jason8612

This will be sort of a different review (not sure if it should go here or somewhere else). I'm going to review my new carry-on I picked up before my holidays.

My old carry-on was a Tumi t-tech 20" bag, which probably has over 750k miles on it. I love it! But with all the airlines now cracking down on weight (LH out of KRK is notorious for that) I can't have a bag that weighs almost 4KG empty as my carry-on when I'm allowed 8KG. In addition the new UA sizer makes this challenge a bit harder to not only find a good bag, but one that is light.
The UA sizer is 22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm while the LH is 23 cm x 40 cm x 55 cm. This bag is right at that - 22 cm x 35 cm x 55 cm.


So I started hunting online for the perfect bag. Naturally I went to Tumi as I really love their products, but I could not find a light enough one. I came across Rimowa which have some nice light bags but their handles are only one bar, which won't be that great for my laptop bags.

Finally I found the Samsonite Short-Lite series. I tried to find it in the USA (since this was all before the holidays, there were plenty of promotions) but I couldn't find it. It seems I could only find this bag in Europe. So I picked it up at my local store.

To start, the bag is light. Very light. It weighs some 1.6KG - which is less than 1/2 of my old bags weight. I got the 2 wheeled version, as I prefer them over the spinners. (the spinners seem to break more quickly).

It is made out of a nylon material, which holds the weight well, but I wouldn't see it lasting long as a checked bag. It's not as durable as the ballistic nylon out there or my old bag, but since the purpose of this is as a carry-on, it is just fine. It has 2 large wheels, which seem as it's good quality and a extendable handle. The handle is a 2 bar system which allows my laptop bag to rest nicely on top. With the bag full and my laptop bag on top, it doesn't fall over or tip - there's no issue with the center of gravity. There is a large front pocket that zips shut. On one side there is a zip pocket for some documents and on the other side there is a handle pocket to carry the bag. this is in addition to the handle on top. I really like this. When you fly the small prop planes and jets, the bags go on sideways. Rimowa and other brands don't have a side handle to take the bag out of the overhead bin easily, but this one does. And the top handle seems quite sturdy.

Inside it's quite simple. There is a zip on the top for shirts and a zip pocket on that (I'm assuming for ties and such) and the straps on the base.

Overall it's quite a simple bag but quite well thought out. I like that there are some zip pockets on the inside as well as the outside (which the Rimowa and other brands were lacking) and the side handle.



Some photos:



Front view with the front zip pocket.



Side view with the handle pocket. It's flat, so it won't catch on anything.



Side view with the zip pocket at the top.






Inside with the zips on the top part closed.



...and with the zips open.

jason8612

But now for the most important part - filling the bag!

I can say this bag can really hold a lot. I was able to fit in almost a weeks worth of clothes and holiday stuff and have it weigh exactly 8.0KG - which is just the limit for LH and LO carry-on restrictions. If it wasn't for that I could easily fit a week's worth of clothes. But I never really was able to get that much in my bag before.

I was able to get in:

• 2 polo shirts
• 3 black tshirts
• 2 tshirts
• a dress shirt
• socks and boxers for 5 days
• swimming trunks
• jeans
• shorts
• my liquids bag
• my travel bag which has my shaver, toothbrush, and other stuff
• umbrella
• a fold-able backpack (Sea to Summit day bag. Weighs absolutly nothing and can hold everything I need for a full day - tripod, camera and lens, umbrella, sweater, water and more. I used this all over the world and it's really great - http://www.seatosummit.com.au/produc...avel-day-pack/)
• my DSLR camera and lens (which is quite heavy)
• my glasses and sunglasses

A photo of the stuff:



And of it packed inside the carry-on:



As you can see it's not bulging or anything:




And for the test!
I had no issues storing this on a DH4 on OS or a Dash 8 with LO. It fitted without any issues in the overhead bin. Of course that means that on larger planes it was without any issues.

And for the UA sizer....
It fits perfectly! My bag was a bit stuffed, but it went into the UA sizer without any trouble







My Final Thoughts:
Overall this bag does what it supposed to do - hold as much as my stuff and be light. Is it super durable? No. Would I check it in? No. Would I use this as my main carry-on? Yes. Would I recommend this bag to others? Yes.
It's super light. It fits a lot of stuff in the bag. It's just fine for traveling with and it's nice to know that I will be in the requirements for LH and other European carriers weight limits for carry-ons,

abaheti

Great review, thanks for taking the time -- and for the packing list/photos, helps a lot it determining if the bag could work for me.

Jenzo

I have this same bag, well the 4 wheel version, but its very similar. I have to say it may be too light, as in it can fall over very easily when not packed with this in mind. Its still a very very good carry on bag that i use, but a macbook at one side and light things on the other can cause it to fall over.

J

Silver Fox

A very good review ! Well done that man !

Moomba

As this is not a trip report I shall move it over to the Travel Products forum.

Moomba
Moderator: Trip Reports

jason8612

Thanks!

Thanks!

I agree. It is very light and needs to be full so it won't fall over, but when it's full it's quite stable.

ena225

Thanks for the review! I go and visit the purple version every time I'm in John Lewis so the in-use pics are very useful.

koroleon

Thanks for the review! I'm considering the short-lite shoulder bag and your final thoughts summarize my thinking too: not the most durable, but cheap and holds a lot, and the light weight makes it very useful with european carriers.

jason8612

Exactly. If the european carriers didn't have any stupid weight restriction, I would of stuck with Tumi, but since the lightest Tumi is 2x the weight, this one is a great choice.

pittpanther

A weeks worth of clothing, but the only shoes you have are the ones on your feet? As you started the posting I was wondering how you were going to keep to this weight limit while carrying a pair of shoes, or even sneakers. So only one pair of shoes for a week, goes with jeans, shorts, and dress slacks?

jason8612

I'm not a trend-setter
My black laceless tennis shoes go well with the jeans, shorts, and pants. They do look dressy and also are comfy for city walking.
Of course you could fit a pair of sandals in there (assuming with the shorts and swimming trunks your headed to a warm destination).
I don't think I really ever traveled with a pair of dress shoes or a separate pair of shoes (other than sandals) in years (unless of course it's for a meeting). If I'm on holiday, I just don't care about my shoes....I'm on holiday

gobluetwo

I have a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves (v1) I use for running, working out, and just walking around. They are very light at 7 oz each for a size 9. I figure my size 9.5 is just 0.5 oz or so heavier, bringing them to <0.5 kg for the pair. There are lighter shoes out there, like the Merrell Vapor Glove (5oz), Saucony Virrata (6.5oz), NB Minimus Zero (6.4oz), and NB Minimus Hi-Rez (4.3oz!!).

abaheti

One pair if at all possible, aside from beach sandals. On a business trip, I just wear my black loafers and they work fine on suit or jeans. For pleasure, I have a pair of Cole Haan black leather slip-ons that are rubber soled and have the Nike air cushioning; look fine in slacks+jacket or jeans, and can handle walking miles and miles a day no problem. I just picked up a pair of the super light/flexible Nike running shoes which can squish down to nothing.

jason8612

To update:

I just flew with the bag on Air Baltic which has a 55x40x20cm size. This is the same size as Ryanair and Aeroflot uses. Even though this bag states its 22cm it fits just fine in the Ryanair, Aeroflot, and Air Baltic sizers. Just make sure its not overstuffed (with 8kg limit I dont think thats a issue).
And it fits in the overhead Air Baltic DH4 and Eurolot DH4 planes.