It’s hard to convey in photos exactly how beautiful this suitcase is. Tumi is a premium luggage manufacturer, and its pieces absolutely look it. When I walked into the WIRED offices in San Francisco wheeling this carry-on in the Moon Rock colorway, a colleague ooh’d and ahh’d. Besides the inexplicably soft, shiny appearance, it has other premium details like a monogram and rounded, monochrome grab handles. Like all Tumi bags, it also includes Tumi Tracer, which is Tumi’s complimentary registration program that lets you report your bag lost or stolen or get assistance with recovery.

I really love this carry-on. The handle is sturdy and extends long enough to hold a full Troubador Apex backpack ($329) upright. Balancing personal items on top did not tip over or unbalance it. It rolls well through the airport; I like the more flexible interior organization options (i.e., fewer pockets); and as I said before, it’s gorgeous. However, Tumi recently changed its former lifetime warranty to a mere five-year warranty, which is disappointing for a premium bag.

A weird number of WIRED staffers own and love July suitcases, so I was pleased to test the company’s latest suitcase. It has CaseSafe, a built-in technology that is a Bluetooth tracker that works with both Android Find Hub and iOS Find My. Using it is simple—just open the suitcase, pull the tab from the tracker, and pair it with the respective app. There’s also an ejectable USB-C rechargeable power bank beneath the handle. Yes, you could easily just add an AirTag and a power bank to your current suitcase, but when they’re built in, you can’t lose or forget them and they can’t fall out. I also like that the battery is quickly accessible, so you can pop it out in case you need to gate-check your bag.

July suitcases seem uniquely sturdy; I happen to have a July checked suitcase, and I like the wide range of heights on the handle and the distinctive, protective bumpers. My own two kids have played Bumper Suitcase while riding on July luggage for long periods of time and it’s still undamaged. It’s worth noting that the carry-on is slightly too wide to meet some domestic airlines’ size specifications, so check your favorite airline before you buy any suitcase.

Most direct-to-consumer bags, like the Away and Monos, are made in the same factories and (eek!) look and function the same way. However, Peak Design’s first piece of luggage has been purpose-built from the ground up (hence the shocking price tag). The Roller Pro works as a either a standard expandable carry-on or as a large camera bag with an extra-large camera cube. The standout feature is what Peak Design calls a “drawbridge” opening—you can open it like a box, instead of swinging open on both sides like a clamshell. This gives it an absurdly tiny footprint in your hotel room (I perched it on top of a cabinet to give myself more floor space).

Overall, this is a very creative and thoughtful bag. It’s a hybrid hardshell/softshell, with Peak Design’s signature VersaPack fabric covering. The compression strap system has easy-to-use hooks and is retractable (also delightful). Finally, the entire bag is engineered to maximize interior storage. The carbon-fiber handle is smaller, so it takes up less space; the wheels are positioned at the corners. It’s also expandable, from about 34 liters to 39 liters. At CES 2025, I unwisely decided that I could just bring testers home from the show instead of having them shipped to my house, and thanks to the Roller Pro, I fit them all in. In order to really compete at a Briggs or Rimowa price point, though, the warranty should be simple and comprehensive. It’s also a tad heavier than a simple DTC polycarbonate shell, which may affect how much you can bring on smaller planes.

Getting a few scratches and dings on the iconic Rimowa suitcase is like buying a preseasoned cast iron pan. Rimowa cases have a cult following among travelers precisely because of how elegantly they wear their miles. The whole point of these nearly indestructible anodized aluminum boxes is to batter them in Bali, scrape them up in Sicily, then cover the wounds in stickers. WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar tested the bag on a trip to New York and appreciated the fine-tuned details in construction. The seal is tight enough to keep the contents dry on a rainy tarmac, and the wheels are uncommonly strong and balanced. The Rimowa feels indestructible, and every attempt to break it only improves that patina.

This handsome roller bag comes from the British luggage company Antler, which has just started making its push into the US retail market. The standout feature here is the zip-up hardshell front pocket that falls open just enough for you to reach inside from the top. Inside are a few padded sleeves: One large sleeve has two pockets with room for a laptop and an iPad (or two laptops); and two smaller sleeves can hold your phone, your sunnies, or other pocket-size things you want easy access to.

The wheels feel magically smooth. Our testers were able to get the bag rolling in any direction with the slightest push. The wheels are also nearly silent when they roll, something we didn’t know we wanted until we experienced it. The pop-up handle is easy to operate and has multiple height settings: Our testers are 5′5′′ and 6′ even, and both of them were able to find a comfortable handle height. The lining of the 47-liter interior is made from recycled polyester, and a combination of elastic compression straps and zippered compartments keep things tidy on the inside.

