Welcome to our Amazon Basics Softside Carry-On Luggage Review! If you are looking for the most detail review on this softside luggage, you have to come to the right place.
Once again, I am going to review an item from AmazonBasics, a brand from Amazon. This particular item is an 18.5-inch Carry-on Spinner Luggage/Suitcase. What pulled me towards this product is the fact that it has spinner wheels which isn’t that common in this segment.
Most smaller bags go with inline skate wheels to save space. As we all know, spinner wheels can be bulky and will increase the net weight of the item which can lessen its total capacity.
This particular product isn’t just the 18.5-inch carry-on, though. It is also available in 21, 25, and 30-inch trim. But for the reason stated above, I will focus this review on the smaller of the options.
I will also give a go over for the other trims in case you’re also interested in them.
Amazon Basics Softside Carry-On Luggage Review: A Quick Product Overview
One of the most obvious characteristics of this bag apart from the fact that it’s from the brand AmazonBasics is its simple design. It’s one of the simplest designs you can avail on Amazon. This simple design isn’t all too bad, though.
In fact, most people go for designs such as these because it matches anything. You may need to put some markings or stickers outside the bag to differentiate it from everybody else’s bag, though.
This product is only available in two colors, black and grey, unfortunately. These colors are the two most popular color options in most items which explains why they chose it but it would’ve been nice if other colors are included.
Now, this bag is priced at $57.68 which puts it in the mid to high range in terms of pricing. It’s not expensive but you can’t consider it cheap either. This is surprising since most items on Amazon are cheaper.
In this review, we’re going to look into the real reasons why this bag is priced the way it is. Is the brand AmazonBasics good enough? That and everything, we’re going to find out if you stick with this review.
Pros And Cons of Amazon Basics Softside Carry-On Luggage
To make an informed decision before your purchase, you need to read both the pros and cons. This way, you can get the whole image of the item you’re buying. It won’t do you any good if you only read about the positives. The same goes with only reading the negatives. Read both.
To make it easier for you to decide, I have given the pros and the cons their separate option. I will start with the pros. I won’t go over the good things about the product though in case that’s what you are thinking. I will only write about the features that I find noteworthy. The same goes for the negatives as well.
Pros
Perfect Size For Light Travels
For some, this bag may seem small but, in my opinion, this size is perfect for travels. Also, if you do not bring along that many items, then a bag of this stature should be enough. You can store this in your overhead compartment if you like.
You will also save money if you choose to bring a bag this size instead. You no longer have to pay a separate fee for check-in bags.
Quality Build
Surprisingly, this AmazonBasics has good build quality. The craftsmanship of this brand is comparable to even the biggest brands out there. If you ask anyone what they thought of a generic brand from Amazon, they’d likely to answer, “poor,” so it comes as a surprise when presented with the quality of this item.
Based on the build quality alone, this is already worth a buy. Perhaps it needs an identifying mark to be able to spot it easily. It does look like any other bag out there. But other than that, the design is perfect for traveling.
Expandable For Up To 25% More Capacity
Because this bag is smaller than what you may consider a standard luggage bag size, it comes with an expandable feature. It can stretch or expand up to 25% more, which offers a much-needed boost to the overall volume of this bag.
It Comes Fitted With Spinner Wheels
This luggage bag comes with a spinner wheel setup which is usually reserved for bigger bags. Because of the addition of spinner wheels, this bag is taller than it needs to be. But the wheels do come in handy when rolling it around. It moves surprisingly easy. What’s more, is you can move the luggage bag in the upright position which I consider a great feature.
This Bag Is Available In 4 Sizes
While this review focuses only on the 18.5-inch option, I should have you know that this is also available in bigger sizes. If you find this bag to be too small for your purpose, then you can always go up a size. This design is available in 4 trims (18.5”, 21”, 25”, and 30”).
The overall build quality is the same across the board. The main difference is the size.
Cons
Heavier Than Expected
This bag is listed at 5.18 lbs which isn’t exactly heavy but it’s not light either, especially for its size. To be branded as light in this size category, it needs to be lighter than 4.5 lbs.
I have a feeling the added weight is caused by the addition of spinner wheels and also the weight of the material. As I’ve said before, the material they used is called 1500D polyester which is thicker than the more common 600D.
