Luxury Underseat Backpacks

Why Use Underseat Luggage?

Flying, let’s face it, can be a pain. Many things could go wrong, such as the crowds, security checks, and weather delays. The nightmare of checked baggage fees and missing bags, anyway would ruin any trip.

Carrying your luggage on board is one method to make life simpler, particularly for a brief business trip or weekend getaway.

In general, each passenger is only permitted to bring one carry-on bag per flight unless they are traveling on one of those ultra-cheap airlines (*cough, Spirit), in which case they are not permitted to check any bags.

We can look at some general rules here, but each airline sets its own size requirements, so you’ll want to check with your airline before arrival to see what they allow.

Personal Item vs Carry-On Bag for Underseat Luggage

Personal Item

This is a little more challenging. The various airlines’ recommendations varied considerably, partly because of the different aircraft and partially because the seat configuration is frequently used to save room and pack in more passengers.

For our purposes, a “personal object” is something you can stow under the seat in front of you, such as a bag or backpack. Obviously, they want everything put away for takeoff and landing so you can quickly deplane if necessary.

Carry-On Bag

A carry-on bag is one piece of luggage that must fit in the overhead compartment and is normally 22 x 14 x 9 inches in size (used by American Airlines and various others).

Every check-in desk has the typical “baggage sizer,” which is the frame that your bag must fit within. I'm sure you've seen them by the check-in desk before, and hoped your bag wouldn't need to be tested.

For now, let’s focus only on domestic U.S. carriers. Anything that works for a local flight should also work for an international flight because international carriers typically have a little bit more room.

Therefore, a smaller backpack (around 16 x 10 x 8 inches) should be able to travel anywhere, but some airlines will accept a slightly larger knapsack (more so if you can squash it a bit).

Avoid the temptation to take this too far. They will remove it and place it somewhere overhead if it doesn’t fit.

How To Choose Your Backpack

Price

Since carry-on backpack prices range greatly, think about your most significant demands.

You can get a roomy travel bag for about $100 – often for under $50 – but if you’re going to be in harsh outdoor conditions or you care about style, you might want to spend a little extra for a better bag.

If the quality of the material is crucial to you, keep in mind that leather backpacks can cost hundreds of dollars, but are much better quality.

Anti-theft travel bags can also be a little more expensive, but they are frequently necessary for places with considerable tourist traffic.

Fit

Find a travel backpack with a removable hip harness if you want to use it for hiking so you can more evenly distribute the weight of your pack while you’re moving.

Look for a design with a padded back and adjustable straps if you only intend to carry your travel bag casually – to the airport or to work. Especially if you’re taking a lot of weight, this will prevent any back strain.

Test the shoulder straps of the backpacks you are considering wearing while imagining how they would feel if loaded with a ton of rocks.

Is the padding sufficient? Is the fabric going to rip into your shoulders? Does the back of the backpack seem to have a ventilation system? Mesh exteriors frequently aid with this latter aspect.

Style

You may spend days sorting through the various backpacks available due to the wide range of models available. It should be brief: How will you use this backpack?

Look for something simple and stylish that doesn’t display a ton of pockets if you’re interacting with clients or business partners.

Lean into the pockets if you intend to spend most of your vacation living out of your backpack. For simple loading and unloading, you’ll want a bag that zips open flat like a suitcase (this also makes going through security easier).

Size

This is the first and most crucial bag selection rule. All that counts is that you choose a bag that complies with the restrictions on carry-on backpack sizes; otherwise, you must check your luggage. It's over.

Beyond following airline requirements, your bag's size also matters. It would be best if you thought about whether the backpack will fit comfortably on your back or whether it will slide beneath the seat in front of you.

Organization

The number of compartments in our backpacks increases as the list of essential goods expands. It would help if you considered how you'd maintain organization with the items you plan to carry in your backpack.

Understanding how you're going to use your bag in advance, will help you to choose how your bag should be organized, and therefore how the compartments and zipped pockets should be.