I just got an email back from B&R (+1 on the quick, honest reply) about this:

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Thank you for contacting Briggs & Riley Travelware. The external measurements for the following bags are:

U420LC 22.25”h x 15”w x 9”d
U420LX 22.25”h x 15”w x 9”d expands to 12”d
U420XW 22.25”h x 17”w x 9”d expands to 12”d
U420ZX 21.25”h x 14”w x 9”d expands to 12”d
U421LX 24.75”h x 15”w x 9.5”d expands to 12”d
U421X 23.5”h x 15.25”w x 9”d expands to 12”d
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So now I'm really confused. It looks like pretty much all of them (including the 20" which people said were safe) are over the 22" limit.
Is it simply because the extra 0.25" is a non issue?
O