Away
Away The Carry-On
$275Cheaper
Best Carry On Luggage · head-to-head
Away The Carry-On vs Rimowa Essential Cabin
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. Away The Carry-On is cheaper at $275. Every spec and price links to its source.
Rimowa
Rimowa Essential Cabin
$900
Which is better: the Away The Carry-On or Rimowa Essential Cabin?
The Rimowa Essential Cabin wins 1 of the 1 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 0. The Away The Carry-On is the cheaper at $275. Get the Rimowa Essential Cabin for the stronger spec sheet, the Away The Carry-On to spend less.
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Full spec sheet
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | Away The Carry-On | Rimowa Essential Cabin |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $275 | $900 |
| Brand | Away | Rimowa |
| Released | — | — |
| Exterior dimensions (in) | 21.7 x 14.4 x 9 | 21.7 x 15.8 x 9.1 |
| Weight (lb) | 7.5 | 7.1 |
| Capacity liters | 41 | 37 |
| Shell type | hardside | hardside |
| Shell material | polycarbonate | polycarbonate |
| Wheel type | spinner-4 | spinner-4 |
| Expandable | No | No |
| Tsa lock | Yes | Yes |
| USB port | No | No |
| Laptop sleeve | No | No |
| Warranty | limited-lifetime | limited-lifetime |
Sources — Away The Carry-On: awaytravel.com (verified 2026-07-11). Rimowa Essential Cabin: rimowa.com (verified 2026-07-11).
What's the difference between the Away The Carry-On and Rimowa Essential Cabin?
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (3 of 11). Matching specs are omitted.
- Exterior dimensions (in): Away The Carry-On 21.7 x 14.4 x 9 vs Rimowa Essential Cabin 21.7 x 15.8 x 9.1
- Weight (lb): Away The Carry-On 7.5 vs Rimowa Essential Cabin 7.1
- Capacity liters: Away The Carry-On 41 vs Rimowa Essential Cabin 37
What reviewers say
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Away The Carry-On
Only one whitelisted tester with a fetchable review body survived verification: Good Housekeeping's Institute Textiles Lab, whose associate director hands-on lab-tested the standard Away Carry-On (polycarbonate) — dropping it from multiple angles, scratch-testing the shell, and running it through a maneuverability obstacle course. She rated it durable, impressively lightweight, scratch-resistant and easy to maneuver, but faulted the wobbly, unpadded handles, which earned her lowest comfort scores. The review reached us via AOL's verbatim syndication of the Good Housekeeping original. OutdoorGearLab's page was unreachable; Consumer Reports and CNN are non-whitelisted and excluded. (1 sourced review, 1 lab-tested.)
Praised: Aced lab durability testing: no dents after multi-angle drop tests and only minimal scuffs in scratch-resistance testing; Impressively lightweight and easy to maneuver; 360-degree wheels rolled smoothly through the obstacle course and airport surfaces (linoleum, tile, carpet); Roomy 39.8L interior with equal packing space on both sides, compression straps and zippered pockets.
Flagged: Handles felt wobbly and less sturdy than rivals, with no grip padding (lowest comfort scores in her test); Not cheap: standard Carry-On starts at $275.
Rimowa Essential Cabin
No sourced tester review yet.