Once I hit my mid-twenties, I realized all of my luggage was terrible. I had been riding the coattails of my durable L.L. Bean duffle bags through years of cross-country road trips and red-eye RyanAir flights abroad. It was time to invest in something high-quality and grown-up. That’s when I found Monos, an Away-adjacent direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand looking to carve out a niche among jet-setters not interested in losing their bag in a sea of other chrome finishes.
I knew I wanted something that would last me for years but doesn’t look like it was built for duking it out in the netherworld of a Greyhound bus. No offense to Greyhound and its loyal ridership, but I wanted chic luggage that could also withstand three to four thousand hoists up and down from overhead bins.
Monos Hybrid Carry-On Luggage
My Monos Hybrid Carry On is exactly that. At just 22” by 14” by 19”, it fits in every overhead bin, even the slim kitchen cabinet ones on budget pond hoppers, and the hardshell exterior eases any of my worries about damage mid-flight. Let me take a minute to clarify that Monos has fully converted me to a hardshell suitcase stan, and I’m never going back. Not only does it draw a hard boundary with me, a chronic overpacker, but I’m convinced the airline employees surveilling everyone’s (physical) baggage at the gate is less inclined to force me to gate check because I don’t have fabric bulging every which way. It’s neat, tidy, and compact — Patagonia could never.
The other unique element of the Monos Hybrid Carry On is it doesn’t close with a zipper. It snaps shut with two TSA-friendly combination locks. While this took getting used to at first, I love not worrying about a zipper getting jammed on my cashmere sweaters and being able to pop it open quickly at security when my decorative candle gift inevitably gets flagged.
I also got their Check-In Large suitcase, and I’m equally impressed by its durability given that it slid down the belt at hundreds of airport baggage claims. It has a few scuffs on the exterior, but the salmon pink color is still identifiably bright from across the terminal and the 360 spinner wheels have trekked across many streets, sidewalks, and cobblestones without breaking down.
Monos Check-In Large Luggage
One annoying note about both suitcases, which is partially my cross to bear, is when they’re stuffed to the brim with my belongings the telescopic handle becomes very difficult to use. It moves very slowly, like its shaft is filled with molasses, and airline employees and Uber drivers occasionally think it’s broken. I’ve had to hobble through a few gates grasping at the knee-level suitcase because the handle just wouldn’t rise. Is it my fault for forcing the zipper closed despite having crossed the outerwear threshold three sweaters ago? Perhaps. It’s my vacation, and a poor workman blames his tools.
I’d recommend Monos to anyone who scoffs at spending thousands on empty bags designed to lug from one place to another, but doesn’t want purely pragmatic suitcases either. These are chic but play ball with the durability sluggers in the arena — Away, TUMI, Samsonite — and I’d recommend buying the Hybrid Carry-On and the Check-In bag together, as one can conveniently store the other.
