Why We Made the Onli Travel Suitcase So Slim

A long time ago, some corporate manager in some big airline set the typical maximum size for US carry-on bags. With a few variations, they ordained that the bags be no bigger than 22” (56cm) by 14” (36cm) by 10” (26cm).

Luggage manufacturers dutifully followed these guidelines, and designed roll-on bags that were exactly that size. There reasoning was to offer customers the “maximum allowable space”.

The problem is, with today’s lighter fabrics and technology, you hardly ever need the “maximum allowable space”! So you end up lugging around a bag that is too large.

I took three trips of over two weeks duration in the past year: one to China and Nepal, one to the United Kingdom and Ukraine, and one to Finland and Russia. For each of these trips I packed a week’s worth of clothes. Once a week, I did a quick laundry in the hotel room (good travel clothes with today’s advanced fabrics now will dry in three or four hours in your hotel room).

So, if you are traveling over a week, you are probably only packing one week of clothes. And, one week of clothes will easily fit in a lot smaller space than the anointed 22” (56cm) x 14” (36cm) x 10” (26cm)!

We designed the Onli rolling suitcase to be about 20.5” (52cm) x 13” (33cm) x 7” (18cm). These dimensions offer several advantages:

• They fit everything you need for virtually any trip you will take.
• The slimmer design makes it easier to fit the bag into a crowded or small overhead compartment.
• If you have to, the smaller dimensions will also usually allow the bag to fit under the seat in front of you, giving you another carry-on option.
• The slimmer profile also makes it easier to simply pick up the bag by the top handle and carry it off the plane, without having to roll and maneuver it through the airplane aisle.

It just makes sense. We designed packing cubes that exactly fit the bag, so it’s easy to pack in the space we designed. And, it’s expandable if you really need more space. So, board the plane, stow your bag effortlessly, and watch all the other passengers struggling to find room for their big bags.

Modular one bag travel. Travel for as long as you want, for business or travel, with just one bag – the Onli bag you’ll ever need.