Review of Away's soft-sided luggage: Smooth gliding and plenty of space for extra packing

I was thrilled to receive a suitcase from Away's new Softside collection in July, just in time for my birthday trip to Canada later that month.

However, a global tech outage forced me to cancel my plans, leaving the suitcase sitting unused in my closet.

Luckily, I soon had the chance to put the Away bag to the test during a mid-August trip to Las Vegas and another to New York City two weeks later, which provided great opportunities for use.

Is the bag worth it? Here are my initial thoughts on The Softside Bigger Carry-On and how it stacks up against my Hardshell Carry-On.

This soft-sided suitcase has a slippery quality.

As soon as I unboxed the suitcase, it rolled straight across my living room and into the closet, likely due to the uneven surface of my engineered hardwood floor.

I also observed its performance during my travels. From the hallway of my building to the floors of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD), New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay, and New York's Park South Hotel, the suitcase's 360-degree, smooth-spinning wheels moved effortlessly on every surface.

When you need to hustle, the wheels can keep up, as I found out while dashing from security through LGA's Terminal B to catch a last-minute flight with just 20 minutes to spare. Just be sure to steer the suitcase with your hands, or it may slip away from you.

There’s no battery pack included.

The most notable difference between the soft-sided and hard-sided carry-ons is the absence of a portable battery pack.

Classic Away suitcases produced before July 2023 came with a removable 37-watt lithium-ion battery situated beneath the handle, making it simple to detach and take onto flights.

Not having a battery doesn’t bother me much since I carry a portable charger, but I wasn’t aware the brand had discontinued the batteries.

There are some differences in size.

While choosing a size, I worried that The Softside Bigger Carry-On might exceed the carry-on limits of the domestic airlines I usually fly with. For instance, United Airlines mandates that items must be within 22 inches by 14 inches by 9 inches, including handles and wheels, which is smaller than the dimensions of Away's Bigger Carry-On (which measures 23 inches by 15.7 inches by 9.1 inches).

When I inquired whether the Bigger Carry-On adheres to most domestic airline policies, Away assured me that many customers successfully stow their bags in the overhead compartments. Since I've been using the smaller hard-shell carry-on for several years, I requested the larger Softside version to see if this holds true.

In August, I traveled with United, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines, and I'm pleased to say I had no trouble bringing the suitcase on board. However, the situation might have been different had the airline required me to fit the suitcase into its bag sizer before boarding.

Another noticeable difference with the Bigger Carry-On is its increased volume, accommodating 44.3 liters when fully expanded. The interior space felt significantly roomier compared to my other carry-on (23 inches by 15.7 inches) and the original carry-on (20.1 inches by 13.9 inches).

This could be attributed to the bag's durable, water-resistant nylon material. The soft-sided suitcase features a wraparound zipper that allows for expansion when you need extra packing capacity. While Away claims its larger soft-sided suitcase can hold six to nine outfits, I was able to fit 10 outfits and three pairs of shoes for a two-day trip, thanks to my reliable packing cubes. I was also pleasantly surprised that my 16-inch laptop fit perfectly in the front pocket.

Lastly, although I was initially doubtful about whether the suitcase would fit in the closet at Mandalay Bay, it did fit, though the door couldn’t close completely.

The pricing and color choices differ.

The Softside collection starts at $225 for the smallest carry-on bag ($275 for the hard-shell version) and reaches up to $325 for the large soft-sided model. The new collection offers bags in five colors: jet black, cloud gray, navy blue, coast blue, and clay pink.

In summary

A common complaint about Away bags is that the hard-shell cases easily attract dirt, a fact I've noted with my black hard-shell carry-on over the past five years. When I opted for the soft-sided luggage in cloud gray, I anticipated it would get dirty quickly. Surprisingly, it has only picked up one minor mark so far, unlike my other suitcase, which looks heavily used.

Overall, I value Away's Bigger Carry-On for being compliant with carry-on regulations while still offering more space than a typical carry-on bag. However, considering the price, I would also look into other brands like Beis and Calpak, which have emerged since Away's launch if I were in the market for a new suitcase.