Reviewing Away’s carry on bag
I recently came across a luggage startup called Away. I tend to tune out luggage startups because there are so many new ones in the market, similar to mattress startups (E.g. Casper, Purple, Tuft and Needle ..etc). But recently, my trusty carry on that I’ve had for years finally broke. It was time to get a new carry on and since Away bag’s have a 100 day return policy with no strings attached and a lifetime warranty, I decided to buy one and try it. I bought the bigger carry on.
I took a trip this past week with my new bag and tweeted about it. A few friends were interested in the bag too, so I’ve detailed some of my thoughts about it here.
Buying the bag
I purchased the bag in person at the Austin store. It was a plus being able to see the bag in real life before purchasing.
The demo bag’s handle shaft seemed a little worn out and wobbly but the one I purchased didn’t seem to have that problem. That’s something I would definitely want to keep an eye out for my bag.
My bag came with the following
- built in portable battery
- an away travel magazine (Retails for $10)
- a luggage tag
- a bag cover
- a cable and plug to charge the battery
- a bunch of adapters to make sure I could charge the battery in any country
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bag included these adapters as they are super helpful and all the nice additions that came with the bag. It is not clear on the website if the (magazine and luggage tags) are included when purchased online.
What I liked
My bag looked and felt high quality. The handle had a good grip and the smooth shell finish communicated luxury in a subtle non-flashy way. As I rolled the bag at the airport, the wheels were very quiet and rolled very smoothly.
During my trip, I also tested the bag by walking and rolling the bag 1.5 miles over uneven gravel road. Naturally, the wheels made a lot of noise on that terrain but I was satisfied that the wheels were still quiet and smooth when I rolled it at the airport afterwards. They definitely seemed quite durable, which is fantastic as wheels tend to break off in my previous luggage experiences.
When I first looked into purchasing the bag, I didn’t care too much about the TSA lock, the portable battery and the compression padding. But during my trip, they proved very useful. The lock was useful when I had to leave my bag by the restaurant entrance as I ate before I headed out to the airport. The portable battery was conveniently located while I waited for my plane to board. I owned other portable batteries before purchasing this bag but this bag was just more convenient. I just wish it could also charge my laptop, but maybe that’s asking too much.
The compression padding also helped me stay organized on the trip and genuinely made extra room for my other belongings (even after I rolled all my clothes).
As with most hard shell bags, the bag also seemed fairly water resistant. I rolled my bag while it was raining and the bag was quite wet but my clothes inside stayed dry.
What could be improved
There were a few small parts about the bag that I think could still be improved. First, the dial for the TSA lock felt a little cheap (compared to the rest of the bag) because it was often hard to lock the digit dial into place when changing combinations.
When I took out the battery from the bag, the away logo seemed to be fading because of the friction of popping it in and out of the bag. This also seemed a little cheap when comparing with the rest of the bag materials.
When I was packing to return home, I took advantage of the laundry bag, it was super helpful but I wish it was a little bigger. I had 3 nights worth of laundry and the laundry bag looked like it was about to bust out of it’s seams.
Should you buy it?
Overall, my experience with the bag was positive. Though I think I might exchange my bag and get the bigger carry on with a pocket (sometimes I just want quick access to something without opening up the entire bag). They didn’t seem to have that in the store. I also had an odd interaction with a gate agent about my bag, but I think it was just a fluke.
If you are in the market for a new bag, I would definitely recommend the away bag. I am a big fan of lifetime warranties and it is a big deal that they are willing to let you try the bag for 100 days. Most companies don’t do that and they’ve already raised $31 million in venture capital funding, so in the very least, they won’t just disappear like many luggage startups have over the recent years (due to a variety of reasons).
If you are interested in purchasing an away bag, please use my referral link to get $20 off your bag (it also gets me $20 off my future bag): https://rebrand.ly/away20off
Feel free to comment below or tweet at me if you have any other questions about the bag!
