Head-to-head · Compare
Away vs Béis: two very different bets on the same buyer
Both sell direct, both target the same design-conscious traveler, and they are not really the same product. Away is a hard-shell luggage company. Béis is a travel-lifestyle brand that also sells suitcases.
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This comparison gets asked constantly and it is usually framed wrong. Away and Béis are not two versions of the same suitcase at different prices. Away is a luggage company — polycarbonate shells, a lifetime warranty, a narrow and deep range of hard cases. Béis is a travel-lifestyle brand whose strongest products are soft: weekenders, totes, dopp kits, backpacks. It also sells suitcases, and they are good, but they are not the center of gravity of the brand.
If you know that, the decision usually makes itself. If you want a hard-shell carry-on to own for a decade, that is Away's entire business. If you want a coordinated set of travel bags that look like each other, Béis does that and Away does not.
One commercial note up front, because it changes how you should read this page: neither brand is sold on Amazon and we earn nothing on either link below. Both are direct-to-consumer only. We would rather say that plainly than pretend the comparison is neutral on commerce — and it means the Amazon-available alternatives we point to at the end are the ones we actually earn on. Judge the recommendations accordingly.
Spec by spec
| Spec | Away (The Carry-On) | Béis (The Carry-On Roller) |
|---|---|---|
| Shell | 100% polycarbonate | Polycarbonate hard shell |
| Wheels | Four 360-degree spinners | Four 360-degree spinners |
| Lock | Built-in TSA lock | Built-in TSA lock |
| Warranty | Limited lifetime | Limited (shorter term) |
| Signature feature | Optional ejectable battery on select models | Coordinated soft range — weekender, tote, dopp kit |
| Range depth | Deep hard-case range, many sizes and colors | Broad travel range, fewer hard-case options |
| Trial period | 100-day trial | Standard returns window |
| Sold on Amazon? | No — direct only | No — direct only |
Specs as published by each brand; configurations, warranty terms and trial periods vary by model and change over time. Confirm the current details on the product page before buying.
Where Away is genuinely ahead
The warranty and the trial.Away's limited lifetime terms and 100-day trial are stronger than Béis's on paper, and a genuinely long trial matters more in luggage than in most categories — you cannot evaluate a suitcase in a shop, only over three or four trips.
Range depth in hard cases. Away sells more sizes, more colors and more configurations of hard-shell luggage, including the ejectable-battery models. If you want to match a carry-on to a checked bag in the same finish, Away has the fuller catalog.
Focus. Everything Away designs is luggage, and it shows in details like the compression system and the interior layout. That is a real advantage over a brand for which hard cases are one line among many.
Where Béis is genuinely ahead
Price. Béis generally undercuts Away, sometimes substantially, for a broadly comparable polycarbonate carry-on. If the shell spec is what you are buying, that is a real argument.
The soft range.This is the actual reason people choose Béis. The weekender, the tote and the dopp kit are the brand's strongest products, and they coordinate with the roller in a way nothing in Away's catalog does. If you want a travel set that looks designed together, Béis is the answer and Away is not — our weekender roundup and luxury tote roundup cover the Amazon-available versions of the same idea.
Sizing choices. Béis leans toward slightly larger, more accommodating cabin bags. That cuts both ways — more space, more risk at a strict sizer — and is worth checking against our airline size table before you commit.
What neither of them solves
Both are polycarbonate hard cases, which means both share polycarbonate's trade-offs: heavier than a light softside bag, fixed volume, and a shell that shows scuffs. If you fly carriers with a 7 kg cabin allowance, the more important decision is not Away versus Béis but hard versus soft — and our lightweight carry-on roundup is a better starting point than either brand.
Both are also priced well above what an equivalent shell costs on Amazon. A Samsonite Winfield 3 DLX or a LEVEL8 Grace gets you genuine polycarbonate, a TSA lock and spinner wheels for materially less, with a repair network in Samsonite's case. That is the comparison most buyers should actually run, and it is why we keep pointing back to it.
Who should buy which
Buy Away if the hard-shell carry-on is the purchase, you want the longest warranty and trial of the two, and you may want to match it with checked luggage later.
Buy Béisif you want the coordinated travel set — roller, weekender, tote, dopp kit — or if the price difference on a comparable shell is the deciding factor. The soft bags are the brand's best work and the reason most Béis buyers are happy.
Buy neither if what you actually want is a good polycarbonate carry-on at a sane price. Our best hardside carry-on picks do the same job for considerably less, and you can have one tomorrow.
Direct-to-brand links — neither brand is on Amazon and we do not earn a commission on these. See our affiliate disclosure.
How we picked
We did not lab-test these bags
Everyone in this category says they tested twenty suitcases. We have not lab-tested any of these, and we say so. What we did instead: compiled each bag's published specifications, checked its dimensions against the airline sizers, ran the cost-per-trip and weight-to-capacity math, read the aggregated owner reviews, and scored every pick against a published rubric. The scores are judgments from documented research — not measurements we took, because we do not have a lab and we will not pretend we do. Where a number came from someone else's work, we name them in Sources.
Questions
Frequently asked
Is Away or Béis better?
Is Béis cheaper than Away?
Are Away and Béis sold on Amazon?
Which has the better warranty, Away or Béis?
Is Béis luggage good quality?
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Receipts
Sources
We do not run a testing lab, and we do not pretend to. Specifications come from the manufacturer's own listing or manual, and size and weight limits from the airline's official baggage-policy page. Where we could not verify something, we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving it out. Read our full method.