So I ended up buying a few bags and doing a bit of a throwdown comparison. I purchased both the Away plastic bigger carry on and aluminum bigger carry on. Additionally I got both the plastic and aluminum from Arlo Skye. Both before and after purchasing these I made wayyy too many trips to department and luggage stores to check out/test many of the name brands. The reason I did this? I travel for work almost every week and my 10+ year old soft sided samsonite needed to be replaced since the handle was cracking and everything else was really starting to wear. I want a bag that is functional and going to last. Away won out for me primarily because of the packing compression system inside the bag..its flat out better than everyone else. The only one that I would say is comparable or better is Briggs & Riley but their bags cost much more. Due to this I didn't see a point in road testing the Arlo Skye bags since I couldnt even pack a week work trip's worth of stuff without having to smash it closed. Ill get into more detail below.

I had quite a bit of criteria, things I tested and considered but these were the most important ones and my thoughts on Away vs Arlo Skye vs Others:

• Carry on and works in europe/US big planes/most small planes
  • All of the bags were totally fine for this..the only time I ever have to gate check is on regional jets (this was with both of the bigger away bags). The Arlo Skye/smaller away bags would still have to be gate checked as well on small planes. I have taken my away bag to Europe twice and flown on at least 4 different legs and a few airlines with no issues carrying the bigger carry-on on the plane.
• Able to hold clothes for a short (2-3 day) work trip or longer 7+ day work trip/vacation
  • My old samsonite silhouette could do this..so I wanted to make sure whatever I purchased next could do the same. The Arlo Skye bags could fit a 3 day trip ok but that was near the max...when trying to do a 7+ day trip I had to really force the Arlo's closed and caused a bulge/dent in the bags. The packing compression straps just dont work well on the Arlo bags..they even popped open multiple times on me when trying to tighten them. Opening the Arlo's after packing them FULL was really difficult with their style of latches too. The bigger away carry-ons had no issues for 3 or 7+ days of clothes. The packing compression system is simply amazing! The plastic Away is slightly bigger than the aluminum for inside volume due to the construction but its pretty minimal. Even when I really pack the aluminum Away bag full the latches are still easy to open. I didnt explore the smaller Away carry-on's since I knew it was smaller in volume than the Arlo Skye so it would not have worked out well for me. Many of the other brands I looked at had very similar packing compression systems to Arlo Skye - so because of that I really didnt see much of a point in exploring many of those further (with the exception of B&R's awesome system that rivals Away, but the cost was prohibitive).
• General durability (wheels, handles, case, etc)
  • The Away aluminum was my favorite here followed by the Arlo skye aluminum...I just really like the durable feel of that material. The arlo skye has some nice plastic runners on the bag to protect against scratches. The away did not...after a dozen plus flights the back of my Away has some scratches but I like how it is starting to look with age. The away plastic was also great...after taking it on at least 7 trips it still looks almost new. A couple small marks/scratches...most of the marks come out if you get a little soap/water on them too. The Away aluminum handle was also my top pick..its a bit thicker and leather wrapped compared to the plastic Away handle, and feels more durable. The Arlo Skye handles were the same on both bags and felt of similar durability to the Away plastic, but I did not like the shape of them. The wheels on all of the bags seemed to be the same exact ones...really awesome wheels! Super quiet and after taking them on streets, cobbles, and other rough surfaces they are holding up great. I was really disappointed in durability qualities I saw out of other brands like Samsonite, Delsey, and TravelPro..while the costs of their bags are competitive or less than Away/Arlo Skye they were lacking (depending on the model of bag) in wheel, handle, or overall quality. It just seemed like they didnt make one bag that had it all. The only brands that seemed to have that were Briggs & Riley or Rimowa..but their costs are quite a bit more than Away or even Arlo Skye that goes for more than Away.
• Warranty/customer service
  • This one is tough...being new companies its hard to say who is better in terms of Away vs Arlo Skye. Away offers a lifetime warranty so thats a nice idea...but being a startup its hard to say if that will last if the company does not. They seem to be doing well so I don't think there is much to worry about there. Arlo Skye offers a 5 year warranty that isnt quite as good as Away but on par with Rimowa and Tumi. Again when you think about the cost for what you are getting it is hard for me to justify spending $700+ on something from Rimowa or Tumi for only a 5 year warranty. From a customer service perspective Away and Arlo Skye have really impressed me. Before I purchased (and after) I have emailed both of them questions about all kinds of random things (returns, how warranty works, design/functionality questions, etc) and they both respond impressively quick with very detailed and helpful answers. A few years after I purchased my Samsonite bag I had to have it serviced for a warranty issue and it was a hassle to communicate with them and it took very long (6 weeks).
• Other
  • USB charging thing..It was really a non-starter for me. I have used it a couple times but its no different to me than having a USB charger in my personal item bag. I do like how they are easily removable (push it like a toaster and it pops out) so in the event I have to gate check the bag it only takes a second to remove it. It also comes with a nice little international USB charger for it that I might use to charge my phone over the international converter I already have. There were a few other bags that had interesting features like Muji - wheel locking system. This was really enticing to me but they were consistently sold out (their warranty was only 3yr and volume was smaller too unfortunately). The new Samsonite silhouettes had one of the weirdest handles ever...it has a gel grip on the underside. I hated that! Though the wheels on them were impressive. Travelpro had a really interesting superlight bag...but I worried about the long term durability of it since it was so thin/light. Samsonite had a bag made of recycled materials..really liked this one except for crappy feeling wheels.

So after all the testing and research I ended up keeping the Away aluminum bigger carry on. It was a tough choice between that and the plastic one..but I really just liked the latches over zippers more and the slightly better handle. For a third of the cost of a similar Rimowa (and with better warranty, features, etc) I couldnt be happier. If you are interested in Away and want $20 off your order feel free to use my referral link - http://ow.ly/HTIz50wHvTl

I have a boatload of pics of the bags if anyone is interested in specifics (packing, side by side, etc, etc). I can post as requested.