I drove over to my local luggage store yesterday for a little in-person investigating. When I explained my TravelPro vs B&R dilemma, the salesman indicated that "Briggs and Riley is the new TravelPro. They are everything TravelPro used to be." (Some will disagree, I'm sure, but those were her words.) She gave me these two bags to try out at home:
I had originally hoped to get the Baseline 20" Carry On International Upright (U420LC), but it was not in stock. I called a second, more distant store that had a couple left but indicated that it wasn't in the current edition of the B&R catalog. (Perhaps a sign the model has been discontinued? It's still listed on the website...)

Just for fun, I decided to stage a face-off between the two B&R bags and my 20" TravelPro Crew 8. Just to mix it up, I also included my brand new Red Oxx Sun Chaser non-wheeled tote.

I packed the following items into each of the four bags (simulating a three-day business trip):
TravelPro Crew 8 20" Expandable Business Rollaboard
This is the bag I complained about in my original post. It feels less-durable than the Crew 4 it replaced. IMHO, it really can't hold a candle to the B&R in terms of style and overall toughness. While the bag's capacity was similar to the B&R 20", it had a noticeably greater exterior depth owing to the unused "business organizer" pockets in the front. When fully-packed, this would create a problem with the sizers. My general opinion was that the B&R bags were better thought out and seemed to be of a higher quality. This bag is currently in-transit back to Amazon.

B&R Baseline 20" Carry On EZ Pocket Expandable Upright (U420ZX)
This bag is well-designed and great for those who can use the extra features it offers compared to the 18". I am confused, however, because the hang-tag lists the capacity to be more than 100 cubic inches smaller than the 18" model. This has to be a typo. The 20" does contain a suit sleeve which takes up significant space, but not that much space. My sense is that the 20" offers slightly more capacity, though not by much. The main attraction is not the additional space, but the well-designed suit sleeve and the large front pocket, neither of which are present on the 18" model.

This bag swallowed the contents listed above without any issue at all, though it was definitely full at the end of the exercise. I tried packing my suit and shirt using both the suit sleeve and my normal folding method. The suit sleeve is really slick and its use will probably lead to fewer wrinkles for most people than transporting it in the main compartment. However, using the suit sleeve was a significantly less-efficient use of space than rolling my suit pants and carefully folding the suit jacket and dress shirt.

The front "EZ Pocket" does increase the exterior depth of the bag by around 0.5" compared to the 18" model. (The depth of the bag's main compartment remains unchanged.) While the issue isn't nearly as severe as it is on the Crew 8 20", with its profusion of pockets, it is something to think about. If the bag isn't jammed, compressing it half an inch to fit into a 9" sizer is trivial, but if it's overstuffed, you may wish you had that space back.

I measured the bag carefully and came up with exterior dimensions of 22.5" x 15.5" x 9.5" (included handles and wheels). The handles are naturally popped out a little, but will compress in a sizer. The bag weighs 9.7 pounds, per the hang tag. The same tag pegs the capacity at 1906 cubic inches (2621 expanded) but, as I mentioned, I believe this to be a typo.

B&R Baseline 18" Carry On Expandable Upright (U418X)
This is a phenomenal bag, and the one I will end up keeping and using. While I had to pack carefully, I was able to get everything on my list into the bag without any significant bulging. While has somewhat less capacity than than the 20" bag, the difference did not seem to be significant. The absence of the suit sleeve opens up a fair amount of room in the lid. Furthermore, no front pocket means you can overstuff the bag a bit more and still smoosh it into the sizers.

The suit sleeve and large exterior pocket on the 20" model just aren't that important to me. I'd rather have the space freed up by their absence. In the place of the suit sleeve on the 18" are two roomy pockets in the lid, either of which is the perfect size for your liquid baggie. I think the 18" bag looks sleeker as well, with a flat front replacing the bulkier front pocket on the 20". Oddly enough, the integrated toiletry bag is significantly larger and more useful on this model than it is on the 20".

With the 18" bag, you get a rollaboard that holds about as much as its larger brother but is 13% lighter and can fit in some tight spots where the 20" couldn't venture. It should fit nicely in the D/E overhead bins on the MD-80 or the central bins on older 767s, for example. It meets the tight size standards imposed by foreign carriers for cabin luggage.

According to my tape measure, the exterior measurements of this bag are 20.5" x 15.5" x 9". (The handles will compress, though, if needed.) The capacity is 2016 cubic inches (2646 when expanded).

Red Oxx Sun Chaser Tote (No Wheels)
I know it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison, but I just got this bag a week ago and wanted to include it in my test. I purchased it after reading the messages on this board, thinking it would be handy for the occasional overnight trip. I vastly underestimated its powers! If you don't mind bulging sides, this bag will hold much more than its stated capacity of 1539 cubic inches. I was able to fit everything on my list into the bag. Though the B&R bags were full at that point, I still could have squeezed more into my little Sun Chaser.

I should say, however, that the sides had bulged to make the bag about 13" wide -- too big for the sizers. It was also 24 pounds -- about nine more than I'm willing to carry on my shoulder. (That's what rollaboards are for.) Still, it is nice to know the capacity is there if I need it.

This is such a versatile bag! If slightly under-packed, it will easily fit under the seat in front of me. When packed to its design capacity, it will fit into a regional jet overhead bin. And if I decide to go crazy, it can actually hold more than my rollaboard.

Hope this review winds up being useful to someone! It was a fun exercise for me.

PhillyInvestor