I’ve spent a lot of time traveling in the last few years and each year I seem to be spending more and more time doing it. I’m on planes multiple times a month for most of the year and that sort of thing makes you think a great deal about your carry-on. My needs are rather particular, and that has always made finding the right bags quite difficult.
Happily, I think I’ve finally found the perfect carry-on and, what’s more, the best travel bags I’ve ever seen. The maker of these fabric covered, rolling saviors is Briggs and Riley.
Almost Unique Needs
I’m well aware that my carry-on needs are atypical. When I’m traveling, I almost always have a backpack filled with camera gear, tripods, batteries, SD cards, lenses, etc. The backpack I use is made specifically for cameras and it isn’t much good for anything else. I’ve written about it before and I really wouldn’t travel with anything else for my camera.
My laptop also presents a problem for me. You see, it’s larger than your average work laptop with its 17” display. That also means it’s heavier. Because of its size and my backpack being for the camera, I’ve always had to use a carry-on size roller bag to fit it. This is where the problem comes in.
Often times, there’s not quite enough overhead bin space. Sometimes, the plane is a smaller aircraft (like the CRJ-900s or ERJ-175s), or your connection is tight, and you are late in the boarding process. You can’t fit the standard 22” rollaboard underneath your seat and when you have to explain to flight crew that your bag can’t be gate checked because it has a laptop, it often becomes more tense than I like.
I’ve wanted a rollaboard travel bag that can fit a 17” laptop and go under a seat for years now and that is something that I’d never been able to find. That is, until Gretchen found Briggs and Riley.
At Last
This last winter, Gretchen wanted a lighter, smaller rollaboard travel bag for herself and she found her own Briggs and Riley Cabin Spinner. A rollaboard bag made to go under the seat in front of you. She flew with it a few times to Europe and back and loved it.
The Briggs and Riley travel bag that started our love of them. The Cabin Spinner is a small, light, and sturdy travel bag.
It’s light and small enough that it can fit around larger rolling luggage handles, like a bag with a handle sleeve, yet small enough that even if the overhead bins are full, you can put it under the seat. She even got compliments on it. It wasn’t quite large enough to handle my laptop, but it got me looking at Briggs and Riley.
Then, just two months later, the company released a new underseat bag that, finally, was exactly what I had been searching for. The Large Spinner Brief. Despite its somewhat unimaginative name, it is absolutely perfect.
The Briggs and Riley Large Spinner Brief travel bag is indispensable for anyone that has a 17″ laptop and travels with it.
It can hold a 17” laptop, has a zipper compartment for clothes, it’s a rollaboard, and it fits under the seat. After several international trips with resounding success on the Cabin Spinner, I was willing to give the Brief a try and it already rescued me.
Day Saved
On my most recent trip, our flight had been delayed on an already tight connection. By the time we made it to the gate we were well passed our boarding Zone, which was 2, and they were on Zone 8. We weren’t the last ones on the plane, but we were close.
The bins were full, but I managed to squeeze my backpack above in a secure enough spot where I wasn’t worried much about my camera equipment. There was no room for the rollaboard though. If I’d still been using my old 22” standard, there would have been a significant complication, given that the flight attendants were already gate checking other bags.
The new Spinner Brief, however, slid right under the seat in front of me. Not even a hint of struggle to fit it and no worries from the flight crew. Immediate relief from the stress of your bag needing to be squeezed in somewhere on the plane, maybe even quite a ways away from you. I had my bag right in front of me, even as I boarded near the end.
I dread those tight connections for many reasons, but on its second ever outing, Briggs and Riley managed to rid me of one of those reasons.
We Are Hooked
Gretchen and I loved the bags so much, Nichole decided to replace her failing travel backpack with a Briggs and Riley. She now has a Medium Widemouth Backpack and she can’t wait to try it on a trip.
Nichole’s new Briggs and Riley travel bag is the perfect backpack to carry a 15″ laptop and other essentials.
We’ve already used it on some daytrips around the state, and a couple overnights in Chicago. It’s extremely well built, and the storage layout is practically a free education to other designers on how to use space well.
Then there’s the styling. They are minimalistic, without being stark or harsh. Elegant utility is how I would best describe their look. They do not stand out, as some other brands do. If you are looking for something flashy, a piece that demands your attention, these are not the bags you’re looking for, no.
I don’t care for flashiness or attention. It screams tourist, money, and “I have expensive things in my bag.” All things I generally try to avoid while travelling. Instead, I like things that work well for years and years, with a look that’s timeless. It might be a bit more boring, but it suits me, and I imagine it likely suits most people.
I love these bags. We all have. I’m planning on giving a more detailed review of them later, but I like to inform people when I find something good. This isn’t a sponsored thing either, just to be clear. I’m sure that Briggs and Riley have no idea who I am. None of the links in this article are affiliate links either. I simply am so fond of their quality and thoughtful design, I wanted others to know.
