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.


 

Hartmann Travel Luggage and Bag Products

    A lifetime of luxury and sophistication, Hartmann is revered as the oldest, luxury purveyor of American-made and crafted, classic, travel goods, business cases and luggage. From their opulent Wings and well- recognized Tweed collections to their innovative and modern Luxe and Intensity Collections, Hartmann stands alone in crafting luxurious, well-appointed luggage, business cases, business luggage, carry-on luggage, wheeled luggage, totes, rolling luggage, garment bags, and business and travel accessories. All Hartmann Collections, including their luggage and business cases, are trimmed in or designed with durable, supple, belting leather. Luxe luggage, the pinnacle of contemporary fashion, is constructed in sumptuous Italian Embossed leather available in black, or, if you prefer, 'stand-out' color. Hartmann also incorporates contemporary features in classic Tweed and Wings exteriors and interiors including aluminum, telescoping handles, extremely durable in-line skate wheels, TSA accepted locks and a unique Baggage Link quick-strap bag attachment system. The Intensity, Stratum, Luxe, Tweed and Wings Collections feature MT2 technology in their Mobile Traveler offering the best innovations in durable handles, wheels and frame systems in the industry. Hartmann's belting leather business cases, attaches, lawyers brief, flapover brief, portfolio brief, expandable brief and laptop brief are constructed with only the finest, vegetable-tanned, hot-stuffed durable leather - lovingly cared for until it glows with a luxurious patina. Hartmann excels in maintaining old-world opulence while fulfilling the modern traveler's and business person's needs.