kardut

Looking for recommendations for a new spinner carry on. Capacity not that important, since it will be used primary for short trips.

What I’d like —
Soft sided
Spinner wheels, easy to ,maneuver
Ability to fit under seat a bonus, but not absolutely necessary
Decent quality, with wheels and handles that won’t fall off on first trip

What I don’t need —
No need for laptop capacity
Nothing that I need to mortgage the house for!

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

freecia

Are you sure capacity isn't important? The difference between a ~ 20L bag which fits underseat and 30L is quite a bit of stuff like an extra pair of shoes and pants. You'll find a lot more bang for the buck options with a 20-22" carry-on spinner which will only fit in the overhead bin.

Samsonite makes a few underseat spinners. Some have tote handles which I prefer to avoid as the shorter nature of such bags cause tote handles slung over the telescoping bar to drag on the ground if tilted and pulled as a 2 wheeler. Samsonite Flexis/Agilis comes close to a mini suitcase but has an attached laptop sleeve. Others are a usually over $120 range.
https://www.ebags.com/category/lugga...gage/f/spinner
Travelpro Crew 11 16" Spinner Tote also fits under some seats at 9" deep (8" probably safer) Briggs and Riley offers several Cabin Bags with flat tops which are good for putting a personal item on top if < $300-400 is acceptable.

kardut

Thank you, freecia. Would like to stick with underseat, since I have a bad shoulder and, if flaring up, don’t want to have to rely on a kind passenger to get my luggage in and out of the overhead ��

Leaning toward the TravelPro, but would also like a small outside pocket to keep my cards, passport, etc in. Have heard the Samsonites tend to have flimsy handles, so a little wary of those...

jobosapien

I'm a huge fan of Briggs & Riley. Quality is top notch, and it's also one of the few brands that offer lifetime warranty that includes airline damage and are often recommended by luggage repare shops for being easier to fix. The downside is that they're definitely more expensive. Otherwise, I'd go to Travelpro which is good quality too but for a lower price, just not as good quality as B&R.

For a trendy brand, I'd look at Away. They just released their soft side luggage that's expandable.

nytexan

My wife and daughter swear by the Away bags, they have two in carry on size and perhaps the smaller of the two would work for your needs. I would mention that increasingly I see the airlines using the underseat space for electronics boxes and the like and so rarely if ever can I fit more than a small, light backpack. My issue with the Away bags is the same I have for all the Rimowa bags. If you need to open you bag to get something out it becomes a pain since you have to unfold the bag and there is zero space to do that on a plane. My wife cures that problem by putting anything she could want or need in a small backpack and that goes under the seat. The rest goes in the Away bag and she just plops the backpack on the Away bag when moving through the airport...

yyztozag

I've had Samsonite Neopulse carry on for a few years (around 50 flights) and it's done great (8/10 quality). Around 250 EUR. Although I'm not a business traveller. I'm considering getting a Tumi Alpha 3 (9.5/10 quality), much more expensive at around 800 EUR, but occasionally you can find it at outlets (new & new collection) for 400 EUR.

If you don't want to spend a lot you could get an American Tourister Curio for 100 EUR, it's actually amazing (for the price point). It's solid quality, 6/10.

Lastly, if you want fantastic quality but don't care about brand name, you could get Samsonite Black Label Cube DLX (9/10 quality), around 480 EUR. Outlets will let it go for under 300. I have the checked size, great quality but not quite up to Tumi Alpha.

TravelLawyer

This is not a spinner, but my favorite cabin case ever is the Samsonite Lift Wheeled Boarding Bag. It was so functional, has a back strap to slide over other cases (if necessary), and fit under the seat. They never made this style into a spinner (maybe because the wheels would take up too much space), but you should look into wheeled/spinner boarding bags that fit the bill.