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The best cabin suitcase brands

Which? members rated IT Luggage, John Lewis, Samsonite and more with the results revealing you can find a decent cabin bag on a budget
Lauren BellSenior researcher & writer

Well-known luggage manufacturers Eastpak and Samsonite scored four of five stars in every category of our cabin suitcase survey – but given the high price tag, you’d expect that. What you wouldn’t expect is that a brand under £40 does nearly as good a job.

A decent cabin case will withstand being wheeled over cobbles, up and over kerbs, and lifted repeatedly by the handles into a plane overhead locker. So we asked owners to rate their cabin suitcases on everything from durability to what it's like to wheel around.

IT Luggage scored the full five stars for how easy it is to manoeuvre and matched Samsonite's overall score - yet it's a third of the price.

Read on for the complete set of results. 


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Best cabin suitcases


Customer scoreAverage price paidDurability of handleDurablity of zipsDurability of the bag itselfDurability of wheelsPockets and space for storageEase of wheeling aroundValue for money
Eastpak86%£95
John Lewis83%£85
Antler82%£75
IT Luggage82%£38
Samsonite82%£123
Cabin Max80%£27----
Marks & Spencer78%£65

Table notes: The average price is based on the mean amount members paid for their luggage. A dash ‘–’ means insufficient data to provide a star rating. Customer scores and star ratings are based on data collected from 2,799 Which? Connect panel members who had bought a suitcase or cabin bag between April 2017 and April 2022. Customer score is based on satisfaction and whether members would recommend the brand. 

Top-rated cabin suitcase brand: Eastpak, 86%

With robust cabin suitcases that scored four or five out of five in every durability category – from the zips to the wheels – Eastpak is dependable. Members used phrases such as ‘quality,’ ‘strong’, and ‘well made’ when asked to describe their favourite thing about the brand’s bags. It is unsurprising since Eastpak started out producing gear for the US military back when it was known as Eastern Canvas Products. It also comes with a 30-year warranty – meaning that if something goes wrong, your cabin suitcase will be repaired or replaced. 

Verdict: Top quality bags, but cheaper brands do the job nearly as well 

Shop Eastpak cabin suitcases direct

Shop Eastpak cabin suitcases at John Lewis

Second-best-rated cabin suitcase brand: John Lewis, 83%

John Lewis carry-on cases are a little cheaper than EastPak's on average and should last about as long. Owners gave John Lewis’ own-brand cabin bags four or five stars for their durability. They also praised how easy the cases are to carry and wheel around and how quiet they are. According to another Which? survey, John Lewis is a highly rated clothes, shoes and accessory shop and gained four out of five stars for the quality of its products, so we’re not surprised the department store’s own-brand bags claimed second place in the cabin luggage table. 

Verdict: Solid suitcases, but at the pricier end

Shop John Lewis cabin suitcases direct

Cheap cabin suitcase brand: IT Luggage, 82%

Average price paid: £38

If you’re looking for a good quality bargain, look no further than IT Luggage suitcases. It was only beaten on price in our cabin bag survey by Cabin Max (below), and it was the cheapest brand in the larger suitcase survey. Owners told us that some bags can feel a little flimsy – reflected in the overall three-star rating for durability – but were more complimentary on the quality of the handle, zips and wheels. They were also impressed with just how light IT bags are – some are constructed on a fibreglass frame, which weighs just 1.8kg. That’s one of the most lightweight bags around and useful if you’re travelling on a carrier with strict weight rules. See our full rundown of cheap cabin luggage and full-sized suitcases.

Verdict: Impressive ratings given the low cost

Shop IT Luggage cabin suitcases direct

Shop IT Luggage cabin suitcases at Very

Other well-rated cabin suitcase brands

All cabin luggage brands that appeared in our survey performed well. American Tourister, which came bottom of the table, still gained a brilliant overall score of 74% from members.

While there are differences between star ratings and overall scores for each brand, none gained less than three stars in individual categories.

Our advice? Look to the middle of the table for cheaper cabin bag brands that closely rival the pricier ones higher up.

We have linked to Very and John Lewis retailers in this article as both brands were rated highly by Which? members in various shop surveys.