A part of finding the means to travel more involves finding the right luggage for what you need.
I am a big proponent of packing light. To me, it is very important to have a lot of flexibility and mobility during my adventures!
As a result, for many years now I’ve been traveling with just a wheeled carry-on bag on most of my trips. A friend of mine recently said she thinks of me as a “packing expert” – which was an amazing complement!
Last year on Black Friday I purchased an international carry-on sized bag from Tumi (an expensive luggage brand), and posted my video review on YouTube as well as a blog post review on this site. So far, I’ve been excited to see that the Tumi review has been one of the most popular videos on my channel! However, I completely understand that many folks find Tumi bags to be a bit too expensive for their travel needs, since they fly less frequently than me.
Enter, Chester luggage!
I was delighted when the folks at Chester Travels reached out to me about reviewing their international-size Minima carry-on spinner suitcase, since it would give me the opportunity to road-test a more affordable, very durable, and highly reviewed bag! I felt this partnership with Chester would be a great help to my readers looking for a more affordable option!
You can find the Chester Minima Carry-on Spinner at a budget-friendly $176 price point (if you use my 10% discount code below). Plus, they offer free 2-day shipping if you order from their site!
Here is the link to the product: Chester Minima Carry-On Spinner
10% Discount Code for Means To Travel Readers: MTT10
I was really happy with the timing when I received the Minima in the mail at the end of July, since I was then able to take it on two trips right away to test it out! Specifically, I took it to a bachelorette weekend in Sonoma County, California and an adventure trip to Salt Lake City and the Utah national parks. I even was able to take it on three separate domestic airlines! American, United, AND Delta!
Below I’ve summarized some of the key points about the bag that I review in the video after I’ve tested it in person. However, if you’re interested in the bag, I definitely encourage you to watch the video itself to get the full tour of the bag, since I open it up to visually show you all of the features!
Key Specs Of My Bag:
- It comes in seven colors to choose from, ranging
from fun to professional: Black, Charcoal
Gray, Light Gray, Ocean Blue (navy), Sand (tan), Pink, and Sky Blue.
- I requested the Sky Blue color from Chester, which I love!
- Size is the most important feature of any carry-on bag for me. The dimensions of the Chester Minima are 21.5”x13.5”x8.5”, which allows it to easily fit in the sizers for almost all airlines around the world.
- The universal international carry-on size maximums are 22”x14”x9”, with some airlines having restrictions on the weight of the bags as well. Travel & Leisure has put together a great here chart showing carry-on rules for every airline.
The Pro’s and Con’s (In My Opinion):
Pro’s:
- Very affordable for its quality, even compared to its primary competitor Away Luggage.
- Comes in many colors, so you can choose what works best for you.
- Its 360° spinner wheels roll very easily on both carpet and flat surfaces (shown on carpet and tile in video).
- The wheels rolled very smoothly in the airports, and faster than my Tumi!
- I would not be afraid to carefully try rolling it SLOWLY over cobblestones.
- The small size easily fit in the overhead bins of all of my domestic flights.
- There’s a helpful handle on the side of the bag that allowed me to lift the bag into the overhead bin without touching the wheels.
- The built-in TSA-approved lock was easy to program when the bag arrived.
- Really nice to have the built-in lock if I have to gate-check my bag or leave it with a bellman at a hotel.
- Lighter weight than my Tumi – the Chester Minima is only 7lbs. (my Tumi is almost 10lbs.!).
- The lining has built-in compartments for keeping items organized.
- A zip-up shoe bag is also included in one of the pockets in the lining, which can be used for dirty laundry on the road.
- Free bag tag with privacy flap on each bag.
- Still able to attach your own bag tag if needed, too!
- The hard shell is water resistant if I get stuck in the rain.
- Also, having hard sided luggage helps me blend in in Europe where soft-sided luggage is less popular!
- 100-day money back guarantee and 10 year limited warranty if you purchase directly on Chester’s website. For the price point, that’s a really good deal.
- Free two business day shipping for anyone who orders from the Chester site, which allows people without Amazon Prime to get their bag really quickly, too!
Con’s:
- The bag is slightly smaller than the maximum allowed,
which means it holds slightly less.
- Holds about one tenth less in volume than the maximum that the TSA allots.
- Slightly smaller than my Tumi international carry-on.
- The interior lining zippers unzip towards the center
of the bag vs. folding out of the bag, which makes it impossible to pack both
sides of the bag at the same time. You will need to flip through the lining
like reading the pages of a book rather than have all of the pockets expand
outward.
- If you plan on staying in shared hostel rooms or small hotels, this may actually be a better layout so your bag takes up less space.
- There is a curved lip at top of the handle, which made it very challenging to use the trolley sleeve on my large tote bag, which I always use as my personal item.
- The interior lining is a slightly lower quality fabric than the lining in my Tumi bag, but the Chester’s lining is still a great quality for its price point.
I don’t have an Away carry-on, but I realize I wouldn’t be doing my job fully if I didn’t mention that the Chester bag looks similar to that brand. The price-point is slightly below the Away bag, and the specs are very similar, so if you’re looking at Away’s luggage, I think it would make a lot of sense to try this bag out to save a few bucks!
I hope this review was helpful for you all, travelers! If you have any questions about the Chester Minima bag, feel free to put it in the comments for me to answer!
Also, definitely consider following me on Instagram @meanstotravel so you can stay up to date on my latest carry-on travel adventures!
Happy travels!
-Eliz
Disclaimer: This bag was gifted to me by Chester Travels, but all opinions are 100% my own.
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