LEVEL8 vs Away: Which Carry-On Actually Fits the Published Box

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The verdict

1. On published numbers, LEVEL8's 18-inch Luminous is the only bag here that fits the mainline US width limit. Away publishes The Carry-On at 22" x 14.4" x 9.1" with handles and wheels included, which is over on two of the three axes United, Delta, American and JetBlue publish. If fitting the sizer is your priority, see the current LEVEL8 carry-on range and prices.
2. Away is the more honest spec sheet, and that is worth something. Away prints exterior and interior measurements separately and states outright that measurements include handles and wheels. LEVEL8 does that on some product pages and not on others.
3. Away's warranty is better than LEVEL8's on paper and contradicts itself on the page. Away's product pages and its warranty page disagree about what happens after year five.

The bags, as each brand publishes them

Away sells The Carry-On at $275 and The Bigger Carry-On at $295, both polycarbonate. LEVEL8 sells the Luminous Textured Carry-On at $159.99 for the 18'' and $169.99 for the 20'', and the Road Runner hard-shell at the same 20-inch class. Every figure below was read on the brands' own pages on 22 September 2026.

Away's Size panel for The Carry-On gives exterior measurements of 22" x 14.4" x 9.1", interior measurements of 20.1" x 13.9" x 7.5", a weight of 7.5 lbs and a capacity of 41 L, followed by the sentence "Measurements include handles and wheels." The Bigger Carry-On is given as 23" x 15.4" x 9.4" exterior, 20.9" x 15" x 7.9" interior, 7.9 lbs and 49 L.

LEVEL8's size guide for the Luminous lists the 18'' at 13.7'' L x 9.2'' W x 20.2'' H, 7.1lbs and 39L, and the 20'' at 14.5'' L x 9.2'' W x 21.5'' H, 7.7lbs and 40L, under a column LEVEL8 headed "Over Dimension". The Road Runner page gives 14.5''L x 9.6''W x 21.7''H, 9.5lbs and 38L under the label "Dimensions(including handle & wheels)".

Who labels their numbers, and who does not

This is the part most comparisons skip. Away publishes two figures and tells you which is which. LEVEL8 publishes one figure per page and labels it clearly on the Road Runner and in the Luminous size guide — and not at all on some other product pages, including its aluminum line.

That difference is not cosmetic. A reader who takes the Away model name at face value and a reader who takes the LEVEL8 size label at face value are both wrong about what a sizer will show, but only one of them was told so on the page. Our explainer on why listed and overall dimensions diverge covers the general problem, and the LEVEL8 Road Runner review shows what LEVEL8 looks like when it does label the figure.

One correction we owe readers: a sibling article on this site records Away The Carry-On at 21.7 x 14.4 x 9 in. Away's product page still carries that figure in its own FAQ block lower down, but the Size panel served at the top of the page on 22 September 2026 reads 22" x 14.4" x 9.1". Away's page disagrees with itself, and we publish the figure served at the top.

The airline math

United publishes 9 in x 14 in x 22 in and tells travelers to include the handle and wheels. Delta publishes 22" x 14" x 9" and says the measurements include any handles or wheels, plus a 45 linear inch ceiling. American publishes 22 x 14 x 9 inches including handles and wheels. JetBlue publishes 22" L x 14" W x 9" H, wheels and handles counted, and has no cabin weight limit.

Against that box:

• Away The Carry-On is at the 22-inch length limit exactly, 0.4 inches over on width and 0.1 inches over on depth.
• Away The Bigger Carry-On is over on all three.
• LEVEL8 Luminous 20'' is inside on length, 0.5 inches over on width and 0.2 over on depth.
• LEVEL8 Luminous 18'' is inside on length and width, and 0.2 inches over on depth.
• LEVEL8 Road Runner is inside on length, over on width and over on depth.

