Carryon Luggage recommendations?

[netmouse]

I will be traveling in March and need to buy a new carry-on bag. My old one was too worn out, so I got rid of it. I've done a little shopping, but so far haven't seen what I want - something relatively small, that can fit a laptop and a few days' clothes, maybe with a pocket large enough to accept some folders and/or a book on the front.

My old bag was too long to fit front-to-back in some airlines' overhead compartments, so I want one shorter than that. I value a sturdy, easy-to-use collapsable long handle to drag it around by, and I want the wheelbase to be sturdy as well. It should also be well ballanced on the wheel base - my previous bag had a tendency to fall over forward when standing, which got annoying quickly.

Color doesn't really matter, though something other than black might be refreshing - otherwise I'll decorate it.

Comments

[laurel]

The Samsonite bag I got is a dark red color and it survived being checked without getting filthy or torn or anything (usually I carry it on though). I know some people that have gotten fun brightly colored luggage have later found they don't stand up to being checked at all-- just in case that's a concern.

I forgot to mention Kevin's carry-on bag. I got it for him from eBags. It's actually made by eBags and is a carryon that is a backpack. He likes the backpack thing better than wheeled bags. The straps can be put away in a pocket and zipped up and it can also just be carried like a small softsided suitcase. Comes in a number of colors IIRC and is very affordable and well-made.