AWAY brand luggage
 

Has anyone tried the AWAY brand luggage? It looks like online only with a concept store in NY. I looked back to the 2015 posts and didn't see any comments. They promo the luggage as high quality with no middle man.

I have no personal or financial interest in this product just curious.

www.awaytravel.com

I just came here looking for the exact same answer myself. I can't really find any good independent reviews. I'm trying to decide between their https://www.awaytravel.com/luggage/carry-on or getting a TravelPro Crew 10 21"

Looks like it was founded by a couple former Warby Parker (online glasses frames) folks.

Some web-based reviews:
https://blog.hip2travel.com/2016/05/...roduct-review/
http://www.coolhunting.com/travel/aw...ry-on-suitcase
http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/29/11...-gps-usb-power

And an interview:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesst...odays-traveler

I bought the Away luggage. I would say that it is okay for the price. Their customer service however is amazing. Let me know if you have any questions.

I'm interested in the Away line and recently wrote to Customer Service asking if they were planning any two-wheel "roll aboard" pieces instead of all spinners. I was told that these spinner have such great wheels that they travel well tilted in two-wheel mode (typically spinners feel super awkward to me in tilt mode). Do you have any experience/input in that arena, greycap7?

Ah the wheels. They were probably the best part about the suitcase, they are pretty good. I travelled extensively through Europe on ST airlines and also on smaller regional jets within the US and I had no problem fitting the luggage into overhead bins. I don't specifically remember trying to two wheel the luggage. Maybe I can get back to you on that.

I just ran into this brand. Their carry-ons have batteries that allow you to charge your devices. I checked their questions section: The batteries are Lithium Ion.

Doesn't that present a problem if the bag needs to be checked for any reason?

Yes, they would have to be removed to follow the rules.

Were you able to carry on and place in overhead bins in the likes of Ryanair and Easyjet? Did you have the "Carry-On" or "the Bigger Carry-on?"

I just received 2 of the medium cases. I'm replacing 2 Tumi Vapor Medium cases that were 6 years old. The single wheel design on the Tumi just wasn't holding up and was difficult to maneuver on carpeting. I did check with Tumi about a retrofit but got nowhere.

I did try 2 different sizes of the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe, but didn't like the sizing and combined with the sticker prices I returned them.

I really loved the Tumi, we always said the zippered side was a magic compartment, because we could put a lot of stuff in there and it would always close.

On the Away case it has a compression compartment and I swear on my first trip I was able to get even more into that compartment than the Tumi.

The case is very light and I'm curious to see how it holds up. But the warranty sounds great as long as they stay in business. The wheels worked very well and I like the placement of the TSA zipper lock on the top of the case. Not sure I'll ever use the included laundry bag, but it snaps out.

The wheels have a lower profile, so when you look at the measurements the actual case itself is larger than others with the same measurement, just because more of the dimension is actual case and not wheel clearance, if that makes sense.

The one thing I'm not crazy about is the "slop" in the zipper when it's closed up. It looks like it's a wider zipper and so the 2 sides move around a bit compared to the Tumi. I'm in the habit of using a locking strap anyway so it's just a minor annoyance.

At this price point, $275, I'm very happy so far.

They don't need to be removed.

Per their FAQ

Awesome! Great review! I have been looking for someone that did a proper review and that have also check the Rimowa Salsa. Which I was thinking of getting, but the Away's price is very convincing and warranty.

Away's website has some reviews but I don't like reading reviews from their own website!

There is nothing revolutionary about this suitcase. Plastic shell, compression straps, warranty, USB ports, been there done that.

It's marketing hype. Story of two millennials who got some financial backing which is surprisingly easier than you can imagine if you've got a little Don Draper in you.

BJ

$20 off with code UPGRADE4 through October 31, 2017.

I had an away suitcase and promptly returned it. Their client service is very good.

The product is below average. Plastic shell with zippers and 4 wheels.

They falsely say that the carry-on can be gate-checked with the lithium ion battery inside. The TSA and IATA do not allow spare lithium batteries to be in cargo. To remove the battery, you have to open the entire suitcase, remove your stuff, unzip the lining and use a screwdriver that they send with the luggage. Totally impractical. And they are using cheap chinese batteries - which is a big concern to me.

I'm used to happily use Muji luggage until I upgraded to Arlo Skye. When I tried Away, I immediately noticed they use the same parts at Muji. But Muji costs $155 and Away feels way overpriced at $225. Better off buying Muji for the same price. There are so many other plastic brands for much cheaper than $150.

The away brand is great example of marketing hype but below average product that's over priced.

Away brand Luggage
 

Away Luggage

Anyone have a set from them? Looking to hear any feedback from folks that may have them. The USB feature is neat, I'm sure other brands do the same thing so it's not the main reason I'd be looking for them, although I haven't purchased yet.