The carry-on conforms to US and European baggage size restrictions. We took them on a couple of cross-country domestic flights in the US, and overseas to Portugal and Mexico, and they always fit in the overhead bins. —Michael Calore

If you fly with older children, then yes, each kid needs their own suitcase if you want to avoid the dreaded checked luggage line. My kids are 7 and 10, and every attempt to cheap out on their luggage has resulted in a garage that is now a kids’ luggage graveyard. They almost instantly busted the zippers on this generic rolling backpack off Amazon (which was much cheaper than when I bought it). The Target version is only 6 pounds and very cute, but the plastic shell and hardware are as fragile as a bird egg.

I would’ve saved so much money if I’d just bought them both State bags at the start. The Logan comes in a mini, carry-on, and checked size, and the carry-on has more or less the same dimensions as my carry-on. However, it has a number of child-friendly features. The prints are amazing; my kids love theirs. The front pocket is big enough for a snack box and their iPads, which means I can quickly usher them to their seats and unpack everything they need into the front pocket. There are two straps on the side that are ideal for tucking in Yellow Blanky and Truck Blanky when we have to move quickly at the gate. And it still weighs less than my own carry-on.

Briggs is known for its simple, comprehensive warranty—anything that’s broken, gets fixed, no questions asked, for as long as you both shall live. A Briggs & Riley Baseline carry-on was my first and only post-college purchase, and right now, it has lasted over 20 years. Periodically, I bring it into the one Briggs & Riley–approved dealership in my town to get a zipper pull put back on, and it’s fixed for free in a few days. Its components are top-of-the-line. The face fabric is a heavy-duty ballistic nylon that’s water-repellent and abrasion-resistant. Mine is a gleaming red that has been dragged all over the globe, from the Philippines to Turkey to Iceland, and shows almost no sign of wear. The low-profile wheels and handles have never broken. The grab handles are also luxuriously smooth and padded, and there’s an interior folding garment bag for my husband’s suits.

Yeti’s coolers and cups are famous for being bombproof. The company’s Crossroads 35L is a 22-inch roller bag that’s carry-on size for most major airlines. WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar spent a week dragging the Crossroads up and down grimy subway station escalators, thumping it across cobblestones, and scrunching it into overfull overhead bins during a trip to London, Paris, and Brussels. The blue 700-denier nylon on the front and sides looks just as fresh as it did out of the box, while the molded polycarbonate shell on the back has a few well-earned battle scratches. The two extra-large fixed wheels roll smoothly and hop up curbs. It also has a half-dozen well-placed pockets and sturdy zippers that stood up to eight days’ worth of tugging and smooshing.

A step up from the OG weekender, the standout feature is the removable bottom compartment that doubles as a packing cube (for shoes, hair tools, dirty clothes), complete with a mesh zip cover. I love that I can detach that part when I need it to fit under an airplane seat. Without the extra compartment, it usually qualifies as a personal item, but the Mini Convertible might be a better option for people who don’t want to sacrifice that feature.

Alongside the signature Beis details—a removable laptop sleeve, a trolley pass-through, and a key leash—the weekender also has a surplus of pockets. I use this bag for overnight stays and as a personal item for flights (minus the bottom compartment). I would say the only drawback is that it can feel heavy on the shoulder when full, but that’s partly due to the high-quality canvas material. Also, I would opt for a darker color because the lighter shades tend to dirty quickly, especially at the airport. —Boutayna Chokrane

The Take Off suitcase is a regular roller bag, just in a teeny-tiny size that can fit under the seat in front of you. The standout feature is wheels that can pop off so it fits. On a recent trip with Alaska Airlines, however, I didn’t bother to take the wheels off and it fit, and no one hassled me about it.

In addition to being adorable, this miniature suitcase works really well. The bumpers show no nicks or bangs, and I am very hard on suitcases. The wheels are easy to remove, and you can put them in your pocket in a pinch. The grab handles fit my hands and are sturdy, and the telescoping handle extends a full 21 inches, which is the standard height of a suitcase handle. I do have a few caveats: If you’re taller than I am (5’2″), you may find that it’s a bit hard to pull behind you without knocking it with your heels. Because the wheels are latched on, they rattle louder than other suitcase wheels, especially if you’re walking on a rougher surface. It’s so freaking loud. And despite its tiny size, it’s not terribly lighter than other full-size carry-on suitcases. However, it’s worth it if you’re trying to save a few bucks by flying with Spirit or another budget airline.

Seattle-based Tom Bihn makes the legendary Aeronaut 45, which converts from a duffel to a backpack to a shoulder bag. It’s expensive, but you get everything from a Tom Bihn bag that you pay for. It’s made of incredibly sturdy 1,050-denier ballistic nylon, with bombproof YKK zippers. It has both hidden backpack straps and an extremely comfortable cross-body strap. This is WIRED commerce director Martin Cizmar’s bag, and he has tossed it around and lugged it down rough streets and through crowds where roller bags are a liability. He owns two, and the first lasted for more than a decade. This is the bag that both he and I would use if we didn’t have to constantly test other bags.