Non-Rolling Carry-On Bags

Non-wheeled soft carry-on bags are lightweight

If you like to travel lightly, experts say you're better off with a non-wheeled carry-on. Wheels and handles eat up valuable packing space, and they're frustrating and awkward to haul over stairs or cobblestones. Ditching the wheels can shave several pounds from your load.

The Red Oxx Air Boss (*Est. $225) is the ultimate one-bag carry-on, according to reviews. Red Oxx consulted with Doug Dyment, travel guru at OneBag.com, and reviewers say the result is a soft, tailored bag that does it all. It's incredibly lightweight and rugged, and it fits effortlessly into the overhead bin. "I can easily pack enough clothing for three- to six-day business trips and the bag remains relatively light," says a reviewer at PracticalHacks.com. You can slip a full-size laptop into one of its well-designed compartments, too, but reviewers say that may make the load too heavy for some people. User reviews posted on the Red Oxx site indicate this bag is spacious, lightweight, durable and easy to stow. The Red Oxx "no bull" lifetime warranty covers any kind of damage.

Testers say the Air Boss's shoulder strap makes it comfortable to carry, but some prefer backpack-style carry-ons. The best-rated backpack carry-on is the Red Oxx Sky Train (*Est. $255), also designed with Dyment's input. The editors at Fodors.com, a leading publisher of travel guides, recommend this as the best travel pack available. They say it is extremely lightweight and well made, and it can be carried either by its handle or shoulder strap or worn as a backpack. At 20 inches by 13 inches by 9 inches, this bag will fit easily in luggage bins even if it is slightly overstuffed. It also features grab handles on the top and at one end to make extracting it from an overhead bin easier. Users at the Red Oxx website are generally impressed with this bag's construction, capacity and packability, although a few say it can be heavy when fully loaded.

A less expensive backpack that also gets good reviews is the eBags Weekender eTech Convertible (*Est. $65). John Flinn, executive editor of Travel magazine, recommends it in the San Francisco Chronicle as "an insanely good value," well organized and incredibly durable for its price. It meets carry-on size requirements and it weighs only about 3.5 pounds when empty. An astonishing number of user reviews on the eBags.com website -- more than 2,350 at the time of this report -- give the eBags Weekender eTech Convertible an average rating of 9.2 out of 10, and 97 percent of users say they would buy it again. eBags offers a lifetime guarantee, but it applies only to defects in materials and workmanship.

Another budget pick is the Rick Steves Convertible Carry-on (*Est. $70), a model from the PBS travel host's own line of luggage. Unlike an ordinary backpack, the Convertible Carry-on has hideaway straps, a side handle so you can carry it like a suitcase and compression straps inside to keep your stuff from shifting around. Flinn finds this model the easiest to pack of the five bags covered in his tests. At 3 pounds, it weighs even less than the Red Oxx Sky Train, although the Rick Steves' polyester fabric may not prove as sturdy as the Sky Train's Cordura nylon. Rick Steves' lifetime warranty covers materials and workmanship only, not damage.

The Tom Bihn brand, though pricey, is a favorite among the critics at OneBag.com and PracticalHacks.com. Tom Bihn bags are constructed of ballistic nylon with splash-proof YKK zippers (the gold standard for zipper brands), but their lifetime guarantee doesn't cover wear or damage. The Tom Bihn Aeronaut (*Est. $220) is maximum carry-on size; the Tom Bihn Western Flyer (*Est. $200) is similar but measures only 18 inches by 12 inches by 7 inches, so it will fit in the overhead bins of regional commuter jets. Both bags can be carried as suitcases, backpacks or duffels -- though the last option requires the addition of the Tom Bihn Absolute shoulder strap (*Est. $30).

Travelers who prefer wheels can use these non-rolling bags with a lightweight folding cart. These can tuck into your carry-on and weigh just a few pounds; your bag plus the cart will still weigh less than a wheeled carry-on. This can be an inexpensive solution if you have a carry-on bag you love, but can nolonger handle its weight -- or if you sometimes have to carry heavy things in it. Doug Dyment at OneBag.com recommends the Travelite luggage cart (*Est. $50), which weighs only 2.5 pounds yet can hold up to 80 pounds. Users at Amazon.com give good ratings to both this cart and the Samsonite Micro Mover Fold Away Luggage Cart (*Est. $25), which holds up to 75 pounds. However, it is neither as light nor as compact as the Travelite.