Methodology

Every bag in The Right Bag is scored the same way, from the manufacturer's published specs, against the published size limits of 36 major airlines. Nothing is sponsored and nothing is ranked by hand.

Where the specs come from

Price, volume, dimensions, weight and features come from the brand's own product page. When the brand doesn't publish a figure, a major retailer's listing is used instead. The pages used are recorded for each bag, with the month they were last checked, shown on the bag's page. Prices are in US dollars at the time of checking.

How carry-on fit is calculated

• A bag fits an airline when its listed height, width and depth fit inside the airline's cabin-bag box in any orientation: the bag's longest side is compared with the limit's longest side, and so on.
• When an airline sets a total (length + width + depth) limit, the sum must be within it too.
• There is no tolerance: 1cm over is a miss. Soft bags can often be squeezed into a sizer, so a near miss may still board in practice.
• The reverse also holds: a bag with under 2cm to spare on any side is marked a tight fit. Listed dimensions are measured empty, and a packed soft bag bulges, so a strict sizer may reject it.
• The carry-on score is the share of tracked airlines the bag fits. A bag counts as a carry-on in the guides when it fits at least 90% of them.

Personal-item fit

The personal item is the smaller bag that goes under the seat in front of you, often the only free bag on basic and low-cost fares. It is scored the same way against each airline's personal-item size. Airlines that don't publish one are left out of that score. The personal-item guide lists bags that fit at least 50% of the airlines that do.

Opening, warranty and fit

• Opening is grouped by how the main compartment opens: clamshell (zips most of the way round and lays flat like a suitcase), roll-top, panel access (a front or back zip that doesn't lay fully flat) or top-loading. A bag with several openings is grouped by the widest one.
• Warranty is the brand's published policy, linked from each bag page. Most brands only cover defects; a few also repair wear and damage, which the note on the bag page says.
• Torso length, sizes and women's fit are shown only when the brand publishes them. Short torso means the published range starts at 43cm or less.

What the scores leave out

• Packed weight: many airlines cap cabin bags at 7 to 12kg. Each bag's page subtracts its empty weight from each airline's limit to show how much you can pack, but fit is scored on size alone. Where an airline sets different limits by route, the economy limit on international flights is used.
• Overstuffing: listed dimensions are for the bag as designed. An expanded or overpacked bag is larger.
• Fare rules: a basic fare may not include a cabin bag at all, whatever its size.

Gear fit

Gear fit estimates which camera bags take a kit. It uses the camera compartment or interior size where the brand publishes one (Lowepro, Think Tank, MindShift, Peak Design's Everyday line, Nomatic McKinnon packs, Moment Rugged slings, WANDRD Rogue slings and Langly's Weekender cube), and the bag's outer size otherwise:

• Exact models use the size on the manufacturer's spec page: body width, height and depth, or lens diameter and retracted length without the hood. Sigma and Tamron lenses use their Sony E-mount size. Typical items get a size for their kind, rounded up from manufacturer specs. Its longest, middle and shortest sides must fit the compartment's plus 1cm, since padded walls give, or the bag's less 1cm. Where a brand draws a tapered compartment, the average of its widths is used.
• The kit's total volume must stay under 65% of the compartment, or 60% of the bag's listed volume, and under 50% or 45% to count as a comfortable fit. Dividers and round lenses waste the rest. These shares match what Lowepro, Think Tank, Peak Design and Moment say their bags hold.
• Tripods ride outside and only need the bag to be no more than 15cm shorter. Laptops need a sleeve at least as large.
• Without a published compartment size, hybrid bags with a camera section count their whole volume, so they can look roomier than they are. Those results are marked "est.".

Airline size and weight limits

Taken from each airline's own baggage page, checked September 2026. Follow an airline to see every bag that fits it.

Corrections

Specs and limits change. If something is wrong, use "Report wrong data" on the bag's page or email a correction with a link to the source. Corrections are only made from the brand's or airline's own page.