Briggs & Riley expandable Wide-Body Carry-On Luggage

    Here's a true story. It begins as I try to squeeze my 22" carry on luggage into an airplane's teeny-weeny overhead compartment. Anxiety-ridden, perspiration-beaded, I hoist my bag and muscle it - Success!  Close the door ... close the door.... &*#%... close the door. "I'm sorry," the flight attendant leans over, "The door must close; your bag will have to be checked."  Aaaargh!

    Here's a happy ending. After reading many blogs and after frequent luggage searches, I have found 4 luggage manufacturers who have caught on and caught up. Kudos to Hartmann, Tumi, Eagle Creek and Briggs & Riley for being ahead of the curve with their new wide-body, carry-on upright luggage. Briggs and Riley has a "Simple as That" lifetime warranty which fixes damaged luggage, regardless of how it got damaged. Eagle Creek and Victorinox have similar warrantees).

    O.K., so I travel a lot and don't have piles of money. But experience has made me willing to spend a little more to get luggage that fits both domestic and international air travel carry on requirements and lasts a lifetime.  I'm impressed with the Briggs & Riley 20" carry-on Expandable Wide-body Upright. It measures 20" x 16" x 8" - two inches shorter than the typical 22" carry on but is 1-2 inches wider. Briggs & Riley has more packing capacity than a standard 21" or 22" wheeled carry-on. Really! Better yet. This  rolling carry on has an expansion feature which offers a 24% increase in capacity. Briggs and Riley's telescoping handle is on the outside of the bag leaving even more interior packing space, and the rolling carry-on luggage includes a built-in tri-fold garment sleeve. I like garment sleeves; they help prevent longer or more wrinkle-vulnerable clothes from creasing, and I just take remove them if I don't need them.

    Let's face it. Air travel is an exercise in suppressed anxiety. Whether it's the quart-sized, clear, zip-lock bag squeeze; the public "items in bins" strip-show; the straddle, body-wand search; or the frantic moving-belt and bin retrieval, - squish feet into shoes, belts in loopholes, sweaters, jackets, handbags, wallets, watches, keys, bags, scanned infants and pace-makers (just kidding), computers, cell phones, ...go, go, go.

    If I was looking for this, I would have signed up as a paratrooper.

    Hallelujah for redemption!  - the "fits in the overhead" Briggs & Riley 20" Carry-On Expandable Wide-Body Upright.


 

American Tourister Luggage

    American Tourister luggage and travel gear has long been considered the industry leader in affordable, dependable luggage, suitcases and travel accessories. The Luggage Warehouse ( luggagewarehouse.com ) carries the full line of American Tourister including the Tribute lll Collection. This rugged luggage, designed in 1680 Denier Ballistic Nylon, features a full line of duffels, suitcases, business travel gear, carry-ons, rolling luggage and rolling totes. The interior includes a variety of pockets and organizational features designed to make travel easier. The Kenya 6 Collection looks and functions like the adventure travel gear it is. Durable 1800 Denier Polyester Twill fabric combines with outstanding organization to withstand the rigors of travel and rough terrain. D'Lite XL cares for you and your belongings by meshing intelligent features created to make travel both smooth and leisurely. Choose from a variety of color options featuring red, navy, black and green. American Tourister fabrics consist of resilient denier polyester or denier nylon; both are abrasion and tear resistant. Luggage is available in expandable carry-ons, carry-on upright spinners, expandable uprights, boarding bags, totes, carry-ons, checked bags, wheeled luggage, spinner luggage, softside luggage, upright suiters, expandable spinner uprights, ultra-valet garment bags, duffels and carry-alls. American Tourister luggage is available in 19", 21", 22", 25", 26" 29" and 32" sizes.