Travelpro Maxlite 5 Softside Carry-On Luggage Upright, Brown, 21-Inch

My back isn’t what it used to be and after a recent trip through Europe I decided it was time to replace my very sturdy Eagle Creek two-wheeled luggage with something four-wheeled. My Eagle Creek luggage was a significant investment for me and remains in near perfect shape after several years but this time around I was looking for something less utilitarian. I purchased the espresso color and it is a deep, rich brown but not quite as dark as espresso, which usually strikes me as almost black. I was delighted with this suitcase right out of the box. It’s light, even lighter than my Eagle Creek, which was a huge improvement over other luggage at the time. The large pocket on the front of the bag opens up folder style just as it should, since I typically rummage through it while I’m standing at the airport or hotel lobby. It spins and moves like a dream, if that isn’t obvious. The hardware is well integrated into the design; with the deep color and leather trim, this is a formal looking suitcase. The interior is both thoughtful and attractive. This is a bag I will check. I’m not short (5’6”) but I personally would not want work to shove this into a crowded overhead compartment in economy; nor would it have been allowed as a carry-on on my recent trip to London on New Zealand Air, it weighs too much. I’ve got a smaller 16-inch spinner for carry-on and short trips. I’m a light packer, this is the bag I will use for five- to seven-day trips, longer with laundry access. I won’t be using the charging port. I can see it being useful for international flights where you are not sure you will find an outlet to fit your charger. Frequent flyers using economy with tight connections might find it valuable; that is a situation where outlet access can be limited. The pocket is in a handy location on the top side panel of the bag so I’ll definitely find a use for it. The attached toiletries bag is really nice but I’m not sure how practical it is as you have to fully unzip the bag to get at it, which means it needs to be on the table or floor. Where will I do this? In a fast moving security line? As I approach the conveyor belt? I’d be more likely to keep mine in the front pocket until after security and then stow it in the bag when I have access to a table or bench. The interior doesn’t fit my existing packing cubes, which I believe to be standard. The 17-inch large won’t zip into the pocket on the top inside of the bag and the medium to small cubes don’t seem to fit well. I don’t normally use the large bag outside of lengthy trips so I can work around it. My garment folder fits perfectly and is what I use most for work trips. I’ll figure out organizing with the smaller bags as I go along. The small mesh pockets on the top of the tie down may seem a little oddly sized (small and thin) but I always travel with some odds and ends that can’t all be tossed into one bag/cube so they are going to be very useful to me. All in all, different than the layout I’m used to but it’s going to be a wonderful travel companion.

Glides smooth when rolling, seems to be durable, lightweight, and decent amount of room. Seems pretty fantastic for the price. We’ll see how it manages through time from a road warrior.

I just returned from a 25-day trip to Italy with only this carry-on and a large backpack. The quality and durability of this Travelpro carryon is truly unmatched. It withstood 7 cities, multiple trains, planes, ferries, taxis, and miles of cobblestones and stairs. I also wanted a piece that had a trolley handle strong enough to withstand my heavy backpack on top, and it delivered! Because I had to pack for a lengthy time (and used vacuum seal bags), the soft-side was definitely the way to go and could handle more clothes. I love this piece, and would highly, highly recommend. A little pricier maybe, but totally worth it!

Great luggage. This carry on is a beast! Took it over cobblestones of Greece and streets of Europe without any issues. Super easy and fit everything I needed for a full week of travel. Even had room for a jacket I bought while in Europe. ONE ISSUE I am having is that the usb a port works with my portable battery to charge my phone but there is also a USB C slot and I can’t figure out why that one isn’t working. Tried with different cords and items etc still can’t get that one going. I’ve tried it on two different versions and both had same issue. Anyone else have. That problem would love to know why that is.

Am pleased with it. Astoundingly smooth glide; so easy in airport. Well-engineered. Small enough to fit all planes I bet. Top handle feels too tight on my hand.

Love the brand. Super high quality. Despite the airlines best efforts it has been super durable. Be sure to register the product for warranty. Airline broke one of my wheels and they immediately shipped a new set and I had it fixed before my next trip! Lightweight, amazing wheels. Glide thru the airport. Plenty of space for a week long trip, easily accessible pockets

