This sleek $225 carry-on suitcase can charge your phone and only weighs 7 pounds — and it's just what modern travelers need
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- Away is the direct-to-consumer luggage company that everyone is watching.
- Having talked to tons of travelers about their most common traveling woes, the founders of Away created suitcases that not only solved these modern inconveniences, but also look good while doing so.
- I tried the Carry-On ($225), and I loved its compartments that could fit a lot more than you think they would, its built-in lock and battery, and its variety of customizable options.
I've used the same carry-on suitcase for nearly 15 years. Aside from its durability, there's no reason other than pure emotional attachment that I still carry it today(it was the suitcase I brought for my first ever plane ride in elementary school).
A "traditional" fabric suitcase with an exterior zippered pocket, a single interior compartment with buckled straps, and an interior mesh pocket, it was neither light nor easy to pack. I was long overdue for a new carry-on, and in the end, I found a worthy replacement for this travel companion of the early 2000s in Away's Carry-On.
Away, a direct-to-consumer startup led by retail mavens Steph Korey and Jen Rubio, makes the "it" suitcase that many travelers love and even more travelers want. It takes all of our most important concerns about moving our belongings from Point A to Point B into consideration: ease of transport, durability, organizing ability, security, and reliability.
When you're not rearranging your suitcase for the fifth time or using too much energy to drag it around and lift it into the overhead compartment, traveling becomes infinitely less stressful. Through its newer offerings like limited-time colors and collaborations, packing cubes, and leather sticker accessories, Away even manages to make packing and carrying a suitcase downright enjoyable.
Its suitcases, which are available in four sizes, feature a strong yet light outer shell, 360° rotating wheels, interior compartments designed to help you pack smarter, a built-in charger, and more. Starting at $225, they cost less than name brands of comparable quality, with the added plus of coming with a lifetime warranty.
The mere seven-pound Carry-On in particular is a good buy for travelers who embark on frequent, shorter trips and want a smart solution.
Below, I go into more detail about the features of the Carry-On that confirm Away's rising dominance in the travel industry:
The upper compartment is designed for shoes, toiletries, and other hard objects, and is impressively spacious.
Connie Chen/Business Insider
Two stuffed toiletry bags, one hair straightener, and two pairs of shoes later, I was feeling relieved. These are usually the problem items since they're strangely shaped and take up a lot of space.
It made sense to separate them from my clothes because on a practical level, shoes are dirty and toiletry bags carry the risk of accidental spills. On a mental organization level, I now know that all my accessories are in one place, my clothes are in another, and I don't waste time digging through the creative (read: nonsensical) arrangements that I usually resort to just to get everything to fit.
Meanwhile, the inner compartment, which is just as roomy, is designed for clothing. Dividing the two is a sturdy, lined layer for your electronics.
Connie Chen/Business Insider
I was able to fit a 15-inch MacBook and my Kindle in the middle layer for safekeeping and easy access. It's lined with a hard border so it felt like my delicate and important devices were supported.
Underneath, you can very easily fit enough clothes for a weekend trip. Some reviewers say they've been able to pack entire week's worth of clothes into this carry-on. I'd say four to five days of clothes is attainable for most travelers.
If you want to be even more organized, you can get packing cubes to store similar items together and make space out of thin air.
Connie Chen/Business Insider
As you can see above, packing my clothing into their appropriate cubes (pants and heavy outerwear into the larger one, tops into the medium one, and undergarments into the small one) created an extra gap of space where I could definitely squeeze in a few more things.
Away's Insider Packing Cubes are made from leather and waterproof nylon, with a mesh panel that allows you to see the contents at a glance. The different sizes are available individually or in a set of four or six.
Shop The Insider Packing Cubes at Away here
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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