After writing the post on my new MUJI “hanging case” dopp kit I was informed that the much-loved MUJI carryon had recently gotten a few upgrades. Given the tight competition in this market (and Away’s rise to the position of “instragrammer’s choice”) I thought it would be worthwhile to visit their San Francisco store and learn more about the changes. Here’s what’s new:
Carrying Capacity
First up is the size – the 33L is now a 35L. In other words, the carrying capacity has gone up about 6%. This is still a bit under the Away Carryon’s 38L capacity, but it closes the gap. The MUJI suitcase has gone up 0.2 lbs as well, but I don’t think anyone short of an ultralight backpacker will be bothered by that. The dimensions of the MUJI carryon are still within the standard size for most airlines, so there shouldn’t be any changes on that front.
Double the Wheels
The MUJI used to sport single roller wheels, but these have been upgraded to double wheels. Double wheels are generally considered better than single, because they roll better over uneven surfaces and spread the load across more points. The Away suitcase line all sports double wheels, for what it’s worth. I haven’t experienced any notable difference, but it’s worth mentioning. MUJI also says that these new wheels are ‘specially designed for noise reduction,’ although I can’t comment on how they perform in that regard.
New and Improved Wheel Lock
In my initial review of the MUJI carryon (and my following Away review and comparison) I talked about how important the wheel lock function is, especially if you live in a hilly city and/or take public transit to and from the airport (both of these are true for me). The fact that the Away carryon doesn’t have a wheel lock is one of the biggest cases against them, in my opinion. Anyway, MUJI moved the location of the lock and made it much smaller. It now hides under the handle, which makes it easier to activate while standing up. It also seems like the internal components of the lock are a touch smaller, so it takes up less of the usable space inside.
Changes to the Interior Layout
Here’s one small change that I’m not a fan of – it seems that MUJI has removed the zipper that turned the interior pocket into two separate compartments. This isn’t a big deal, but it was nice to have two medium pockets instead of one larger one. The Away carryon also has just one large pocket, so this is now one more way in which the two are similar.
As far as I can tell, those are all the changes of this new version of the carryon. One thing that remains the same is the handle – in my opinion, this is the one big drawback of the MUJI design. MUJI’s carryon has a handle that doesn’t extend very far – not even to my waist, and I’m 5’9″. This short handle can make pulling the suitcase beside me or behind me a bit uncomfortable. And if you’ve ever had to haul your luggage a long way, you know how problematic a bit of discomfort can become. If their handle was 6″ longer, it would be the perfect carryon in my eyes. With that said, it may not bother everyone, so I encourage you to check it out yourself if you’re curious.
All told, the slightly larger dimensions, upgraded wheels, and improved wheel lock make the MUJI suitcase that much better. I’ll post an updated review of my Away luggage soon, but the short version is that they aren’t aging particularly well. If the shorter handle doesn’t bother you and you can live without a battery, I think the MUJI 35L is a great buy.
