A few months ago, I realized that I didn’t have a carry-on. Well, I did. It just wasn’t mine, a fact pointed out to me by my husband when we were both packing for three-day trips in opposite directions. His faithful roller was like a best friend- kind of scruffy, always there, and able to keep lots of secrets. I had nada. It was about time upgraded my carry-on with Away.
A carry on is an opportunity to style at the lounge, flirt at Duty Free and rock the runway.
Luggage, in my opinion, should be functional, durable and hopefully economical with the purpose of taking from one destination to another with ease, organization and maybe even a little security. I don’t care that my suitcase is unattractive, in fact, it’s always going to get knocked around, scuffed up and potentially disappear in Rome -FCO airport, aka my main hub. But a carry-on? Well, that’s a different story.
Enter AWAY Travel. Or better yet, enter my mom, an avid reader of tech and entrepreneur mags, who was fascinated with the direct-to-commerce start-up’s story, and insisted I needed to visit AWAY’s Bond Street boutique in Manhattan- a tranquil and meditative showroom of light woods and whites which gets the point across: travel is meditation.
A rainbow of polycarbonate suitcases lines one wall, while the floor display show’s off AWAY’s clever details like 360 wheels, compression pads, external laptop pockets, ejectable battery chargers, travel magazines, packing cubes, luggage tags, and, of course, the latest cool limited editions. I loved everything but only the Bigger Carry-On, Aluminum Edition came home.
Away’s just-a-little-bit Bigger Carry-on
The Bigger Carry-On can hold quite a lot. On it’s very first test run, it easily fit five days worth of clothing plus sneakers, sandals, summer homework books, computer, iPad, camera gear, make up bag and a few stuff animals for me and my 9-year-old.
The origami-lover I am was charmed by the compression pad, and used the nylon bag for our wet bikinis. I personalised my carry-on with EF stickers, which I told my daughter were for Ever Flying. We both loved the combination locks that give the carry-on a smart spy vibe.
In the past two months, my carry-on has knocked around seven airports, several trunks and two train rides, so yep, it has some scratches and scuffs, but that adds personality. My only gripe is the weight (and I did choose to remove the charger) especially when packed for two. At 11.2 lbs, the Bigger Carry-On in unbreakable aluminum is heavier than its polycarbonate companion who weighs in at 7.8 lbs (or the smaller Carry-On 7.6 lbs). Maybe not the most logical choice for a peripatetic travel writer but the Aluminum edition is by far the prettiest. Darius swears by the smaller Carry On.
AWAY The Bigger Carry-on, Aluminum Edition
Exterior measurements 22.7″ x 14.5″ x 9.6″
Interior measurements 20″ x 13″
Weight 11.2 lbs
Capacity 40.9L
*At the time of writing this, the Carry-On dimensions were perfect (and still are) for Alitalia and Delta, my main carriers. It seems like every day, airlines surprise us with updated baggage policies. Check Luggagepro and SeatGuru, and then double check on your carrier’s site.
