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As a full-time travel journalist, I have gone through my fair share of totes, small duffels, and backpacks. Some have stood the test of time and lasted me almost a decade, while others couldn’t take the heat, ripping and damaging fairly easily. It’s frustrating to spend hundreds of dollars on something that doesn’t last you as long as you expected it to, so to stop that happening to you, I’ve narrowed down some of the best underseat luggage options for your next trip.
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The 16-inch Kroser Carry On is a great option for a number of reasons. It’s lightweight, multifunctional, and compact, with plenty of organization to keep your essentials intact and easy to find during the flight. It has a laptop sleeve that’s padded, and a water-resistant and anti-scratch fabric to protect the bag. Shopping tip: If you travel light, shop our lists of the best carry-on luggage, best travel totes, and best weekender bags.
For a great overall option try the Kroser Carry On Underseat Suitcase, for keeping your items organized and protected within anti-scratch and water-resistant fabric.
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The Coolife Travel Duffel is lightweight and spacious, with plenty of pockets to organize your cords, headphones, and other belongings. There’s a shoulder strap that’s padded for extra comfort, and the material is water resistant to protect your belongings. This is a great bag with a low price tag, but if you’re looking for an easy-to-travel-with bag, check out the options on our list of the best rolling duffel bags.
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For an underseat luggage piece that has wheels, the TPRC 15-Inch Smart Under Seat Carry-On Luggage is a great option. It even has a USB charging port to keep your devices at 100% throughout your travels and pockets for organization. The wheels make it easier on your back, so you don’t have to carry the bag when scooting through the airport.
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The Kono Travel Duffel is fairly sizable, fitting a lot of your essentials. Not only is it durable, made from lightweight Oxford cloth, but there are plenty of pockets to keep your items organized. This bag can go beyond travel, being an essential duffel for the gym, a weekend getaway, sports, and more.
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The Biaggi Zipsak Boost! Foldable Underseat Carry-On can basically shapeshift. It’s lightweight and collapses into smaller bag, expanding into a larger bag when needed, making it a versatile choice. It’s also on wheels, so you don’t have to worry about carrying a heavy bag around the airport.
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Having tried this one myself, the Myth Backpack is not only sleek and stylish, but can fit a lot thanks to all its different pockets and organization. It’s a little on the smaller side, but it’s great for the essentials like your MacBook, a book, your chargers, headphones, and gadgets. Its water repellent coating is built to shield your tech products from potential damage, making it a great option as a backpack for work (especially for commuters).
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For a stylish tote bag solid enough to keep some of your airline essentials safe, the WP Standard Oversize Leather Tote not only looks like a stylish purse, but is super functional as a travel tote. It has features like brass hardware, and weathered, soft leather, as well as plenty of space to fit your Kindle, headphones, magazines, and more on your next flight, and your airport style will be on point.
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If you’re looking for a hard shell piece of underseat luggage to really protect your items, the Hanke Underseat Luggage Personal Item is a solid go-to. The hard shell creates a great barrier between any bumps against your tech products and important items. It’s simple, straightforward, and it has wheels so you’re not lugging it around on your shoulder through the airport. It’s a great basic option for a hard shell piece that will fit under a seat (but again, always check the airline measurements specifically, to be sure).
For a basic hard shell piece of luggage that’s small and compact, the Hanke Underseat Luggage Personal Item is a great go-to.
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The My Style Harvard Safari Bag is a little on the larger side, but it’s an awesome throw-all tote bag duffel with a stylish, weathered look. Don’t overstuff the bag and it should squeeze under the seat in front of you just fine. I love the look of the hunter green option, and the fact that it has the capacity to hold so much.
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For business travel, you’re going to want your chargers in an easy-to-grab place, and your laptop, glasses, and other essentials all organized. The Dagne Dover Berlin Travel Brief is the ideal option for work trips because it has plenty of pockets to organize your essentials. As an eco-friendly bonus, it’s made from recycled bottles. Shopping tip: Dagne Dover is a reliably high-quality brand that’s made our lists for the best diaper bags, best travel backpacks for women, and the best belt bags.
