Thanks gbjd1205,
Rest assured that I've done tons of searching and lots of reading. Everything I read about the Air Boss is positive. Everything I read about the Mother Lode is positive as well.
Nevertheless, the Air Boss is three times as expensive as the Mother Lode, I was wondering what made this the case. I generally believe that you get what you pay for. Since I can't go and physically handle either of these bags, I thought that somebody on the forum might own both and can tell me what makes the Air Boss so much better than the Mother Lode.
Your info is very helpful; it helps to explain the differences in quality. I know that the Air Boss is US made, this is important to me. I suspect the Mother Lode is not US made but don't know for certain.
I don't see that they are fundamentally different, as you describe them, though. They are both similar sized sans wheel carry ons. As I mentioned, I plan on carrying whichever I buy with a shoulder strap.