I've seen quite a bit of reviews and pictures of the older 23.5" actual length Kirkland bag.... this one here:





I was set on getting a Tumi Alpha series 22" carry on (22922 zipper expandable) to go along with my Tumi briefcase and shoulder bag, but on my last few visits to Costco I saw a new Kirkland 22" carry on.... this one here:





So after going back and forth and really looking over the Kirkland bag, I decided for the price ($99) I might as well pick it up and try it out. Worst case, Costco has a great return policy so I'm not really losing out here trying the bag out. I'm flying on a 757 & 737 next week with AA, and then on a MD80 the week after that, so I'll check and see how this fits into the overhead compartment. In the past, I was using an old TH 20" carry on (21.0" actual length) and in the overhead compartments, I easily had at least 2" to spare between the bag and bin door. After measuring the new Kirkland 22" bag, I decided I'd give it a try.





Up close....




I tried to take clear pictures of the bag, but it's approx 23.25" long on the expansion side, and 22.75" on the wheel side. I kept reading that the previous gen Kirkland 22" bag being an actual 23.5" was too big to fit in most overhead compartments. I don't know if half an inch will really make a difference, but from the looks of it compared to my previous bag and how the AA overhead bins buldge out a little bit, I think I can make it work if I keep the wheels facing out (I'll find out next week).







Compared to the Tumi 22" carry on, the Kirkland 22" carry on looks like a pretty close replica of Tumi Alpha series carry on. The look, size, layout (pockets), and design are pretty much the same. But there are still some differences that you can obviously tell the difference in. The main thing I notice is that the zippers on my Tumi bags work much smoother than the Kirkland bag. That's not to say the Kirkland bag zipper is bad, but just not as smooth as the zippers on my Tumi bags. The 'ballistic' material is very simlar looking, but Tumi has more of a durable feel to it. The handle doesn't pop up when you press the release button on the Kirkland bag, but it's still very smooth and easy to pull up like the Tumi bag. The wheels feel about the same on both, pulling it and rolling them around with an empty bag. The side handle is on the opposite side of the Tumi bag. The main compartment is pretty much the same size and layout. The main difference is that the folding garment bag is attached to the Tumi case and it's a separate piece with the Kirkland bag. Not really that big of a deal, but I like how Tumi has their garment bag setup. The Kirkland bag has a zipper expansion, but the outside looks like the framed Tumi bag. It doesn't bother me, but it doesn't really help if you need to compress it to save space. BTW, the luggage tag does not come with it... I was just trying out a spare Tumi luggage tag to see how it looked on the bag (it's off now).

Overall, between the 2 bags, Tumi does have a better quality bag. But at 1/6 the price, the Kirkland bag is a great deal and is very close in comparison with the Tumi Alpha carry on. I've heard some bad things about Tumi's customer service when work was needed on their bags, and you always hear about how great Costco's customer service is with their products. Even if this bag doesn't last me more than a few years, for the price and Costco's reputation, I'm going to give this bag a try and see how it works out. I usually fly from LAX-DFW-LAX or LAX-ORD-LAX every couple of weeks for work, so I should be able to report back later on to see how the bag is still holding up.