We compared four 21-inch carry-ons, two hardside and two softside, on the numbers that decide whether a bag gets into the bin and stays out of the repair shop: empty weight, overall size against airline sizers, wheel and handle quality in independent tests, and what the warranty actually covers.
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Best overall
Suits Occasional flyers wanting a light, locked hard shell
Best budget
Suits Students and once-a-year vacationers
Best premium
Suits Frequent flyers and business travelers
Best for airline weight limits
Suits Carriers with 7 to 10 kg cabin limits
From spec sheets and independent tests. The best result in a row is tagged.
| Feature | Samsonite Freeform HardsideBest overall | Amazon Basics 21-InchBest budget | Travelpro Platinum EliteBest premium | Travelpro Maxlite 5Best for airline weight limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shell | Polypropylene hardside | ABS hardside | Nylon softside | Polyester softside |
| Empty weightOutdoorGearLab's scale | 6.6 lb | 6.6 lb | 8.1 lb | 5.5 lb Best |
| Overall sizeinches, with wheels and handle | 23 x 15 x 10 | 22 x 14.8 x 10 (OutdoorGearLab) | 23.5 x 14.5 x 9 | 23 x 14.5 x 9 |
| Volumemeasured by OutdoorGearLab | 41.2 L Best | 36 L | 40 L | 36.5 L |
| Wheels | Yes: 4 double spinners | Yes: 4 double spinners | Yes: 8 self-aligning MagnaTrac Best | Partly: 4 single spinners |
| Expansion | About 1 in | About 15% (Travel Lemming) | Up to 2 in Best | Up to 2 in Best |
| Built-in lock | Yes: Recessed TSA lock | No: None | No: None | No: None |
| Warranty | 10 yr, defects only | Amazon return window | Lifetime + airline damage Best | Lifetime + 1 yr airline damage |
| On Amazon | Check price on Amazon(paid link) for Samsonite Freeform Hardside Expandable Carry-On Spinner (21-Inch) (opens in a new tab) | Check price on Amazon(paid link) for Amazon Basics 21-Inch Hardside Expandable Carry-On Spinner (opens in a new tab) | Check price on Amazon(paid link) for Travelpro Platinum Elite 21-Inch Expandable Carry-On Spinner (opens in a new tab) | Check price on Amazon(paid link) for Travelpro Maxlite 5 21-Inch Softside Expandable Carry-On Spinner (opens in a new tab) |
Who each one is for, and what to know before you buy.
01Best overall
The hardside to buy if you want a light polypropylene shell, double wheels, a built-in TSA lock and a ten-year warranty without paying premium money. Accept a finish that scuffs and a handle that is thinner than Travelpro's.
Pick it ifOccasional and moderate flyers who want a hard shell that is light, expandable, locked and covered for ten years
Skip it ifWeekly travelers who lean on the trolley handle, or anyone whose airline measures bags against a strict 22 x 14 x 9 in sizer
Why it made the list. A 6.5 lb polypropylene hardside with four double spinner wheels, a recessed TSA lock, about an inch of expansion and a 10-year limited warranty. OutdoorGearLab measured 41.2 L, the most of our four, and gave it a Best Buy award; the scuff-prone finish and thin handle are the compromises.
02Best budget
A serviceable ABS hardside for someone who flies a couple of times a year and wants the lowest price class. Anyone who flies more often should spend more on the Samsonite Freeform or a Travelpro and get a lock, a warranty and a handle that does not rattle.
Pick it ifStudents, occasional vacationers and anyone who needs a spare carry-on for a once-a-year trip
Skip it ifFrequent flyers, anyone who wants a built-in TSA lock, or bags that will be gate-checked regularly
Why it made the list. An ABS hardside with double spinner wheels and expansion in the lowest price class. OutdoorGearLab and Pack Hacker (updated February 2026) both rate it fine for occasional trips and not for frequent flyers; there is no lock and no multi-year warranty.
03Best premium
The carry-on for people who fly often enough to notice wheels that track straight, a handle that does not wobble and a warranty that covers airline damage. It is the heaviest pick here and the premium is real, but it is the bag both Wirecutter and OutdoorGearLab rank first.
Pick it ifFrequent flyers and business travelers who want a suiter, USB pass-through and a bag that still rolls well years in
Skip it ifAnyone flying carriers with 7 to 10 kg cabin limits, where 7.8 lb of empty bag uses a third of the allowance
Why it made the list. Eight MagnaTrac self-aligning wheels, a four-stop aluminum handle, USB-A and USB-C pass-through, a removable suiter and a lifetime limited warranty with airline-damage cover on registration. OutdoorGearLab scores it 92 of 100, first of 16, and Wirecutter names it its top carry-on; at 7.8 lb it is the heaviest here.