Any referral codes someone can share?

I decided to avoid for two reasons/ The battery for the USB is super hard to remove, it involves screws. So if bag has to be checked for any reason things will get complicated. The carry on size is US carry on size, too big for European flights.

It's a marketing gimmick. Avoid.

Definitely get that the USB charger is a gimmick (dont see myself every needing it), but what about the bags themselves? Not worth the money compared to similar styles?

For $200 based on build quality? Probably about the same but a lot of spinner hard sided bags are built very similarly for a good bit less. I think you do pay a bit based on the aesthetic if you disregard the charger.

http://fromsqualortoballer.com/away-...n-muji-review/
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...ompetitor.html

Similar bags are < $150
eBags has a few with their own Limited Lifetime Warranty
https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/...uctid=10472649
https://www.ebags.com/product/ebags/...uctid=10287884

I'd go with a longer established luggage manufacturer if the warranty is important to you. Lifetime warranty is only as good as the company's longevity and you definitely are paying for warranty, not just build quality, on the more expensive bags. At least brands like Eagle Creek & Rimowa have replacement parts so you don't need to send it in for certain things like wheel replacement and have regional repair centers, if you happen to be close to them. If not, the shipping is usually at your expense, repair only on them. Think about what price point does it make sense for you to ship & fix it (and not have the bag) vs replace it?

Sorry to take this in a slightly tangential direction but does anyone know if the battery pack needs to be removed when going through security in the UK or US?

I got my away carry-on at the start of the year - before the first electronics ban - and haven't taken it on a trip yet. From memory, the batter pack is bigger than current the 16x9.3x1.5cm size restriction for electronics going through UK airports.

As for the quality of the suitcase, I'm pretty pleased with it. There's maybe more give in the shells than I'd like for the price but I suppose that gives it some flexibility should it get bashed around.

Removing the battery at first is a pain. The included screwdriver is not much more than a keychain and pretty difficult to use. I took the screws out of mine and and put tape over the access door. I figured that if it was ever questioned I could remove it a bit more quickly that way. Even then, you need to empty out one half of the case, unzip the lining and then open up the bottom of the battery compartment.

I'm still happy with mine but bear in mine that battery weighs significantly more than an Anker 10,000mAh battery, albeit more convenient to use while travelling.

I just got my luggage yesterday. I was definitely surprised the battery can be removed simply with a push down and it pops right out. I thought I needed a screwdriver but nope. Click mechanism in place.

My existing luggage just bit the dust and I am going to give the carry-on lifestyle a go.

I was considering the Away carry-on ($225) and the Muji carry-on ($160). Eventually decided on a Delsey carry-on because eBags.com is offering 15 miles/dollar spent on the AA Shopping portal currently and it is $100. Plus I already have a small USB power bank that works just fine.

My friend just bought the Away Bigger Carry-On. She loves it. According to her it can pack a lot more in the bag than she can with others. The battery pack was upgraded, not it pops out with the push of a button. The frame is still there though.

This space is going to get disrupted once again, soon.

My daughter selected the carry-on Away bag. She's now jealous of by B&R carryon and wants that.

Her's seems good - size virtually the same outside; haven't done an interior sizing test, but seems similar. Don't see the value in the battery, but she was using it on our trip (I prefer my Anker, which I can take wherever and doesn't need to be removed).

I'm torn between the Away and TP Crew or Magna series. I've had great results and years of use out of both hard and soft designs. I proly fly about six times a year. I travel with a 25" or 21" but rarely both.

I like the look of the Aways and with wireless earbuds, phone and tablet I think the charging port could come in handy--I ran low on my last trip and had to buy a $10 pair of earbuds for $22 at the airport... My real concern is that they have only been around for a while and there are no long-term reviews to reference. I want to hear how they hold up after five years...

Remember as of January 15 you can no longer have the battery powered luggage to be stowed. You have to remove the battery before the flight. This kind of kills away and the rest of the luggage that you can charge your electronics with.

Thanks, I wasn't aware that went into effect. I see that as a non-issue as both TP Crew 11 and Away make removal of built-in or third party battery-packs a breeze now. They can be removed and used in-cabin to charge your devices or to be recharged themselves in the case an outlet is available.

Regardless, the point of my post was long-term quality of the luggage.

Cool brand. Poor quality.
 

