The winner and biggest surprise of my testing was CALPAK. I'd written the brand off because its Ambeur and Trnk collections, which are bad attempts to make polycarbonate suitcases Instagramable. If you're not the real thing, nothing is worse than trying to be the real thing. But my girlfriend owns this Hue carry-on in the coveted "Linen" colorway. I used it on a Fourth of July trip down south, and I got hooked.

Being from Georgia, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is where I learned airport etiquette. ATL is the busiest airport in the world, with the worst TSA setup in the world, and the meanest TSA agents in the world (all of which I love). I view the airport as a battle—like how Italians view the highway. I'm overtaking everything. I'm handing in my ID with my boots off, belt off, and laptop in hand. Then, I'm fighting to get past a family from North Georgia that hasn't flown since TSA's creation.

The carry-on that made this battle the easiest? Far and away this CALPAK. The laptop compartment opens up nice and big. I snag the laptop; slip in my phone, keys, wallet; and zip it back up. When I'm out, I do it in reverse, and I'm on my way to Delta Sky Club. In-and-out as fast as possible. Then when I get to the jet bridge, I unzip it again to grab my book before sitting down. Every other carry-on I tested—and the other two on this list—made that process horrible, near impossible. You can't use them without taking a personal bag, which I rarely want or need to do.

And as far as looks, I really like this version of CALPAK's luggage. The linen colorway is good. This moss colorway is wonderful. They don't scuff easily. All the moving parts feel durable. It was everything I wanted, everything I needed. So despite my snobbery regarding their other collections, CALPAK came out of this as my favorite suitcase. Maybe the universe was trying to humble me...

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