Only the 18'' Luminous clears two of the three axes. That is the whole of the size argument, and it is why we would send a nervous flyer to the smaller LEVEL8 rather than to either Away. On Southwest, which publishes 24" x 16" x 10" with wheels and handles counted, and Frontier, which publishes 24in by 16in by 10in up to 35lb, all five bags clear. Check your own routes in the carry-on sizer tool and against our verified airline limits table.

Weight and capacity

Away's 7.5 lbs for a 41 L bag is a good ratio, and its Bigger Carry-On at 7.9 lbs for 49 L is better still. LEVEL8's Luminous 18'' is lighter in absolute terms at 7.1lbs but holds 39L. The Road Runner is the outlier at 9.5lbs for 38L — the heaviest bag here carrying the least.

If you fly carriers that weigh cabin bags, that spread matters more than the inches. Our guide to hard-side versus soft-side for frequent flyers works through where the extra shell weight earns its place, and how much a good carry-on costs sets the price bands.

The warranties, quoted rather than summarized

LEVEL8 states on its warranty page that it offers "a lifetime warranty that covers any functional damage to the shell, wheels, handles, zippers, or anything else that impairs your use of the luggage", then excludes damage caused by "misuse ... neglect, accidents, abrasion, exposure to extreme temperatures, solvents, acids, water, normal wear and tear or transport damage (by airlines for example)". Its bags and accessories other than the Atlas backpack get a one-year term.

Away is where it gets interesting. The product page says: "For the first five years, repairs are complimentary. If we’re unable to repair covered damage, we’ll provide up to one replacement within that period. After five years, repair support continues, and round trip shipping stays on us."

Away's warranty page describes the same program differently: "For the first five years, repairs for functional damage caused by manufacturing defects or unexpected rough travel are complimentary ... After five years, repairs remain available with a reasonable service fee to support long-term care."

One page says shipping stays free after year five; the other says repairs carry a service fee after year five. Both are live on awaytravel.com. Away's own bags and accessories carry a limited one-year warranty. Purchases made before 14 April 2026 fall under the brand's older limited lifetime warranty.

The honest reading: Away covers "unexpected rough travel", which is closer to airline damage than LEVEL8's exclusion of "transport damage (by airlines for example)". That is a real advantage — for five years, in writing, on both pages.

Who should buy which

Buy LEVEL8 if price and sizer compliance are what you care about; the 18'' Luminous is a third of Away's price and the only bag here inside a 14-inch width rule. See our full Luminous review for the caveats on that page's self-contradictions.

Buy Away if you want a clearly documented spec sheet, five years of covered repairs including rough travel, and retail stores to walk into. Accept that the flagship is over the published mainline US box on two axes.

If the material rather than the brand is your question, see polycarbonate versus aluminum on published numbers and LEVEL8 against RIMOWA. To scan the wider field at either price point, current hard-side carry-on listings and current carry-on suitcase listings publish comparable dimensions for most brands.

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FAQ

Is LEVEL8 as good as Away?

They compete on different things. LEVEL8 is substantially cheaper and, in its 18-inch Luminous, publishes the only dimensions here inside a 14-inch airline width limit. Away publishes better-documented specs and a warranty that explicitly covers rough travel for five years. Neither brand's flagship 20-inch bag fits the published United, Delta, American or JetBlue box on every axis.

Does the Away Carry-On fit in the overhead bin?

Away's Size panel gives 22" x 14.4" x 9.1" including handles and wheels, as read in September 2026. That is at the 22-inch length limit and over the 14-inch width and 9-inch depth limits that United, Delta, American and JetBlue publish. It is inside Southwest's and Frontier's larger boxes.

What is the difference between the Away Carry-On and the Bigger Carry-On?

Away publishes The Carry-On at 22" x 14.4" x 9.1" with 41 L of capacity and The Bigger Carry-On at 23" x 15.4" x 9.4" with 49 L, a difference of eight liters for twenty dollars more.

Is Away's lifetime warranty actually for life?

Away's own pages describe it two ways. Both agree that repairs are complimentary for the first five years and that one replacement is available in that window. After five years the product page says round-trip shipping stays free, while the warranty page says repairs remain available with a reasonable service fee.