Best under $100
American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On Spinner
$9 per covered year is the best value figure in this ledger, and it is the only bag here that lists under $100 at its own manufacturer.
Carry-on bags, ranked by what they cost you per year.
Best-value travel gear for people who fly a few times a year and want the bag to outlast the trip. Every score below is arithmetic over published manufacturer specs and published airline limits — no lab, no testing claims, and no number you cannot re-derive yourself.
| # | Product | Cost per covered year | Fits | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osprey Daylite Duffel 45Maximum published volume that still clears a 22 × 14 × 9 in sizer | $4.75/yr | 11 of 11AA DL UA WN … | 9.8 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 2 | Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler Duffel 40LA duffel that will actually pass a gate sizer | $7.45/yr | 11 of 11AA DL UA WN … | 8.9 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 3 | Osprey Fairview 40 Travel PackShorter torsos, and anyone the Farpoint's shoulder straps do not suit | $10/yr | 11 of 11AA DL UA WN … | 8.6 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 4 | Osprey Farpoint 40 Travel PackOne-bag travel on any carrier that measures | $9.25/yr | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 7.2 | Check price#ad How we earn |
| 5 | Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country flyers who want a lifetime warranty | $8/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 6.6 | Check price#ad How we earn |
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty bags
We have not tested any, and we say so. What we have done instead is compile the published specification for every bag here, check its published dimensions against every major airline’s published limit on all three sides, and divide the published price by the years of warranty behind it. That is work you can repeat with the same two documents, which is more than a testing claim you have no way to verify.
It also means we will tell you when a manufacturer does not publish something. Several bags on this site have no published capacity, and two have no published price at all. Those cells read “Not published” rather than a number we made up to fill a column.
- Products with compiled specs
- 39
- With a manufacturer-published price
- 24
- Airline limits compiled
- 14
- Limits last checked
- 3 September 2026
- Units we claim to have tested
- 0
- Brands that paid to appear
- 0
What won, and in what
One winner per ranking, each labeled with the category it actually won — because the same bag winning three different questions would be a sign we asked the same question three times.
Best overall carry-on
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on here, and the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty — but the published overall height is 23 in, which is an inch over the limit at most US carriers.
Lightest carry-on
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on here, and the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty — but the published overall height is 23 in, which is an inch over the limit at most US carriers.
Most durable
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on here, and the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty — but the published overall height is 23 in, which is an inch over the limit at most US carriers.
Best 40L pack
Osprey Fairview 40 Travel Pack
The Farpoint's harness geometry rebuilt for a shorter torso and narrower shoulders, at exactly the published 22 × 14 × 9 in box.
Best carry-on backpack
Osprey Fairview 40 Travel Pack
The Farpoint's harness geometry rebuilt for a shorter torso and narrower shoulders, at exactly the published 22 × 14 × 9 in box.
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
Sections
9 pages
Carry-On Luggage
Wheeled cabin bags from $90 to $390, with the arithmetic behind each ranking and a per-carrier fit verdict on every row.
8 pages
Travel Backpacks
One-bag travel packs and personal-item backpacks, with the carry-efficiency arithmetic and a per-carrier fit verdict on every row.
7 pages
Packing Systems
Cubes, compression cubes and organizers, with published gram weights and a straight answer on what compression really does.
7 pages
Airline Rules
Carry-on and personal-item limits for 14 airlines, each cited to the carrier's own policy and dated 3 September 2026.
3 pages
Travel Accessories
Toiletry bags, adapters and flight kit, ranked on published weight, capacity and warranty rather than on adjectives.
2 pages
Duffels & Checked Bags
Duffels carrying 40 to 45 liters for under two pounds, with a straight verdict on which ones pass a gate sizer.
Four things this site does that the others do not
Every bag is checked against every airline
Each product row states how many of the 11 US carriers we track publish a carry-on limit its published dimensions satisfy — on all three sides, the way a gate sizer works. Nobody else in this category joins those two datasets, and the result is frequently uncomfortable for the bag.
Price is a ranking axis, not a footnote
The best-known scoring system in outdoor gear weights four axes and price is not one of them. Ours weights value at 35%, because a bag that costs $34 per covered year is not the same product as one that costs $8.
Prices come from a live layer or not at all
Every buy button reads a live price or reads “Check price”. It never shows a number we cached, and it never shows the manufacturer’s list price dressed up as today’s. List prices are labeled as such and dated 3 September 2026.
Every ranking names something to skip
A roundup where every pick wins is an advertisement. Each of ours names at least one bag we tell you not to buy, with the published figures that explain why.
Latest
- 40L Travel Backpacks 2026-09-03
- Are Packing Cubes Worth It? 2026-09-03
- Best Carry-On Luggage Under $100 2026-09-03
- Carry-On Size by Airline 2026-09-03
- Carry-On Weight Limits by Airline 2026-09-03
- Compression Cubes vs Regular Packing Cubes 2026-09-03
- Do Packing Cubes Wrinkle Clothes? 2026-09-03
- Hardside vs Softside Luggage 2026-09-03
How this is funded
Pack & Porter earns a commission when you buy through the links on this site, at no extra cost to you. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and we currently link to no other retailer program, because we have not joined one — where a bag is not sold on Amazon we say so and earn nothing on it. No brand pays to appear here, no brand has been sent money or product, and the ranking order is computed by a published formula rather than chosen.
Full affiliate disclosure · Editorial policy · Who writes this
36 pages, 39 products and 14 airline policies compiled so far. New rankings are listed under Latest as they publish.