SamsoniteSolyte DLX Softside Luggage, Mediterranean Blue, Underseater

After two European trips this past year I am narrowing down what I need for my next flights. Since the airports are chaos I want the easiest luggage.If you have connections and want "carry-ons only" I purchased a small four wheel spinner and an underseater. The spinner has to be under 21 inches for many international carriers. So they are not very big and may not pack enough for you. This underseater gives you a 2nd bag that holds a lot. The underseater goes on top of the spinner with the items you will need on the plane because it is going to have to fit under the seat. Only 2 bags allowed and they are strict. I like that it is narrow so there will be room for my feet. This bag worked with my 21 inch spinner although the back strap which goes over the spinner handle is a looser than another bag I tried so it does slide a bit when walking. I may need to attach another strap to hold it tighter. I have those too and they are inexpensive.If you have a direct flight and do not have to worry about losing a checked bag, I put this underseater over the handle of a larger spinner bag and carry a 17 inch shoulder bag to the airport baggage check. This gave me 3 bags for a 20 day trip. I check the large spinner, then the soft shoulder bag with all my flight needs goes over the handle of the underseater. My shoulder bag is made with a pocket to fit over the handle. You want those wheels because walking the shoulder bag for miles to your international gate is very difficult. I personally don't like backpacks because you have to swing it around to remove it every time you want something.The soft bag goes under the seat and the underseater fits easily in the overhead bins.I read a review they wished this was a spinner. No these wheels are great. Smooth and get you over bumps, transition to carpets, or up and down plane entrances much easier. Plus 4 spinner wheels would add 2 inches to the height. These are compact.Some reviews said the front iPad pocket didn't have snaps. Mine does. No need to cut it out.The reason I bought this Samsonite, instead of another I tried, is the large front handle to hold the case upright. My last one had two small half circles and tipped over with my shoulder bag on top. As long as I don't overpack the top bag and distribute the weight toward the underseater handle it does not tip.

This little bag is great for someone who can pack light or a good 1-2 trip bag. Handle length could be on the short side if you’re taller than 5’10”. Zippers seem to be of decent quality if you’re not trying to shove everything in your bag, plus the hotel robe.The biggest 2 cons I have is the way it opens, and the wheels. It opens clam shell style which makes isn’t my favorite but it does open nicer than a rolling tote bag. The wheels are made of a hard plastic rubber like material. It will hold up but it’s very noisy especially on those moving sidewalks. Over all I’d say good value for your money.

The main purpose of this bag is to fit underneath the (coach) seat in front of you on a typical commercial airliner. It is small enough to do just that in most cases, at least in my experience. Of course that is unlikely the case for less conventional seat (i.e., business class or corporate jet) but that’s a very different “problem.”Anyway, as a carry-on it has to comply to various rules in size (and sometime weight). Small commuters doe not have the overhead space as a larger plane and for that the “underseater” is also a viable option for overhead storage, which a normal carry-on doesn’t always fit. The pricing on Amazon fluctuates seemingly daily between the typical $139 (same list price on Samsonite website) and the current low point of $79. The latter is a great deal!The Solyte DLX is a safe design in terms of compartments, fabric and color. Nothing screams, “eccentric” here and that’s a good thing for business travelers. The size is great for just enough cloths for 1-2 days and the suspended laptop sleeve is a great idea to safely store your computer (or tablet). The sleeve partially detaches to allow access to the main compartment.The front pocket has a few more little compartment to keep you organized. The handle extends to different heights and adjusts to the traveler’s height for a comfortable handling. I like the regular wheels instead of the increasingly popular spinners. For one it’s less likely to roll off on a sloped surface and it’s more natural to pull such a small bag than the pushing one typically ends up doing with spinners.As it has gotten quiet around “smart luggage”, Samsonite is still including the option to have a battery pack inside and a USB port on the outside of easy access. Of course, you still need a cord but the ide is good. In the case of this design, the pocket to hold the battery (or other items) is large enough to store a massive 32800 mAh battery pack and still have room for the cable to route normally. This proved impossible with a Samsonite Armage carry-on. Unlike that bag, however, the DLX does not have an integrated locking mechanism.Overall quality is great and durability should provide years of service. At that size you’re less likely check this bag anyway and avoid the roughest handling. One small oversight was easily fixed with a scalpel as the USB port was initially blocked by some extra fabric. That’s easily fixed, provided you don’t discover it on a trip and knives are a taboo on flights nowadays.

I'm a luggage snob because I have spent my entire career traveling. For many years I used only premium luggage (Briggs & Riley, Tumi, Boyt). I was looking for a very small wheeled bag for 1-2 day trips. I found a couple of options locally (Swiss Navy, Travelpro) that were kind of okay, but then saw this bag online. I'm keeping this one. I have always thought Samsonite was a cheap brand for infrequent travelers, but this is pretty nice. It's a great size and seems well built. The only things I would improve would be: put a second outside pocket on the side (there's already a pocket on one side); put a couple of mesh bags inside; make the laptop sleeve zip-out. The last one does not bother me too much because I always travel with a laptop, but some people will not need it. I saw one reviewer simply cut it out, which is certainly easy to do.In summary, I'm pretty happy with this bag, and that's high praise.