Any serious business traveler will soon find they need a serious suitcase. One specifically designed for the business traveler. Here is my Product Review: Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21″ – which is, in my opinion, the perfect carry-on for business travelers who never check their bags.
Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21″ (Check Price)
As someone who’s been traveling heavily for business since the early 2000’s I’ve got some experience in this area. The savvy business traveler is looking for a piece of luggage that is durable and lightweight. Something easily stowed in the overhead bin and large enough to carry clothes for a week. A bag with the right capabilities and features for ongoing, sustained business travel. Something built for a frequent traveler.
There is no shortage of business travel luggage on the market today. A quick Google search will list an overwhelming list of options for the business traveler. But, what is the best business travel luggage? What piece of business travel luggage will get you the most mileage (pardon the pun…haha) during your business travel journeys. As you will see, below, I argue that the Travelpro Luggage Crew is that luggage.Â
So let’s get into it.
Product Review: Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21″ Carry-on Expandable Spinner with Suiter and USB Port, Black
After years of using a 2-wheel Samsonite Carry-On, I finally went looking for a 4-Wheel “Spinner” style carry-on. So, after an extensive amount of research and a few false starts (thank you Amazon Prime for your return policy) I ultimately settled on the Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 – 21″ model.
Travelpro is a name-brand in the luggage industry, started by a pilot who apparently created the first upright suitcase (aka rollerboard). Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know. But I do know Travelpro has been doing luggage for a long time. They are known for quality, reliability and overall good products. And apparently many flight crew use them. With all of that going for it, I jumped off the cliff and went w/ the Crew 11 model.
Ok let’s get to the details of this Product Review: Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21.
You might be interested in 147 Business Travel Tips to take your work travel to the next level.Â
Key Features – TravelPro Luggage Crew 11 21:
This piece of business travel luggage includes several noteworthy features, listed below:
- Size / Dimensions: 21″ (H) x 14″ (W) x 9″ (D) – and the depth can be extended another 2 inches.
- Overall Dimensions: 23.5×14.5×9.5,
- Weight 7.2 lbs (unpacked, obviously)
- Materials: High-quality ballistic nylon construction, a stain- and scratch- resistant DuraGuard coating
- Zippers: Damage-resistant SUPRA zipper heads for long-lasting durability.
- Interior & Handles: Premium leather low-profile top and side carry-handles, full-length interior lid pocket, side mesh, wet pockets, adjustable straps,
- Garment bag: Includes full removable hanging garment bag.
- Wheels: 8 self-aligning magnetic 360-degree dual spinner wheels for smooth, straight rolling without drifting
- Main Handle: PowerScope Extension Handle to minimize wobbling. It stops at 38″, 40″ and 42.5″ for travelers of various heights.
Of the above features, there are few that help this piece stand out as appropriately suited to be a piece of business travel luggage:
- It’s a spinner – this is important to the modern business traveler
- It’s small, but not too small – also important to today’s business traveler who wants to pack light and move fast
- Includes a garment bag – this is helpful to the business traveler who’s bringing a suit or other items that are dry cleaned and that we want to minimize wrinkles while packing
- It’s handle is tall enough to satisfy taller travelers (but adjustable down for shorter travelers)
I’ve included a few pictures of the suitcase here:
Images sourced from TravelPro website
Pros for the TravelPro Crew 11 21
Initially, I ordered a larger Travelpro suitcase (the TravelPro Crew 11 – 25), but it ended up being too large in terms of an effective piece of business travel luggage.
So, I went w/ the smaller version I am reviewing here (the Crew 11 – 21). And while this one was actually slightly smaller than I really wanted, it has turned out to be just right. Here’s what I really like about it:
- Spinner Functionality. It rolls really great. Smooth even. It transitions from pulling it on two wheels to 4 wheels pretty easy to which is helpful when you are switching between surfaces (like smooth airport floor that transitions to thicker carpet). Because there are actually 8 wheels (think of each wheel as a little “dualie” wheel) you get more durability and smooth riding. Honestly, the wheel system is top of the line.
- The benefit to you as a business traveler is that you have less strain on your body as you push/pull your luggage through the airport or down the aisle of the plane.
