Is the Travelpro Maxlite 5 Worth It?
It is the best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on on this site, at $160 with a lifetime warranty behind it. Everything turns on which height figure you read.
We have not tested this gear. Every figure here is compiled from published manufacturer specifications and published airline policies, and the arithmetic is public so you can check it. This page contains affiliate links — see the affiliate disclosure.
Worth it if your carrier is a generous one. A published 5.4 lb for 46 L is 0.12 lb per liter, the best of any softside carry-on we track, and $160 is the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty at $8.00 per covered year. But Travelpro publishes a 23 in overall height against a 22 in limit, so it clears 3 of 11 US carriers.
| # | Product | Cost per covered year | Fits | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country flyers who want a lifetime warranty | $8/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 6.6 | $160.00 · Check on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 2 | Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Frequent flyers who check a carry-on at the gate often | $19.50/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 4.8 | $390.00 · Check on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 3 | American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On SpinnerThe under-$100 buyer who still wants a decade of coverage | $9.00/yr | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 5.9 | $71.99 · Check on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 4 | Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner (21 in)Southwest and Sun Country flyers who want a hard shell | $13.00/yr | 3 of 11WN F9 SY | 5.1 | $129.99 · Check on Amazon#ad How we earn |
Prices last verified September 27, 2026. Prices move — the figure you see on Amazon at the moment you click is the real one.
The two published heights
Travelpro publishes two figures for this bag: a case size of 21 × 14 × 9 in and an overall size of 23 × 14.5 × 9 in. Both are honest numbers measuring different things — the case body, and the case with its wheels and handle housing.
We use the overall figure throughout this site, because that is what a gate sizer measures. A frame does not know which part of the bag the manufacturer considers the “case”. How an airline actually measures a bag is the reference for that choice.
Read the case figure and this bag fits everywhere. Read the overall figure and it fits three carriers. That single decision is most of the disagreement you will find about the Maxlite 5 anywhere online.
The bag against its alternatives
| Maxlite 5 21 | Platinum Elite 21 | Stratum 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published price | $160 | $390 | $89.99 |
| Published weight | 5.4 lb | 7.8 lb | 7.3 lb |
| Published capacity | 46 L | 46 L | Not published |
| Weight per liter | 0.12 lb | 0.17 lb | Cannot be computed |
| Published overall size | 23 × 14.5 × 9 in | 23.5 × 14.5 × 9 in | 22 × 15 × 9.5 in |
| US carriers it fits | 3 of 11 | 3 of 11 | 4 of 11 |
| Airline damage covered | No | Yes, if registered | No |
| Cost per covered year | $8.00 | $19.50 | $9.00 |
The weight figure is the real argument
A published 5.4 lb for 46 L works out to 0.12 lb per liter — the best figure of any softside carry-on case in our ledger, and 2.4 lb lighter than Travelpro’s own Platinum Elite for exactly the same published capacity.
On a carrier that publishes a weight cap that is not a rounding error. 2.4 lb against Sun Country’s published 35 lb carry-on limit is seven per cent of your whole allowance, handed back to you before you pack. The full weight table puts it in context.
- Against the Platinum Elite — same 46 L, same brand, 2.4 lb lighter, $230 cheaper.
- Against the Stratum 2 — 1.9 lb lighter, and American Tourister publishes no capacity figure at all, so there is nothing to compare it against.
- Against the Freeform — 1.1 lb lighter and an inch shallower.
The cheapest lifetime cover we track
Travelpro publishes the Built For A Lifetime limited warranty with repair offered — an open-ended term, which on our published 20-year horizon makes $160 work out to $8.00 per covered year.
That is the cheapest access to open-ended cover on a carry-on case anywhere in our ledger. The comparison that matters is the Briggs & Riley at $36.45 per covered year for broader terms.
Where it actually fits
On the overall figure, the Maxlite 5 clears the published limits at Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country — the three US carriers publishing a 24 in height. It is over the 22 in limit published by American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Allegiant and Breeze.
Softside bags do get squeezed into frames that a hardside would not enter, and an inch of fabric give is real. But we do not score bags on how often enforcement is lax. The published box at every carrier is the test we apply.
The verdict
Buy it if
You mostly fly Southwest, Frontier or Sun Country, you want the lightest softside case published, and $8.00 per covered year is the kind of arithmetic you buy on. On those terms it is the best value carry-on case in our ledger.
Skip it if
You fly the majors and want a bag that is inside the published box rather than close to it. Very little is — the list of cases that clear 22 × 14 × 9 is short and expensive.
Upgrade only for one reason
The Platinum Elite costs $230 more, weighs 2.4 lb more and publishes the same 46 L and the same fit result. The single thing it buys is airline-damage cover on a registered bag. The two compared directly.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry below shows the published inputs, the four axis scores they produce, and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one.