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For a fun, underseat luggage piece, the Lux & NYX Large Origami Tote is an essential piece in your collection of travel luggage. It looks stylish and unique, while still being functional. The bag is so spacious that you almost need to be careful not to overstuff it because you could rip the lining. It has a water bottle pocket that you can remove, and pockets for your belongings, keeping your bag from feeling cluttered.
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For a sustainable option, made from upcycled EcoCraft canvas and recycled vegan leather, purchase the Paravel Weekender. It already looks posh as is, but you can even add a customizable monogram to it to personalize the bag. It has plenty of room for your items, including space for a laptop.
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Away has such an incredible reputation in the travel industry as a brand (they’ve made our lists for the best luggage brands and best places to buy luggage), and their Away F.A.R Duffle is a fantastic lightweight option. It weighs under 3 pounds, and can easily be squished under the seat, as long as you don’t overstuff it. The duffel is made from recycled, scratch and water resistant material to protect your stuff from getting damaged. For a larger carry-on, check out our Away carry-on luggage review.
It depends. This depends on each airline’s listed dimensions, measurements, and regulations. Each airline will list the dimensions that work for them and their weight limits to make sure that your bag is specifically approved by the airline that you’re flying with. Some of the major airlines’ bag measurements are as follows:
The biggest tip for buying underseat luggage is to just make sure that you’re buying the proper size, as mentioned above. Other than that, it’s really about preference. If you’re traveling for business, for example, you might need something that keeps your laptop, tech equipment, chargers, headphones, and gadgets in place, with a lot of organization.
If you’re just taking a weekend trip, you might want a basic duffel bag that you can just throw a couple of things in and squish underneath the seat in front of you. It really depends on the kind of trip that you’re taking and what you need to bring. Make sure what you purchase is durable and can handle the weight of all your items, while dealing with the dingy airplane floors.
Make sure what you purchase is durable and can handle the weight of all your items, while dealing with the grimy airplane floors.
I’m a full-time travel journalist and have been to nearly 50 countries, so I fly often. Many of these products I have personally used on multiple trips. I scoured the internet for the rest, prioritizing positive reviews from customers that have traveled the world.
Pockets and organizers within the bag can help keep your things in place and easy to find. It’s not ideal to be rummaging through your bag feeling around for what you need when the lights are off on the plane.
It’s incredibly important to look at the various airlines’ rules and regulations. What works for one airline for a carry-on or underseat luggage might not work for another, so it’s important to do your research in advance to be sure you’re buying the proper size bag for your trip.
Determine what you’re willing to spend before selecting a bag. Some options are definitely pricier, but may be higher quality. If you’re just looking for a simple tote bag or duffel, that can be much easier on the wallet. It just depends on what needs you have for your underseat luggage and your preferences.
Of course! Even if you have a carry-on, it can be tricky to get your bags out of the upper compartment during a flight (as someone who’s literally five feet tall, it’s hard for me to get my bag out of the overhead bin). Having your essentials in a bag underneath the seat in front of you for easy access is really helpful when you need medication, entertainment, or comfort like a wrap to keep you warm, your Manta Eye Mask, and more.
Usually, no. Always check the specific airline for their measurements, but generally a 20-inch suitcase is too large to fit underneath the seat. This might work if it’s a duffel that can squish down and is not overstuffed.
An underseat bag is more like a personal item than a carry-on.
A carry-on bag can be a little larger and is generally placed in the overhead compartment on an airplane. A personal item, or underseat luggage, is generally smaller, fitting underneath the seat in front of you, and just contains your essentials. Check the specific airline for measurements on what they allow as a personal item versus a carry-on.
This is airline specific, but generally you are allowed at least one checked bag for international flights, most of the time two. Just double check with your specific airline!
For a checked bag, I generally prefer a hard side piece of luggage, but when it comes to an underseat bag, I like something a little more squishy and moldable.
Again, check with the airline specifically, but in my experience, not necessarily. For shorter flights, I have brought a backpack and a purse that can both fit comfortably under the seat in front of me. If you have a roller carry-on, a backpack, and a purse, for example, for example, they will usually make you consolidate your items by consolidate your best-underseat-luggage-options-time-20
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