No Built-in Locking Mechanism
This one’s a minor gripe but it still worth mentioning. I’ve always been a fan of integrated TSA locks that some bags have. But I do understand that this is a feature that not many bags could afford simply because of the added cost.
If a bag has this feature, you no longer have to buy a separate lock to secure your items. You just simply click on your TSA lock and be good to go. This feature not only secures your belongings but also makes your travel more hassle-free.
Only Available In 2 Different Colors
Unfortunately, this luggage bag comes only in 2 colors, black and grey. Perhaps they want to streamline their logistics hence only offering the two most popular color options.
I’m pretty sure I speak for most when I say that more color options is preferred.
Quality Rating
The overall quality of this bag is comparable to premium bags. Even I forget that this bag is from AmazonBasics just because of the quality alone. Once you see it in person, it’s easy to see what I’m talking about.
Granted, this AmazonBasics bag is more expensive than their usual offerings. The additional pricing may have been used for the noticeably improved quality. This is impressive especially since AmazonBasics are mostly known for offering cheaper alternatives.
They definitely made the right option to offer more expensive items instead of just limiting their options to cheaper items. Even though I am a fan of cheap items, there are times where I would like to have something offering more quality. For bags, I am definitely leaning towards quality since they need to last a long time.
Overall, I’d rate this quality 5 stars.
Size Rating
Different airlines have different size restrictions which is often set to 21” for luggage bags. Including the wheels, the total height of this bag is 18.5”. This means that the actual size of the bag is smaller than the size 18.5” would suggest.
It should get you into the carry-on requirement even with the wheels accounted for, no worries. 4 stars.
Feature Rating
One of the best features of this bag is the spinner wheel design. This kind of wheel design isn’t normally found in smaller luggage bags. This bag being in the 18.5-inch segment, the spinner wheel design is definitely intriguing. Based on my research of this bag, the spinner design is implemented well enough that you won’t see any complaints about it.
Apart from the spinner wheels, I also love the expandable feature. As I’ve said plenty of times now, this luggage is of the smaller stature. As such, you would need to be mindful of which things to carry because it can only accommodate so much. The makers of this bag considered that when they designed this bag as to add an expandable feature.
You’d normally see expandable feature from premium and bigger brands. I was quite surprised when one of the main selling points of this bag is this feature. It’s a neat feature. This allows you to pack a couple more shirts, parts, and maybe even a winter jacket, than you would have.
As for the interior of this bag, nothing jumps out in terms of feature. As far as I can tell, it has the standard number of pockets, linings, and storage.
I’m going to give it a solid 4.5 stars. I would’ve given it 5 stars if they added an integrated TSA lock but seeing as that would increase the pricing, I see why they left that out of their features. Still, I would’ve been nice to see it in a mid-range bag.
Brand Rating
If you are looking for something more economical, AmazonBasics is one of the best brands to look into. It is certainly cheap but that does not mean they don’t care for quality. More often than not, their quality is much more than what their pricing would suggest.
That being said, there are still some cases in which AmasonBasics gives us the absolute cheapest option in exchange for quality. These are the items that you usually don’t hear about because they don’t garner enough attention from buyers.
The reason why their items have inconsistent quality is the fact that they come from different companies all over the world. Their items are merely rebrands from smaller companies which means that they do not actually make any product at all. As such, you should look into each of their product separately as opposed to looking at the branding as a whole.
For this reason alone, I am inclined to give this brand a 3-star rating. But in light of the great products from this brand that I reviewed just recently, I will give it a 3.5-starting now.
Product Specification
Size: Underseater, carry-on
Dimensions: 13.58 x 9.25 x 18.5 inches
Item Weight: 5.15 pounds
Department: Unisex-adult
Manufacturer: Amazon Basics
ASIN: B01C4EOFF0
Fina Verdict on Amazon Basics Softside Carry-On Luggage
The more AmazonBasics products I review, the more I become impressed with it. Truly, you should not discount this brand because of its name. You should at least check the particular item you’re interested in to learn if it’s worth your money or not. The answer might even surprise you.
As for this Softside Luggage bag, it’s priced well within the reasonable range, but it’s notably more expensive than the usual AmazonBasics branding. Perhaps AmazonBasics chose opted for a more premium bag hence the price increase.
To me, it looks like this bag ticks all the boxes that makes a bag good, remarkable even. It may not be priced as cheaply as one would hope but it comes with better quality and durability that anyone can surely appreciate.
