Trying to find the difference between a carry-on and a personal item? Looking for the best small cabin luggage for your next trip? You’re in the right place. We’re breaking down our luggage size guide to help you find the perfect bag for you and your travel plans.
Let’s start with the basics. Here’s our take — the best bag you can get for your next holiday is one that maximizes your packing space, but minimizes the amount of time you have to spend checking a bag. Although, if you’ve got a long journey and know you’ll be packing lots, we absolutely love and recommend our check-in rollers for this. If you’re planning a one bag, no stops type of vacation, these recs are for you.
The Classic: The Carry On Roller
This is our tried-and-true, thousands of 5-star reviews go-to. It has ample room for shoes, clothes, toiletries bags, and more.
Packed with:
- 360* wheels
- Cushioned handle
- Interior compression and organization
- Durable hard-shell exterior
- 2 inches of expandable space
- Security locks
Great for:
- 4 - 7 day trips
- Packing multiple outfit options
The Compact: The Small Carry On Roller
If you’re going on a short holiday or traveling somewhere you know has small overhead bins, this is the bag for you. It’s got all of the amazing features, but do note this bag does not expand (because it has to fit in all those small storage bins you were stressing about!).
Packed with:
- 360* wheels
- Cushioned handle
- Interior compression and organization
- Durable hard-shell exterior
- Security locks
Great for:
- Short trips
- Small overhead bins
Now, here’s a question we get all the time: what’s the difference between a carry on and a personal item? We’ll break it down. A personal item is most commonly known as the item you store under the seat in front of you. It’s more compact, holds the items you want access to during the flight, and fits beneath that airplane seat. A carry on typically refers to the bag you store in the overhead bin. This could be a suitcase, duffle bag, or any larger bag. Think of it this way: most personal items could also be considered a carry on, but a carry on is almost never counted as a personal item — they’re too big! Standard airline policy allows each passenger to bring two items on board (and we’ve noticed they’ve gotten even more strict about those extra small purses and crossbodies lately). You get one larger carry-on, and one small personal item for under the seat in front of you. For more on specific sizing requirements, we recommend checking with your particular airline (because it definitely varies from one to another).
Let’s recap — the best cabin luggage for the holiday is one that you can bring on board with you (so, any large bags or options that say “check-in” size are going to be too big and need to be checked at the gate. We offer 2 carry-on sizes (which we recapped above), and if you want to explore more of our personal items, check out this curated page to find your perfect fit!
