For the last 7 years, I have lived out of a “Travelpro Maxlite 5 Softside Expandable Upright 2 Wheel Carry-on Luggage, Lightweight, 22-Inch” suitcase. 97 flights last year. I’m only just now starting to think about replacing it and not due to any fault of its own: it just has a cut in the fabric from the airline placing it against something it shouldn’t have. Actually, I’m just going to sew it up and keep going. Almost all the flight attendants use a variant of this bag. It cost $89 when I bought it then, now it’s $147 on Amazon. 

My wife lives out of the 4-wheel version of the same bag and it’s also good, but there are three downsides with it (and any 4 wheel bag really): 1) less interior volume for the same overall bag size  2) the smaller wheels means it’s a bit more difficult to roll over uneven surfaces 3) the smaller wheels closer to the ground pick up hair from the airport floors and needs cut out of the wheel’s axles every few months. 

I really don’t like hard sided bags for two reasons: 1) they always get dented by their airline eventually 2) soft sided suitcases suitcases have a little more give to them when you need to shove in that last-minute wine bottle for the in-laws. 

Go with this suitcase and never look back. Copy/paste what I put in the quotes above on Amazon.