I’ve been wanting to invest in some new luggage for a while as I was growing tired of my carry-on bag always being scrutinized by the gate agents or being forced to gate-check it because it’s slightly too big.
I also wanted a hard shell suitcase and one with four wheels instead of two. During my research for this new piece of luggage I came across the Monos brand.
After looking into reviews I decided to buy from Monos instead of Beis (though I did buy the mini weekender from Beis – that review to come!) or Away. The reviews were a bit better on the quality of the luggage for Monos, and I was ready to put that to the test!
Here’s my review of the Monos Carry-On Pro!
Prefer to watch the review? Check out our YouTube video on it!
Specs
- Suitcase: Carry-On Pro
- Color: Stellar White
- Cost: $296.91 (total with tax & shipping)
- Exterior dimensions: 22″ × 14″ × 9″
- Trip length: 2-5 days
- Weight: 7.8 lb
I came across the Monos brand and loved that their dimensions were exactly right for the overhead bins (at least on United Airlines) at 22″ × 14″ × 9″.
I went with the carry-on pro as it had a laptop sleeve in the front and I loved that for future work travel as well as storage for my books when I travel for pleasure.
Though I definitely recommend double-checking the measurements of the front pocket to ensure your laptop will fit!
Storage capacity
The suitcase is said to be ideal for a trip that’s two to five days in length and I definitely stretched that with its first trip, which was 11 days!
Granted that was traveling in the summer so my clothes aren’t as bulky. But I was able to fit pretty much all my clothes in this suitcase. I did leave a couple of items in my personal item just in case I did get separated from my suitcase for any reason.
All in, I was surprised at how much I was able to get in there. The top of the suitcase has more room than I originally expected it to have.
One negative, at least for me, is that my large packing cube doesn’t quite fit well in this suitcase. I think I could make it work if I left some wiggle room in it, but it seems if I want it really fit well I might have to buy the packing cubes from Monos… or just continue to use the smaller packing cubes and really roll my clothes nice and tight!
For my most recent trip to Italy, Croatia, and Greece I was able to pack:
A medium-sized packing cube with two maxi dresses, two sundresses, one romper, five tops, two knee-length skirts, and two pairs of shorts.
I also had a pair of Toms shoes, a travel-sized umbrella, and a sleep mask.
On the top I got a pair of sandals and extra straps, my makeup bags, a small cross-body bag, a book, and a small packing cube for underwear, swim suits, and swim suit cover ups, plus three tank tops. I also had a sunglasses case, and a hairbrush – and saved some room for souvenirs.
In the laptop area, I was not bringing my work computer with me so I packed two books and some print outs of our travel documents.
It also has two zipper compartments in the interior, one on the top where I can keep my comb, a razor, and medications, like dramamine. The compressor also has a zipper and I manage to store some extra goodies in there as well, like makeup remover wipes.
Durability
This suitcase held up extremely well being wheeled around Denver International Airport, Munich, on the tarmac to board our flight to Venice, rolling around Venice, and then being boarded onto a cruise ship, and finally trekking back home.
The wheels still look like they’re in great condition after all that and they glide smoothly along through the airports. I did notice sometimes they’d get stuck or troubled by the bumps in sliding glass doors or the transitions between inside and outside, but overall the wheels are of great quality.
The shell of the suitcase held up well too. I have a few scuff marks, but nothing that the magic eraser that comes with the bag couldn’t take care of. Also, the bag has a slip cover to keep it protected when it’s not in use. I was a bit worried about scuffing when buying the white color but that hasn’t proven to be a big issue yet. We’ll see how it does with our upcoming France, England, Scotland, Ireland trip!
Overall, I’m very pleased I went with my Monos Carry-On Pro. Rick is even considering getting one too as he was quite jealous of my four wheels as we killed time in the Munich airport. The suitcase is durable, it fit every single overhead bin (even on our smaller Air Dolomiti plane), and holds more than it looks like it should. All in, a great travel investment!
Update on September 27
I wanted to give an update after our France, England, Scotland, and Ireland trip as I took this bad boy on the road for that vacation.
The suitcase is still in great shape and still blows my mind with how much it was able to hold, especially as I was filling it to the brim with clothes and souvenirs.
For that trip, I was able to pack in my Monos bag:
Bottom compartment: a large packing cube with a skirt, seven shirts (a mix of tank tops and long-sleeved shirts), a sweater, a pair of jeans, and PJs. I shoved my travel umbrella next to the luggage cube as well as some smaller souvenirs, like wine bottle toppers and a scarf.
On the top compartment: a small packing cube with underwear, socks, workout clothes, a pair of slip on shoes, my makeup bag, my adapters, a hairbrush, more souvenirs, a phone case, and a blazer.
I did also take my Beis Mini Weekender bag to hold two pairs of shoes, a pair of pants, and two other blazers, along with my toiletries bag and other souvenirs.
I did end up checking my Monos bag on our flight from Denver to Paris (with a layover in Munich). The bag did get some scuff marks from being tossed around and during our trip I noticed it picking up colors from other travelers’ luggage when stored underneath the bus.
For the most part, I was able to remove the scuff marks with the magic eraser that comes with the suitcase. The image on the left is the suitcase when we got home with some nice black marks, the image on the right is after using the magic eraser.
I have noticed some changes in the wheels themselves but it’s not impacting how easy the suitcase is to roll through the airport. When I did have my Beis bag on top of it, I did find it was easier to tilt the suitcase onto two wheels and pull it, but to be fair both suitcases were packed to the brim and heavy. I didn’t notice this when I was able to pack lighter for our trip to Greece.
I’m still happy with my purchase and excited to continue to use this bag on future trips!