1 · Southwest, Frontier and Sun Country flyers who want a lifetime warranty
Travelpro Maxlite 5 Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
The best weight-per-liter figure of any softside carry-on here, and the cheapest route to a lifetime warranty — but the published overall height is 23 in, which is an inch over the limit at most US carriers.
- Published size
- 23 × 14.5 × 9 in
- Weight
- 5.4 lb
- Capacity
- 46 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.12 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $8/yr
- Published list price
- $160
Warranty Built For A Lifetime limited warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 5.4 lb for 46 L is 0.12 lb per liter, the lightest carry-on in this ledger
- Lifetime limited warranty covering wheels, zippers and handles at a $160 published price
- Softside give means an overstuffed bag still closes
What you give up
- Published overall height of 23 in fails the 22 in limit at American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Allegiant and Breeze
- No published airline-damage cover
- Fabric shell scuffs where a hardshell would only mark
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 8.1/10 — $160 ÷ 20 yr = $8/yr; $160 ÷ 46 L = $3.48/L
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency 7.3/10 — 5.4 lb ÷ 46 L = 0.117 lb/L
- Warranty & support 8.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); repair published (+2); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Travelpro published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Travelpro publishes both a 21 × 14 × 9 in case size and a 23 × 14.5 × 9 in overall size. The overall figure is the one a gate sizer measures, so it is the one used here.
2 · Frequent flyers who check a carry-on at the gate often
Travelpro Platinum Elite Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
One of only two carry-on cases here whose published warranty covers airline handling damage — the most expensive thing that happens to luggage — and the only one that asks you to register the bag first.
- Published size
- 23.5 × 14.5 × 9 in
- Weight
- 7.8 lb
- Capacity
- 46 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.17 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $19.50/yr
- Published list price
- $390
Warranty Built for a Lifetime limited worry-free warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- Published warranty covers damage caused by an airline when the bag is registered
- Same 46 L capacity as the Maxlite 5 in a heavier, more heavily built shell
- Repair rather than replacement is the published first remedy
What you give up
- $390 published price is the highest here — $19.50 per covered year against the Maxlite 5's $8
- 7.8 lb before anything goes in it, against a 25 lb cap on Hawaiian
- 23.5 in overall height fails the 22 in limit at eight of the eleven US carriers we checked
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 3.2/10 — $390 ÷ 20 yr = $19.50/yr; $390 ÷ 46 L = $8.48/L
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency 5.2/10 — 7.8 lb ÷ 46 L = 0.170 lb/L
- Warranty & support 10.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); repair published (+2); covers airline damage (+2)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Travelpro published specifications, compiled 3 September 2026.
3 · The under-$100 buyer who still wants a decade of coverage
American Tourister Stratum 2.0 Carry-On Spinner
$9 per covered year is the best value figure in this ledger, and it is the only bag here that lists under $100 at its own manufacturer.
- Published size
- 22 × 15 × 9.5 in
- Weight
- 7.3 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- $9.00/yr
- Published list price
- $89.99
Warranty Limited 10 year global warranty
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- $89.99 published price against a 10 year warranty works out at $9.00 per covered year
- 22 in published height clears the 22 in limit exactly at six US carriers
- ABS shell is the cheapest way to a wipe-clean hard case
What you give up
- 15 in width fails the 14 in limit at American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian
- ABS is the least impact-resistant of the common hardshell plastics
- No published capacity figure, so cost per liter cannot be computed
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 8.6/10 — $89.99 ÷ 10 yr = $9.00/yr
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: American Tourister published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026.
4 · Southwest and Sun Country flyers who want a hard shell
Samsonite Freeform Carry-On Spinner (21 in)
Skip this one. The nearest hardside at this money, and it loses on all three axes that matter here. Samsonite publishes 6.5 lb against 5.4 lb, a 10 in depth against 9 in, and $13.00 per covered year against $8.00. If the Maxlite's 23 in height is what worries you, this is not the bag that fixes it - it publishes 23 in too.
Polypropylene at a polycarbonate price and 6.5 lb for a hard case is genuinely good — but the published 23 × 15 × 10 in box is over the limit on every dimension at the big three.
- Published size
- 23 × 15 × 10 in
- Weight
- 6.5 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- $13.00/yr
- Published list price
- $129.99
Warranty Limited 10 year global warranty
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- $13 per covered year on a 10 year global warranty
- 6.5 lb is light for a hardside of this size
- Polypropylene is the most crack-tolerant of the mainstream shell plastics
What you give up
- 23 × 15 × 10 in fails American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue and Hawaiian on all three dimensions
- No published capacity figure
- The published price is a promotion against a stated $219.99 comparable value, so it moves
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 7.5/10 — $129.99 ÷ 10 yr = $13.00/yr
- Airline-fit breadth 2.7/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 3 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 4.0/10 — 10 yr (4 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Samsonite published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026. Samsonite's own store showed $129.99 against a stated comparable value of $219.99 on 3 September 2026.
Prices last verified September 27, 2026. Prices move — the figure you see on Amazon at the moment you click is the real one.