpacking bag since 2011. (You can find them for about $200.) Tiffany Funk, co-founder of rewards site Point.me, stands behind her Cotopaxi 50L Allpa duffel bag ($140) for its creative pockets, including a separate compartment for shoes or dirty clothes, and its ability to be worn as a backpack.
The best luggage with wheels
If you want wheels, Modak is a fan of Travelpro, a longtime favorite of flight crews. (Seriously, look at this story from 1994.) Available in hardside or softside, there are some Travelpro carry-on models in the $150 range, but many of its rollaboards top $300.
“I got it because like every flight attendant I ever saw was using it, and I thought, ‘If it’s good enough for them, it’s probably good enough for me,’” Modak said of his Travelpro.
If you need more proof: A pilot told me that he has been using a Travelpro FlightCrew 5 carry-on that he found on Amazon for $150 for more than eight years. Travel coach Allie Bahn said she has had her Crew 11 hardside carry-on spinner (now about $230) since 2016. Funk has flown more than a million miles across 55 countries with her 21-inch Travelpro Maxlite 5 expandable spinner since she bought it in 2011.
New York City-based flight attendant Keven Dorvil swears by his expandable Travelpro Maxlite 5, which is about $145 on the brand’s website, but I’ve seen it for about $100 on eBay. (A colleague also told me that he found his Travelpro for a great deal at Nordstrom Rack.)
“Everyone’s pretty loyal to a brand,” says Missy Roemer, a flight attendant for private planes.
For work, Roemer uses a 22-inch Briggs & Riley Baseline carry-on that she got for $500 (it’s now closer to $700) and a smaller cabin roller for $250, plus a Beis tote ($128). For her personal travel, she used a Samsonite carry-on for two decades until a handle recently broke.
Roemer’s new go-to bag is the L.L.Bean Adventure rolling duffel bag. She has the extra-large, 137L model ($179).
“I was totally against it when I saw it was a duffel, but now I am obsessed with them,” Roemer said. Her fiancé, George Dunn, a pilot, got it for Roemer, and she worried her stuff would tumble around inside. “But that really doesn’t happen.”
The duffel is made with a water-resistant coating, can stand upright without tipping and was tested in extreme ways for durability. (For example, the bag’s “backing was tested for 24 hours in our deep freeze with no signs of cracking, flaking or peeling,” the product description says.) As an added bonus, L.L.Bean monograms the bags for $8.
Most importantly, the bag has a lifetime warranty. Roemer always reviews a brand’s warranty, because it can be an indicator of how confident the company is in its product.
“If it’s a lifetime warranty, they believe in their brand, and they’re pretty secure in being able to fix it,” Roemer said. She recently saw a Tumi bag that had a one-year warranty and another with a three year-warranty. “I thought they must believe in one a little bit more,” she said.
If you’re considering the ultra-popular Away brand, it has serious fans. The products are lightweight and durable, and the company has a great reputation for its warranty. Duncan Greenfield-Turk, managing director and chief travel designer for Global Travel Moments, says his Bigger carry-on was the best luggage purchase he’s made.
But Away bags have gone up in price since the company started in 2015, and they now cost upward of $300. (I got my Away carry-on for $225 in 2016.) Greenfield-Turk says the brand’s products do go on sale sometimes, or you can look for something secondhand.
One big takeaway from my many interviews: People do spend a ton of money on luggage — particularly travel professionals, whose bags are part of the job. One travel writer friend told me he’s a Tumi guy, and those start at $650. His backup is a Zero Halliburton, which can go on sale for about $350. Konrad Waliszewski, CEO of @hotel, says Nomatic carry-ons are the most versatile and space efficient in the game, but they start at $399. Roemer’s fiancé rocks a $1,600 Rimowa number.
You can hunt for these top-tier brands with warranties on secondhand marketplaces such as Poshmark and the RealReal, look for deals at outlet stores, or splurge and buy new.
“If there’s anything to spend $300 on, it’s luggage,” Modak said. “Maybe not $1,000, but there’s a sliding scale.”
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More travel tips
Vacation planning: Start with a strategy to maximize days off by taking PTO around holidays. Experts recommend taking multiple short trips for peak happiness. Want to take an ambitious trip? Here are 12 destinations to try this year — without crowds.
Cheap flights: Follow our best advice for scoring low airfare, including setting flight price alerts and subscribing to deal newsletters. If you’re set on an expensive getaway, here’s a plan to save up without straining your credit limit.
Airport chaos: We’ve got advice for every scenario, from canceled flights to lost luggage. Stuck at the rental car counter? These tips can speed up the process. And following these 52 rules of flying should make the experience better for everyone.
Expert advice: Our By The Way Concierge solves readers’ dilemmas, including whether it’s okay to ditch a partner at security, or what happens if you get caught flying with weed. Submit your question here. Or you could look to the gurus: Lonely Planet and Rick Steves.