Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After travelling recently with an older carry-on, I realized that it's larger than the newer restrictions allow so I was in search of a new bag. My criteria: 1 - lightweight enough for me to be comfortable lifting it into the overhead compartment 2 - not too many pockets (find they usually just add bulk and weight) 3 - maximize interior space, which means I lean toward bags that are more box shaped rather than with the very curved portion seen on many bags 4 - wheeled and probably 4-wheels rather than 2 5 - soft sided 6 - well constructed 7 - something I could use on domestic flights as well as international ones, fitting into the overhead compartment -- adhering to the strictest 22" X 14" X 9" measurement. Over time, I ended up ordering nine different bags since each one seemed to have one drawback or another, but this process allowed me to directly compare all bags. One reason for this relatively frustrating process was the inaccuracy of the stated dimensions. Here is how the Travelpro Maxlite 4 - 21" Expandable carry-on measured up on each item: 1 - Weight was ok. It was on the lighter side of all the bags I considered, but the expandable portion created extra weight with an additional zipper and fabric to allow for the expansion. 2 - Not an overabundance of pockets which was good, but (again) the expansion feature added an extra zipper I sometimes confused with a pocket zipper. The inside pockets are mesh which I view as a positive. It's nice to be able to see at a glance what you have stored in them. 3 - With squared-off corners, this bag was excellent at utilization of packing space. 4 - The bag is 4-wheeled and rolls smoothly over carpet and hard surfaces. Wheels are small but solidly attached to the body of the bag. 5 - The bag is somewhat flexible but with a sturdy frame. 6 - While I didn't use the bag while traveling, it appeared to be very well constructed. The outside nylon appeared to be able to handle hard usage and obvious points such as the stitching and sturdiness of the handle all appeared to be excellent. I did have issues with the zipper of the main compartment. I needed to futz with it almost every time I used it. It appears there is some interior fabric which needs to be tucked it at the two corners because the zipper was getting caught. Zippers were of an overall lower quality than I would have expected on a TravelPro bag. 7 - This is where the bag failed and why I returned it. Even the name of the bag says 21" spinner, but that is not accurate. The height of the bag, including wheels and handle was 22 1/4 inches tall. The width was 13 1/2" so well within the 14 inch requirement but the depth is 9 1/2 inches when totally flat and nothing in any of the front pockets. This bag is too deep to adhere to the depth requirement of 9 inches and if you put anything in the front pocket it would only make it deeper. You could probably squeeze the bag into the sizer with some work, but I don't want to have to be concerned every time I fly as to whether I am going to be able to take the bag on-board or have to check it. In the end, I returned it since the zippers concerned me - that is one part of the bag which needs not to fail - and the dimensions of 22.25 X 13.5 X 9.5 where a show stopper. If they made the bag without the expansion feature, it might have worked but this one didn't.