Practical & durable cabin-sized bag - Your experiences or recommendations

[tdimdad]

After my partner purchased a Samsonite Nuon trolley a year ago and I've taken it for a spin a few times, I've now converted to finally replace my old trusty trolley with a new one.

My two favourite brands have usually been Samsonite and Antler. Both have served me very well and long. Of the major brands I've checked out in the shops, Nere feels different to what I'd hope for (they have some good ideas but the implementation needs refinement), American Tourister and some others does not convince.

What I'd be looking for is good balance (point of gravity, easy to wheel around or carry, etc), good compartments, very easy access to the laptop & headphone & liquids & etc, easy open/close. Being expandable is a bonus but not necessary. Light weight is a great bonus as it reduces the probability of gate check-ins.

If you happen to have Samsonite Paralux (55 cm), what are your thoughts on that?
Or any suggestions for other highly functional and seemingly durable trolleys at max $300 AUD mark (or $500 before any sales / discounts)?

 

[Montien]

The Samsonite Paralux 55 cm is a great choice, largely because of its front-access design. Unlike most hardshell carry-ons that need to be opened 50/50 on the floor, the Paralux lets you access your laptop and liquids from a front panel while the bag is upright, which is a big practical win at security.

With your budget, it’s also worth looking at the Lojel Cubo Small. It has a top-opening design, which lets you open the case in a very small footprint in lounges or hotel rooms.

One catch with the Samsonite Paralux is the weight: the 55 cm spinner comes in at around 2.9 kg. If you’re flying regional services, that doesn’t leave a huge margin for your gear. If you can stretch the budget to around $550 on sale, the Samsonite Proxis 55 cm is significantly lighter at roughly 2.2 kg, giving you about 700 g more real payload for the same cabin weight limit.

 

[bam71]

I love my July bag and cabin bag.
July.com

 

[pauldab]

I use the Samsonite Lite-Shock Sport - the ridiculous weight limits imposed by even the full service carriers these days means I wanted to maximise the amount I can carry and this bag is the lightest 55cm bag I could find at 1.7kg.
I can get a full week of travel out of this keeping below the allowances.

The Paralux is ok, but the 3kg empty weight on the 55cm makes it a hard no for me as you lose 45% of your allowance on most carriers.

 

[elanshin]

The belroy carry on seem to be well designed. It's just a nit pricey.

 

[tdimdad]

While searching for other information, bumped into this thread, too. I ended up with Samsonite Paralux and it's been through a few trips now.
Great on city trips and wheeling around. But if you need to go outside of those parametres, it starts to drop to a 3-star category.

My first real trip was to a wintery location with snow & gravel on footpaths --> instead of wheeling the bag, it's best to carry it. The handles are placed in spots which make the bag unbalanced when carrying and bumping into your leg all the time. I also struggle sliding my laptop in/out when the bag is full. The ability to open the internal divider and pack the bag from the top has proven useful. I also appreciate the toiletry bag / divider combo, that is perhaps the niftiest feature in the whole bag.

 

[kookaburra75]

I love my July bag and cabin bag.
July.com

Another vote for July - but the empty weight is 3.2kg. That might be a show-stopper for some.