I travel internationally several times a year and always carry-on, regardless of length of trip. I have been using a 22" Eagle Creek rolling bag for years. I purchased the Steves bag because I was going to be on a boat with limited stowage and wanted to be able to crush it down. I also was going to be on uneven terrain, so wheel use might not be fully useful.

I stuffed this bag with my gear and found that it ballooned in depth from 9" (the legal limit) to 14". The cinches on the side were inadequate to help compress it. I then took the same gear and put it in my Eagle Creek roller, which, with much better designed compression straps, compressed down to 10". As well, the semi-rigid sides of the Eagle Creek bag kept the width more or less to the 14" requirement. As an added benefit, I will be able to roll it where there is an even surface.

Steves' bag is really nicely appointed with a plethora of zip pockets and easy to load, but I have had enough arguments with gate agents to know that I'd not get by some of them with this one. Hence, I returned it.

I would note that the quality of the bag is not premium (i.e. zippers, etc.) although for the price, it is hard to complain about that.