If you want quality, Briggs and Riley are among the best on the market these days. And they actually stand behind their warranty and don't try to deny all warranty claims as "airline damage". They are EXPENSIVE - as you've seen, you gasp when you see the prices. But I have 20+ year old B&R bags that are still going strong, despite heavy usage (many years as a "road warrior" in my job and extensive leisure travel since) and they really have been worth every penny.
I have some larger Travelpro Maxlite 3 bags. They are OK, not great. They are very light but the fabric feels a bit cheap - it's sort of "padded" and not the tough sort of fabric you expect. I suspect one sharp corner and it will slice open. One of the plastic bumpers (that little black thing on the back of the bag, at the bottom in the center) tore halfway off one of the bags the very first time I checked it and I had to sew it back on. And the handle is a bit wobbly, although I haven't had any problems with it yet. I honestly was not thrilled when I received them, I have had other Travelpro bags in the past and these clearly weren't the same quality. But at least I got a fabulous deal on them from
Amazon Warehouse - I wouldn't pay the eBags price for them. (Hint: Amazon Warehouse has the Maxlite 3 International Carry On, identified as "used-very good" but from the description it sounds like it is just a repackaged return, in blue for $56 right now) Oh - and the "expandable" feature is a joke on these things. It only expands the outer pocket at the bottom of the bag, not even the whole pocket. It's hard to explain but you can see it in the third pic on eBags - it's actually fully expanded in that pic.
One thing to watch for in any bag you look at is the size. Many "carry on" bags don't actually meet airline size regulations these days, especially if you travel internationally. Check the size allowed on the airlines you fly the most, then compare that to the dimensions of the bag WITH THE WHEELS included, to see if it meets those airlines requirements. Many websites list the dimensions for bags WITHOUT wheels - eBags is hit and miss. They say their dimensions include the wheels, but I've caught some cases where they actually didn't.
