What do you prefer to take as a carry on?

nothing

Lately, I have been taking a backpack on board, but putting it in the overhead. For under the seat I take a re-usable shopping bag from whole foods, and put in any snacks, a book, newspaper, anything I want handy on the plane. It takes up way less room so I can fit my feet more easily.

Backpack. Being short, I usually rest my feet on it.

I prefer to bring my suitcase and an additional small bag, but I don’t get to anymore because of the liquids rule, so I usually just carry on a small bag that is about 16”‘w x 12“h x 8“d and my purse. The bag I described fits perfectly atop my suitcase that I check.

I still carry on a suitcase if I don’t care too much about how my hair is going to be styled at my destination.

A small Travelpro Rollaboard.

Not a trunk, as you might think.

I routinely take on a very small carry on, a very small rolling bag, and a lot of faith that nothing bad will happen between Point A and Point B.

One big carry-all.

I travel nearly every week for work and if you’ll permit me a small rant I’m truly saddened at how things have changed since the airlines starting padding their wallets with every sort of fee they can dream up.
Because nearly all US carriers charge a minimum of $25 per checked bag (and sometimes far more) I see a lot of vacationing folks trying to carry on all sorts of stuff they would normally have checked. It slows down the boarding process, stresses people out and invariably people are bringing on stuff that doesn’t fit and then has to be lugged all the way back to the forward boarding door to be tagged & checked. Total hassle for them, and everyone else trying to get on the plane and get to their seat.

This also means all the business travelers who are just trying to go for a quick 2-day trip to some place have to queue up early in hopes of getting their carry-on onto the plane before the overhead bins fill up. 9 times out of 10 the bins are full before they call boarding for “all rows”. In truth, I can’t remember the last time I was on a flight where the bins weren’t full before the plane was fully loaded with all the passengers.

So, whenever I can (e.g. on any home-bound flights or anytime I’m not worried if my suitcase is delayed (aka lost by the airlines) for a day or two—which is usually on my way home) I check my bag to free up space in the overhead bins for other passengers.

I have a few small roller-wheel carry-on sized bags to choose from in my closet at any given time. Depending on the aircraft I’m flying that day (MD-80 or MD-90 vs. A320 vs. ERJ or CRJ) I pick a bag I know will fit in the bins.

BTW, before you think I’m crazy to have 3 or 4 bags it’s because they’re all heavily used and I do not spend a lot on bags. I’ve had Tumi and other high-end brands in the past and I’ve learned they aren’t worth the money and definitely don’t last any longer.
Now I go with cheap, light-weight and easily replaceable. The airlines will destroy whatever I use in a short amount of time – so better to get my bags cheaply at TJ Maxx and just get ones that are light-weight, roll smoothly and fit in the bins…for the least amount of money possible. (Usually I pay $40 or less..they’ll be a previous year’s Samsonite model and they’ll last me a year or two before the airlines have ripped them, sliced them, dented them or made all the zippers inoperable.)

I also have a computer bag that fits over the roller-board suitcase handle (I have a laptop backpack, too—but usually it’s not “dressy” enough for me to use to bring my computer in for customer-site visits..the one I linked to is my most frequently used one..and it’s like a Mary Poppins bag. It’s amazing how much stuff I can fit in there…I recommend it highly.)

So if you see me with just my leather Mary Poppins bag..I’m on my way home. If you see me with the bag sitting on top of the roller-board..I’m en route to a customer meeting.

A small rucksack.

I carry my laptop in it’s bag, a fairly large purse with my meds, food and water (empty bottle through security then filled at the drinking fountain), and an overnight bag with clothing for the week.