The limit is three numbers, and a bag has to clear all of them
A bag passes or fails the strict limit on three separate axes rather than on the single “size” number in its name.
The name is where buyers get caught. Every one of the five is under the height limit on its published figure. Height is not where any of them fails. The Briggs & Riley Baseline Global is 21 in tall and 15 in wide, a full inch over the width limit. The Delsey Titanium International is 21.25 in tall and 9.75 in deep, three quarters of an inch over the depth limit. The Rimowa Essential Cabin publishes a width of 39 cm (15.35 in), more than an inch over the width limit. All three exceed the limit on the manufacturers’ own numbers.
The Antler Clifton Carry-On publishes 21.65 x 13.39 x 8.46 in (55 x 34 x 21.5 cm) including wheels, which leaves about a third of an inch on height, six tenths on width, and half an inch on depth.
For the airline-by-airline picture, see how carry-on dimensions compare with each airline’s published limit.
How to check any bag yourself
Skip the number in the product name and find the manufacturer’s exterior dimension, the one stated to include wheels and handles.
Then compare each axis on its own. A bag that is an inch under on height gets no credit for being an inch over on width. Write the three limits down, write the bag’s three figures beneath them, and every axis has to come in at or under.
Interior dimensions and volume do not enter into this. Briggs & Riley publishes an interior of 19 x 15 x 7.875 in and Delsey publishes 18.75 x 12.5 x 9.5 in. Both are useful for planning what goes inside and irrelevant at the gate, because the sizer measures the outside.
Mixed itineraries: pack to the strictest carrier you will board
If your trip mixes airlines, the bag has to fit the tightest published figure on the itinerary, because it does not shrink for the connection.
That is why the Antler is the pick for a buyer who does not know which airline next year’s trips will be on. It is the only bag here with margin on every axis. The Tumi, at exactly 14.0 in wide and 9.0 in deep collapsed, has no allowance for anything.
Expansion is the trade-off that catches people out
Three of the five bags expand, and expansion changes depth, which is the axis with the least room in the limit.
The Tumi expands from 9.0 in to 11.0 in (23 to 28 cm), taking published capacity from 38 L to 48 L. The Briggs & Riley expands from 9 in to 11.5 in, taking capacity from 37 L to 49 L. Both expanded depths are 2 in or more over the depth limit.
The Delsey states expandability on its main compartment and does not publish the expanded depth. Its collapsed depth of 9.75 in is already over the limit, so the unpublished figure changes nothing.
The practical rule is short. If you intend to use the expansion on the way home, the expanded figure is your bag’s size, and at that size neither the Tumi nor the Briggs & Riley fits. Briggs & Riley’s CX system is described as compressing back down once you zip the bag closed and push, so the bag can return to 9 in deep for the flight if you have packed to the collapsed volume. Tumi’s retrieved page gives the two depth figures and no description of the mechanism.
The Antler and the Rimowa publish no expansion feature. For compliance purposes that means the collapsed figure is the only figure, which is an advantage rather than a shortcoming if the bag already fits, and beside the point for the Rimowa, which does not.
“International” and “Global” in the name do not mean smaller
Three of the five bags carry “International” or “Global” in their names. None of those names tells you the bag is built to a tighter standard.
The Delsey Titanium International is classified by its retailer, citing manufacturer data, as a domestic carry-on. The Briggs & Riley Baseline Global is classified the same way by its retailer. Neither manufacturer publishes a separate international dimension.
Weight matters for the bin, not the sizer
The limit compared here is a size limit; carry-on weight limits were not checked for this guide. Empty weight decides how much of what you lift into the bin is bag rather than contents.
The published empty weights run from 6.0 lb (2.7 kg) for the Antler, through 7.1 lb (3.2 kg) for the Rimowa, 7.9 lb (3.6 kg) for the Tumi, and 7.94 lb for the Delsey, to 9.9 lb for the Briggs & Riley. The Tumi and Delsey figures are within rounding of each other. The Briggs & Riley is the one ballistic nylon softside in the group and is heavier than the next bag by about 2 lb. The four polycarbonate hardsides span 6.0 to 7.94 lb.
That weight comes with things the hardsides do not publish: YKK self-repairing zippers and the largest published expanded capacity in the group at 49 L, within a liter of the Tumi’s 48 L. Whether those are worth 2 to 4 lb of empty weight on every trip is a real trade, not a mistake, and it is only on the table if your airline publishes a width limit past 15 in, because the width rules the bag out under the strict limit.
When the plainer bag is enough
The Antler publishes no expansion, no charging port, no branded packing system, and no manufacturer compliance statement. If the objective is a bag that clears the strict limit on its published figure, that list of absences costs you nothing. Its 34 L published capacity is the smallest here, 2 L under the Rimowa and 4 L under the Tumi collapsed, and there is no expansion to reach for.
It is not enough in three specific cases, each tied to something another bag publishes:
- You want to charge a device from the bag. Only the Tumi publishes a port, a USB-C connection rated to 65 W.
- You want to pull the bag on two wheels as well as push it on four. Only the Delsey publishes a dual-position trolley for 2- or 4-wheel use.
- You want expansion for a checked or car leg. The Tumi and the Briggs & Riley publish expanded figures. The Delsey is expandable with no expanded depth published.
What the size in the name is actually telling you
Product names are size classes, not measurements. The Amazon listing for the Antler Clifton Carry-On puts it in a 22-inch class, and the published height is 21.65 in. Delsey puts 19 in the Titanium International’s name and publishes a height of 21.25 in. Briggs & Riley’s 21 matches its published 21 in height, and the name says nothing about the 15 in width that puts it over the limit. Tumi lists 21.8 in and 55 cm together. Rimowa publishes in centimeters.
None of the retrieved manufacturer material explains how a size class is assigned, so treat the name as a way to find the bag on a shelf and the exterior figure as the only number that predicts what happens at the sizer. Where the published figure is stated to include wheels and handles, as it is for the Briggs & Riley, Delsey, and Antler, that figure is the one to hold against the limit. Where it does not say, as with the Tumi and Rimowa figures retrieved here, the number may or may not be the one the airline would measure.