- Size. While it was a little smaller than I thought I wanted, it has actually been just perfect. It expands when you need it and can fit a great amount of clothing in it just fine. It also fits so easy into the overhead bin. Because it’s a tad smaller than your “normal” overhead suitcase, you can find room in any overhead compartment no matter what boarding group you are in!
- The corporate traveler’s benefit here is that it forces you to pack light which is always a great thing to do. Pack light and move fast. The other unexpected benefit is that because this suitcase is narrow when turned sideways (just shy of 10″) it easily rolls down the aisle of the plane. If you’ve ever seen someone struggle to get their carryon down the aisle only to have it catch on the armrest you know how big of a deal this is.
- Garment Bag. My old suitcase did not have a garment bag and I hadn’t really ever thought of buying one. However, now that I have one, it not only fits nicely into the suitcase, but makes my packing MUCH easier. I don’t fold as much and my clothes get less wrinkled.
- The business travel benefits from this option by reducing their packing time. I take the clothes straight from the dry cleaner (in their dry cleaning plastic) and put them right into the garment bag. Fold it up and drop it in the suitcase. When I get to my hotel it easily pops out and I can hang all of my clothes up in one motion instead of having to unfold them and use the hotel’s provided hangars.
- Material: It’s a sturdy but light material. While I’ve only had it for about 9 months, it feels like it will last for a very long time.
- By having a softer surface (instead of a hard top carry on) your weight is reduced giving the business traveler less to lug around on your business trip.
For more packing tips check out my article 17 Packing Tips for Travel (the best packing tips for air travel)
Cons for the TravelPro Crew 11 21″
- This version contains an integrated USB Power Charger. Well, sort of. What it really has is a pocket that you can put a power bar into and connect it to a cable that pops out somewhere else on the suitcase. Sounds like a good idea in practice, but in reality, was a bit of a dud. The pocket for the powerbar simply wasn’t big enough. I bought two different power bars and and they simply wouldn’t fit.
- The downside to the business traveler is that you might find yourself a little disappointed with the storage side and have to spend some extra money to get a newer smaller power bar like this one.
- Quick note: The portable charger that I have that will NOT fit is this the Portable Charger Anker PowerCore 20100mAh – Ultra High Capacity Power Bank with 4.8A Output, External Battery Pack for iPhone, iPad & Samsung Galaxy & More (Black) which is 6.5in x 2.3in x 0.9in.
- Given it’s size, it will occasionally be a little too light at the bottom – specifically when you are carrying a backpack on the top of it and the top will tip over sometimes. Basically it needs a lower center of gravity. This is mitigated by packing a little heavier in the bottom (e.g. your shoes). And honestly, this is not that big of a deal.
- The downside to the business traveler is that when it does tip over you look like a goof ball and maybe get your shin dinged. But like I noted, it doesn’t happen all that often and for my money, the benefits outweigh the downsides.
- As happens w/ all Spinners, it will occasionally drift off. Like when I pull it out of my car and stand it up, then reach back into my trunk to grab my backpack. It will drift off if I am on ANY sort of incline. However, this occurs w/ all Spinners in my experience and is not that big of a deal. But something to be aware of.
- The only real downside to the corporate traveler is that you have keep a hand on it if you are not on an even surface. They really ought to invent a little foot brake or button brake on the handle.
Final Thoughts from my Product Review: Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21″
RECOMMENDATION: BUY
Despite the power bar issue, this is a great piece of business travel luggage. Probably (no, definitely) the best of business travel luggage I’ve ever owned. And for the price, it should be. It’s a big pricey (Amazon has some great prices for it), but totally worth it my opinion. With a few years of usage under my belt I still highly recommend this product to frequent travelers.
Where to buy it
You can buy this piece of business travel luggage via my affiliate link below on Amazon.com.
Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 21″ (Check Price)
You might be interested in my product review of the Ogio Metro Backpack, which is, in my opinion, the best backpack for business travelers.
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Images courtesy of TravelPro
Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may also earn commissions from other affiliate programs as applicable.
1 comment
gee, Excuse Me but did you not consider dimensions?
Obviously you must be aware that many airlines top out the longest dimension at 21.5 inches which is often the longest that will fit in the overhead. The airlines do not care that the published dimensions are not accurate. I can specifically add LH in Germany where their gate agents are very aggresive and invited Airport Police to intercede when I demonstrated that my bag fit their guide.