AWAY has a nice instagram but that's about it. I own The LARGE. Did not buy Carry-On because removing their battery is a pain - they send you a screwdriver with you purchase. Not very user friendly and now Delta is asking customers to remove batteries before coming on-board. Have used the LARGE on 6 international trips and it it looks no better than the previous big suitcase I purchased on Canal street for $39.99 in NYC. The top two corners caved in - so far haven't cracked but I'm concerned. The handle is rickety and the wheels are tiny for the size of the suitcase. I don't use it anymore because I'm concerned it will crack en route and I don't like zippers. They can be broken into. Bottom line is that Away luggage is way overpriced for what it is. $295 vs $39.99 on Canal Street or $90 on Amazon Basics. Same cheap quality.

I also a RIMOWA and ARLO SKYE customer. They feel robust with latch locks and a frame construction and after looking into the shell material composition - they both use "virgin polycarbonate" instead of "regrind polycarbonate".

AWAY luggage is over-hyped, over-priced and below-average quality. Spend it elsewhere.

I'm currently debating whether I should return my AWAY carry-on. My previous carry-on was a random Air Canada bag that I purchased off Amazon for a steal. It went through the ringer for two years in various regional prop jets, domestic flights, and international travels and it held up great until finally one of the wheels started to just fully disintegrate. Owed me nothing.

The AWAY bag looks sleek and the battery pops out nice and easy. That said - I find the space inside somewhat limiting? I'm not sure if anyone else has encountered this. I'm a decently light packer, but it's not uncommon for me to tack on a personal trip to a business trip - thus extending my days away and adding to my wardrobe needs a little bit. The way the bag was compartmentalized, I found that there really wasn't much depth to it. Did anyone else find this? I'm trying to find a good carry-on that I can really pack a week long vacation into.

I plan on visit the LA store this weekend, but more I think about it, the biggest issue for me it not able to access my stuff easily. I would have to stop and open the luggage complete to access just about anything. Without the outer pocket is just not going to work as a carryon

Did you get the regular or bigger carry on? I have been debating between buying one or the other. I think I am going to go with the bigger after playing around with a friends at his house and test packing my girlfriends (non away amazon cheapo that is the same dimensions). The smaller was tight to get my usual week of work travel clothes into but the bigger will be more than enough room.

This youtube channel has some good away reviews including a long term review where he has clocked lots of miles on the bag and a comparison of the regular/bigger: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBk...rch?query=away

I plan to get the bigger carry on in both poly and AL, and I think I will also get the Arlo Skye poly/AL models...I want to compare them side by side, test pack, and hopefully get a couple trips on each so I decide what one I really want...having a really hard time deciding so figured might as well use the return policy to figure it out haha

Interesting feedback, I am considering the Away bigger carry-on mainly for the size, as I am hoping to get as much capacity as possible in a bag that can still be called a "carry-on" and not immediately get flagged by the gate agent :-)

While they have made removing the batteries easy now, I still wouldn't buy these. I've checked out a couple and don't like the quality, and I find their website references to their Chinese factory being so "friendly" and the like to be disingenuous.

They have to be removed everywhere now.

I received an Away spinner free as part of a promotion, and it felt pretty good. Decent quality and some nice features, such as shirt compartment and packing cubes within the bag.. though as has been pointed out by others on here, the usb charger can cause issues if you need to check it in at any point.

bottom line, decent bag, works well, nice features, and you'll probably be perfectly happy with it. but when i found out the MSRP, i was taken aback. yep, it's nice, but no it's not worth that money. for half the price Costco would sell you something pretty close.

The USB charger can be popped out in one second. Thats a non-issue. They must have given you an old one where it needs to be removed via screwdriver. They replace those with the new version for free now. Better stuff at Costo? lol cmon now...the quality of these bags are better than anything I could find at Nordstrom. Samonsite/Travelpro/Delsey just feel really low quality anymore.

I decided to order the "bigger" carryon bag. I considered RIMOWA and ARLO SKYE as well as Briggs and Riley. I have some older Briggs and Riley bags and I love their lifetime warranty. My local, small luggage dealer is all too happy to fix anything on my bag, give it a thorough check up and even loan me a bag while mine is in for repair. That said, the reason I went with the Away bag over the other options mentioned as it SEEMS that it is the only brand of the 3 that really takes advantage of the fact that United's sizer (and others) is actually substantially larger than the dimensions stated by united. They state so on their website and state that the "bigger" bag really takes advantage of this. So, the "bigger" carryon appears to take advantage of every inch of space that one could legally carry on. Regarding Arlo Skye, I loved the style and the lack of a zipper. However when reading reviews people complained that the latch was harder to align and close if you're really stuffing your bag full. The Rimowa bags seem to lack the sizing that really maximizes the (legal) ability to carry on and be able to fit everything in. Hey, I may be wrong, but at least they give you 100 days to test drive it.

Away is worth it. Hands down.
 

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.

Do the larger Away carry-ons fit in various carry-on sizers?