I bought the 21-inch spinner in 2019, and had a minor break over time here in Sept 2022. TravelPro's customer service blew me away here, and I'm now here as a new customer for life of TravelPro. I've flown about 150k miles with the bag since then (even with the pandemic), and the bag developed a few scuffs, especially when I've had to check the bag. A zipper broke and a zipper pull got lost, so I submitted the warranty claim, expecting a repair. Instead, I got an entire replacement, which legitimately floored me. I had heard stories about TravelPro's excellent customer service, but it wasn't until this that I believed them. It took less than a month between submitting the claim and getting the replacement. Just make sure you register the bag immediately! I'll probably never stop using TravelPro from now on, and I've been eyeing the 25" spinner... I found this bag via the Wirecutter's recommendation for carry-on bags in 2019. Back then I was flying for work and spending 3 nights a week on the road every week. My carry-on broke on a Monday morning one week (thankfully after getting off the plane), so I needed a quick replacement before going home. The gold standard for consultants is often TUMI or Briggs and Riley, but I didn't feel like I was ready to jump from my ~$50 carry-on to a $800 monster. Other colleagues praised TravelPro as a solid step in-between, so seeing the Wirecutter's recommendation let me feel comfortable enough to do the 2-day Prime delivery on it, and sent to my hotel. I've been using the bag since then, and I've been very happy with it. The wheels are disproportionately large compared to the bag, and this is excellent - the wheels glide very smoothly and never jam, even when on European cobblestones. The wheels lock in alignment, so on smooth airport surfaces, I can push and let go, and expect the bag to stay rolling with me if I need to switch hands of something I'm carrying. The telescoping handle is so sturdy, which was a relief because that's what broke on my old bag. Importantly with spinners, this bag is well balanced - I've never had it fall over when I've had my hand-carry bag on top it, whereas my old bag required careful packing to avoid it being unbalanced. Main quibbles: Unfortunately, the comfortable grab handle on the telescope is too big for the luggage passthrough on the backpack I was using (an Ecogear), so be careful on that. The electronic battery cable is a gimmick in my opinion, and I've never found value in it. The capacity is large, but I find the telescoping handle makes the interior space a bit weird to use. To this day, I've found myself continuing to use this bag, even if my travel plans and baggage allowances would have meant I would have previously used a larger checked bag. I supplement it with a duffel for extra stuff and will check that instead, but this 21" TravelPro is so good that it has changed my travel and bag packing strategy permanently. This is what a true 10/10 on the Net Promoter Score looks like - I hands-down recommend this bag because it's smartly-designed, well-built, and comes with amazing customer service.

Like other reviewers on here I did my research and selected this bag based on so many great reviews. And let me say that for the most part this bag itself is great. Lightweight, rolls great, handle is sturdy, well designed and the dark blue looks damn good too. I am a consultant and used to travel every week, now a lot less but still enough to put it through it's paces. I have been through a lot of these roller bags over the years. I NEVER check a back so I know where it is at all times so when the zipper broke on the outside pocket I was surprised. Pictures attached. But no worries right because of the great customer service at TravelPro, right? Wrong!!! First, there is no one to call or talk to or chat with. There are instructions on the site on how to submit a claim to which you get an automated response and don't hear back for a couple days. Every subsequent interaction by email then goes through this same process. Jose in particular was extremely unhelpful at every exchange. Using this pony express method it took me over a month of back and forth to 1) justify getting a replacement zipper 2) getting them to commit to sending me a replacement zipper 3) explain why the online video to repair did not help because I could not repair this myself and you can see it is the actual zipper part itself that broke and you need an industrial sewing machine and other tools I would imagine 4) get them to authorize this being repaired although they warned me that it MAY not be covered 5) directed me to seedy part of North Philly an hour away from my house 6) agreed to have the bag sent there when I explained the distance and neighborhood 7) then backed out on that promise and said that I would need to bring it there myself ... which would then entail presumably pick it up at a later time. 4 hours of my time, gas and aggravation. And trusting in the process before this started I actually order the 25 inch matching companion bag for about $400 which is still sitting in the box in my house. Well, I'm returning the new bag to them for a refund (they actually do pay the shipping on that) and guess I will just live with the broken zipper. Could have been a lifetime customer but will need to look elsewhere now. So I don't know about those of you out there that spoke so highly of their warranty coverage here. Extremely frustrating to work with and they do not stand behind their product. Buyer Beware!

Very good quality. I bought a second one for my girlfriend

Made my travelling life easier

It’s great bag very stable and smooth movement only cons about is the high price tag

This suitcase is much bigger than what I expected. It is as long as my previous suitcase but is so much deeper. It is suited to a much bigger person. I think that the 25 inch suitcase would be better for me. I would return it or try to exchange it for the smaller size but living in Australia makes it near to impossible.

I love the brown color on this one - it's very classy. There's lots of room inside, and the wheels seems very durable. I trekked across many blocks of salt-covered Toronto and Montreal sidewalks and streets and I am pleased to report that the bag worked very well. You can tip it and use it on two wheels very easily. I was worried that maybe the little wheels would be bad on the rough surfaces, but they really work just fine so far. Size-wise, I had no trouble with the bag on Air Canada or WestJet, though I did have to gate check it a couple times. I love how smooth the wheels roll. I found myself sort of dribbling the bag left to right in front of me as I walked down one empty corridor. That's about as close to playing hockey as I get! The only negative I can think of is that the wheels can be too smooth for their own good. I actually had to grab the bag a couple times when standing still because the most imperceptible slope of the floor will cause it to start rolling away. Once I was really caught by surprise when standing in line at a ticket counter because the bag just wandered off on its own! It was a little spooky. I don't think it's actually haunted, though. I think it just has good ball bearings. For CAD$200, I'm very pleased.