The Ultimate Full Size Carry-On
- Opens flat like suitcase
- Lots of Room - 44L Volume
- Relatively lightweight at 1.9kg (for a bag of this size)
- Comfortable padded strap to handle the weight
A good full size cabin carry-on is hard to find. They need to have a good volume-to-weight ratio so your bag's weight doesn't end up taking up all the airline's carry-on kg allowance. And it also needs to have an intelligent opening/packing system so you can find and take individual items out, without having to unpack and repack the whole thing every time.
The Karl 48hr backpack is an amazing carry-on that has taken all these requirements into consideration. It's as big as you can get it while still being an airline legal, but it weighs only 1.9kgs. It's extremely spacious inside with 44L worth of space, which is enough for a long weekends (or more if you have good ultra-light packing discipline)
And most importantly, it opens flat like a luggage suitcase, so you can pack and unpack easily, unlike backpacking bucket-style packs. Anyone who has had to fish something out of their carry-on on a plane will know how useful this type of opening is!
This is our recommendation if you're looking for a full sized, airline approved carry-on.
For a similar but smaller backpack we have the Alex 24hr backpack, and the even smaller Charlie 12hr backpack for day-packing use.