04Best for airline weight limits
The pick when the airline weighs cabin bags: 5.4 lb empty with the same 21 x 14 x 9 in body and lifetime warranty as the Platinum Elite. You give up the self-aligning double wheels, two handle stops, the USB port and the suiter.
Pick it ifTravelers on carriers with 7 to 10 kg cabin limits, and anyone who lifts a bag into overhead bins often
Skip it ifPeople who roll a full bag across cobbles or gravel every week; the single wheels chatter and the bag can wobble when packed heavy
Why it made the list. The same 21 x 14 x 9 in body, 46 L rating and lifetime warranty as the Platinum Elite at 5.4 lb, 2.4 lb lighter. You give up the self-aligning double wheels, two handle stops, the USB port and the suiter, a fair trade on any carrier with a 7 to 10 kg cabin limit.
On US domestic flights the big three carriers publish a size limit, 22 x 14 x 9 in, and no weight limit for the bag in the bin, so a heavy carry-on costs you nothing but effort. Outside the US the picture flips. Emirates allows 7 kg (15 lb), Lufthansa 8 kg, and most European low-cost and Asian carriers sit between 7 and 10 kg, with scales at the gate. On a 7 kg allowance the empty bag is the biggest single item you pack.
| Pick | Shell | Maker's weight | OutdoorGearLab's scale | Left for clothes at 7 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelpro Maxlite 5 | Polyester softside | 5.4 lb | 5.5 lb | about 4.5 kg |
| Samsonite Freeform | Polypropylene hardside | 6.5 lb | 6.6 lb | about 4 kg |
| Amazon Basics 21-inch | ABS hardside | not stated | 6.6 lb (7.3 lb per Pack Hacker) | about 3.7 to 4 kg |
| Travelpro Platinum Elite | Nylon softside | 7.8 lb | 8.1 lb | about 3.5 kg |
The spread between the lightest and heaviest pick is 2.4 lb, about a kilogram, which is three or four shirts. If you fly weight-limited carriers, the Maxlite 5 is the answer before any other criterion comes into it. If you fly domestic US routes, weight only matters to your shoulders. Torn between the two Travelpros? Our Travelpro Maxlite 5 vs Platinum Elite comparison goes row by row.
Every bag here is sold as a 21-inch carry-on, and every one is taller than 22 in once wheels and the handle housing are counted. Travelpro lists the Platinum Elite at 23.5 in and the Maxlite 5 at 23 in overall; Samsonite lists the Freeform at 23 x 15 x 10 in; OutdoorGearLab measured the Amazon Basics at 22 x 14.8 x 10 in. That is normal for the category, and most gate agents never check, but it is worth knowing which dimension is over and by how much.
The hard shells are over in width and depth as well as height, and a polypropylene or ABS case cannot be squeezed. The two Travelpros are 14.5 in wide and 9 in deep, inside the limit on both axes, and a softside gives a little when pushed into a sizer. If you fly a carrier known for measuring, or on international routes where 55 x 40 x 20 cm limits are common, the soft bags fit more often. Keep every expansion zipper closed at the gate; an expanded bag is 1 to 2 in deeper and will not fit anything.
OutdoorGearLab's long-running test has not found a large durability gap between the two types, and its water tests cut against intuition: the Freeform's main zipper let water in during a rain test while the Platinum Elite's coated nylon kept the interior essentially dry under a hose. What a hard shell reliably gives you is crush resistance and, on the Freeform, a lock molded into the case; what it costs you is exterior pockets, a finish that scuffs, and less expansion (about 1 in on the Freeform against 2 in on both Travelpros). Soft shells are lighter for the same body, give you outside pockets for a laptop or documents, and compress a little in a sizer; their weak points are zippers and fabric corners, which is exactly what Travelpro's warranty names.
The practical rule: if your bag gets checked at the gate often, or you carry things that should not be crushed, take the Freeform. If you work out of the bag, need a jacket to arrive flat, or fly weight-limited carriers, take a Travelpro.
This is what the Travelpro ladder makes visible. The two Travelpros share a body, a 46 L rating, a 2 in expansion and the same lifetime warranty. The premium buys eight self-aligning MagnaTrac wheels instead of four single ones, an aluminum four-stop handle instead of a two-stop one, a suiter, USB pass-through, and nylon with leather trim instead of polyester. OutdoorGearLab scores the difference at 92 against 67 overall, with the Platinum Elite taking a 10 of 10 for ease of transport and the Maxlite 5 drawing notes about wheel chatter and wobble when full. Whether that is worth a price class depends on how many miles of terminal you roll per year, not on looks.
