Is Away Carry-On Luggage Worth the Price?

Feature-wise, not much. Away’s The Carry-On is a basic spinner suitcase without a lot of bells and whistles. For instance, it has only two internal storage pockets, vs. four in the Samsonite that’s our top-rated bag. But it does have a few nice qualities.

The Away Carry-On earned a very good Overall Score in CR’s recent tests of 10 basic hard-shell spinner carry-ons from as many brands, at prices ranging from under $90 to more than $500. To be specific, it sits in the middle of the pack (all the suitcases received respectable ratings). In our battery of 31 different tests, the Away earned some raves and some “mehs”:

It can take the hard knocks. Twice we swung a nasty-looking, 17-pound pointed metal hammer at the Away suitcase to see what would happen if, say, it accidentally fell from a plane’s overhead compartment onto an armrest. The Carry-On’s polycarbonate shell aced that and related tests, and earned an excellent score for impact resistance.

It’s a brick house, for the most part. We inflated the Carry-On with an air bladder to simulate gross overstuffing. It held up well for this test and others gauging how well-built it was. So we gave its construction a commendable rating. However, the zipper did somewhat worse than average at keeping the suitcase contents dry when we laid the bag on its side and drenched it in a simulated rainstorm. (None of the tested luggage kept items completely dry, so the lesson here is to make sure you wrap vulnerable contents in plastic.)

Dimension-wise, it’s a mixed bag. At 7.4 pounds, this Away suitcase is one of the heavier carry-ons we tested; the lightest is 5.7 pounds. Unlike several others in our ratings, the Carry-On is not expandable in its midsection, and its interior volume is not as large as the highest-rated models in our tests. But Away says it will fit in the overhead bins of most domestic and many foreign airlines, and our strict measurements confirm that’s probably true.

It’s not the easiest bag to handle. The Away Carry-On was only middling in our tests of carrying and pulling, ergonomics and design, and general usability. In one test, for instance, our testers pulled the suitcases over a variety of surfaces. On cobblestones—which you’ll find in, say, old sections of Prague, London, and even Manhattan—the Away Carry On was more wobbly than most tested bags, despite an “eight wheel” design incorporating two thin wheels at each corner of its base.

It’s not so adaptable. The Away Carry-On’s telescoping handle, used for pulling it along in transit, has only two positions—vs. six for our top-rated Samsonite—so you can’t tailor its height as well as you might like. Its stationary top handle (shown below) also doesn’t adjust upward as some other brands’ handles do, so it might be tight for chubby fingers.

Away says the Carry-On is meant for about five days’ worth of clothes and accessories. And if you follow avid travelers’ advice, you know that a small, basic wardrobe—plus some travel packs of Woolite—can often hold you for many more days, and even weeks. It’s a commendable trait to be a minimalist traveler: carrying light, free of all but necessities.

But that’s not me. If I can cram more stuff in, I do it. Because, well, you never know.

I wanted to put the Carry-On through my own packing trial, which involved more stuff than our testers used. I was planning a late-summer, weeklong trip to northern California, which can be torrid or chilly, depending on where you are. So it was the perfect time to test how much this hardy bag could hold.

CR’s tests indicated it probably could meet the challenge. I had to be convinced.

I’d say yes. If you’re looking for a sturdy, basic, on-trend carry-on spinner that isn’t likely to be turned away at the gate because of size or overstuffing, you’ll find one in the Away Carry-On. If you’re creative with packing—for instance, trading bulky fabric toiletry bags for thin, utilitarian zipped plastic bags as I do—you can fit a fair amount into this suitcase’s little shell. To be sure, it’s not inexpensive. But given its resilience—and its generous warranty—the Carry-On probably will become unfashionable long before it becomes unusable.

If you prioritize finances and packing flexibility over fashion, you also can look to our ratings to find well-built, lower-priced bags with more convenience features, including expanding middles, more interior pockets, and handles with several telescoping options.