I'm a frequent flyer and wind up having intimate relationships with my luggage.  Little annoyances get exaggerated.  Quality shortfalls can become disasters when you're still a week and four flights away from home.

Until this bag, I'd been a confirmed Briggs and Riley user.  Those bags cost the earth but they are nearly bullet proof.  When I started doing longer, multi-week, multi-climate trips and needed a bigger bag, I borrowed a friend's 25" B&R.  It worked like a champ but weighed a ton and would have cost between $300-400 to buy one for myself.

After a lot of research, multiple luggage store visits and hours of reading reviews, I picked the Eagle Creek Hovercraft 25.  It has now been on several international trips over the past three months and has been a joy to use.  It has more space than the B&R so packing always feels like car camping (you know, where you can throw anything you want in because there's so much space).  Even with the bag stuffed to max capacity, the zippers have glided shut without complaint.  The wheels appear to be strongly attached. (Wheels are a real weak point.  Even one of my B&Rs got a loose wheel after a year.)  The corners are protected.

Then there is the delight factor of how light, streamlined and maneuverable the bag is.  Super easy to wheel or carry.

Another payback from the lighter weight:  Jammed full with additional presents, books and two bottles of wine on the leg home, the bag still weighed in at only 22.5 Kg.  Just under the 23 Kg limit.

I like this bag enough to consider buying the 22" carry on size.

My one small nit (not enough to take away a star) is the mesh zip pockets in the lid.  When the lid is open, the zippers run vertically.  The pockets would be easier to use if the zippers were horizontal.

Let's see how this bag holds up.  If I get two years at the current rate of travel, it will be a good run making the bag an excellent value. If the bag lasts longer, then that will be a bonus!

Additional comments after 10 months of steady use:

The bag is still holding up and doing exactly what it is supposed to do.  I did buy the 22" bag and love it, too.