The hardsides show the same pattern one rung down. The Freeform's four double wheels earned praise for quiet, stable rolling; the Amazon Basics' double wheels roll fine on floors but come with a trolley handle OutdoorGearLab called rattly and a construction score of 5 of 10.
| Pick | Term | Covers | Airline damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsonite Freeform | 10 years limited | Defects in materials and workmanship | No |
| Amazon Basics 21-inch | Amazon return window (per Pack Hacker and Travel Lemming) | Returns | No |
| Travelpro Platinum Elite | Lifetime limited | Wheels, zippers, extension and carry handles | Yes, with registration within 120 days (Trusted Companion Promise) |
| Travelpro Maxlite 5 | Lifetime limited | Wheels, zippers, extension and carry handles | Yes, first year with registration |
The two things that break on a carry-on are wheels and handles, and the two things that break them are baggage handlers and curbs. Samsonite's ten years is long but excludes airline damage and wear. Travelpro's program names the parts that fail and, once registered, pays for repairs when an airline is at fault. That is the strongest argument for either Travelpro over the Freeform for a frequent flyer, and the strongest argument against the Amazon Basics for anyone who flies more than a few times a year.
Travelpro rates both its bags at 46 L; OutdoorGearLab measured 40 L in the Platinum Elite's main compartment and 36.5 L in the Maxlite 5. The Freeform measured 41.2 L and the Amazon Basics 36 L on the same bench. The lesson is to compare like with like: on OutdoorGearLab's numbers the four bags are within about 5 L of each other, and a week of clothes fits in any of them. Expansion is a reserve for the trip home, not a reason to pick one bag over another.
Models we considered, and why each one did not make the list.
OutdoorGearLab's favorite hardside at 82 of 100, but it does not expand, it weighed 7.4 lb, and it measured 35.5 L, less than the Freeform for a higher price class; the review also noted a wobbly handle and water getting past the zipper.
Polycarbonate and popular, but OutdoorGearLab scored it 70 with single wheels that struggle in turns, no side handle, water penetration and wheel concerns after drop tests. The Freeform matches its score with double wheels and a side grab handle.
Both scored 91 in OutdoorGearLab's ranking, a point behind the Platinum Elite, and both sit in a price class well above it. If money is no object they are worth a look; for a list that ends at "premium" they are off the scale.
The bottom of OutdoorGearLab's July 2026 table at 53 and 48. Costing less than the Amazon Basics does not help when the construction scores are lower still.
Travelpro's polycarbonate hardside is 6.7 lb with 46 L and eight wheels, and it would be the natural hardside rung on the ladder. Travelpro has replaced it with a V2 version with reinforced corner guards, and the Amazon listings mix the two, so we left it out until the changeover settles.
Listings that give no weight, no shell material and no warranty page have nothing to compare, so they did not make the shortlist.
Usually, and not always. All four picks are 22 to 23.5 in tall with wheels and handle against a 22 in domestic limit. The softsides compress and are inside the limit on width and depth; the hardsides are an inch over on width and depth and cannot be squeezed. If you fly carriers that measure, choose a Travelpro and keep the expansion closed.
Hardside. A polypropylene shell takes stacking and crushing better than fabric, and the Freeform has a lock built in, which you will want once the bag leaves your hands. Do not assume a hard shell keeps rain out, though; OutdoorGearLab found water got past the Freeform's zipper.
If you fly often on airlines without cabin weight limits and roll the bag through big terminals, yes; the wheels and handle are the difference between 92 and 67 in OutdoorGearLab's scoring. If your carriers weigh cabin bags, no: the Maxlite 5 is the same body and warranty at 2.4 lb less.
Luggage is a regular discount category on both, and Prime Big Deal Days fall on October 6 to 7 with Black Friday on November 27. If your trip is after those dates, waiting is reasonable. Do not let a discount change the size decision; a bag that has to be gate-checked costs more than any saving.
Only if you already carry a power bank and want to charge without digging it out at the gate. The port is a cable, not a battery; the bank is sold separately and has to come out of the bag if it is ever checked.
We compared four 21-inch carry-ons, two hardside and two softside, on the numbers that decide whether a bag gets into the bin and stays out of the repair shop: empty weight, overall size against airline sizers, wheel and handle quality in independent tests, and what the warranty actually covers. The Samsonite Freeform is the best all-round buy, the Amazon Basics the budget fallback, the Travelpro Platinum Elite the bag both Wirecutter and OutdoorGearLab rank first, and the Travelpro Maxlite 5 the pick when the airline weighs cabin bags.
The shortlist started with 21-inch spinners that expand, are listed on Amazon under the brand's own name, and have been through independent testing by OutdoorGearLab, Wirecutter, Pack Hacker or Travel Lemming since 2023. Every weight, dimension and warranty term was checked against the maker's product page and at least one of those reviews; we have not handled these bags ourselves, and every finding is attributed. Bags at the bottom of OutdoorGearLab's July 2026 ranking, non-expandable direct-to-consumer cases and models in transition between versions were excluded.
