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On a recent media trip to Florida, I had to face the cold hard truth about one of my favourite luggage pieces. My big blue Heys Carry-on Cruiser has gone with me on many many adventures but, it no longer meets the carry-on luggage rules set by the airlines. I’m a massive fan of Heys Luggage and travel gear and decided it was time for an upgrade and thankfully they had a recommendation for me: the Heys Smart Luggage™ Gateway Carry-on bag.
Heys Smart Luggage Gateway Carry-on
How to Choose a New Piece of Luggage
The decision was not an easy one for me as I had to take many things into consideration when deciding which bag to upgrade to. So many options: hybrid, soft and hard case bags, luggage that opens from the top or the middle and will the bag fit into those small metal displays at the airport?
For my travel style I needed to consider the following:
- Transition to carry-on only travel (no checked luggage)
- Business travel – need a safe spot for my laptop/iPad
- Lightweight bag but durable for frequent travel
- Small but still can fit a lot of stuff, ease of packing
- Stylish – does it come in purple?
Heys Smart Luggage™ Gateway Carry-on 21″ WIDEbody
One or Two Compartments
Once again, Heys Luggage has thought about all the things we complain about in luggage and found a way to fix it! Their Heys SmartLuggage™ set divides hard case luggage into two compartments for easier packing. Instead of packing both sides of the bag from one opening, you can now pack them separately thanks to two zippered compartments. Which means you can pack your luggage from the top of the bag using the front access panel or from the middle of the bag using the main zippered compartment. The lining between the two compartments is removable so you can have one big storage space or a divided space with an organizer built into the lining.
Wide Body Legal Carry-On Size
I don’t know how they did this, but the bag is bigger than other standard carry-on bags. With the Heys Smart Luggage Gateway Carry-on, they maximized the design while still ensuring the luggage meets the airline’s strict rules. The bag size is 21″ x 15″ x 9″ (53cm x 38cm x 23cm), but looks bigger.
Business Travel Made Easy
The SmartLuggage™ carry-on bag is built with the business traveller in mind. I love the ease of wheeling my traditional hard case luggage through the airport, but if I want to get something out the bag quickly, like a tablet, magazine or snack, I have to open the entire bag from the middle and rummage through everything. With this SmartLuggage™ technology I can just zip open the top compartment and pull out what I need. As a writer, I often travel with my laptop, and this piece has an easy to access padded laptop compartment in the top compartment which makes getting through security checkout a snap. Even with my old bulky 15″ MacBook Pro.
Very Spacious Carry-On Bag
With the two separate compartments and the wide-body design, this bag feels as big as my old one, but it is sleeker. I had two packing cubes (medium and small size), and a cosmetics bag in the main compartment and there was still room in there for more.
There are also little mesh compartments to store small items you want to keep handy in the removable lining that separates the main compartment from the top compartment. In the top compartment, I had room for a packing folder and another cosmetics bag … and honestly, the bag was still not full. I’m starting to think I can travel carry-on only from now on with ease!
The Heys Features I’ve Grown to Love
Heys hard case bags feature a satin lined interior, padded handles, spinner wheels and are expandable. I have travelled with Heys luggage for more than a decade, and they are all durable and come with a 10-year warranty. The bag has a built-in TSA approved lock on the main compartment, and an additional TSA lock is included as well to be used with the top pocket.
Heys Gateway Carry-on Pros and Cons
Pros – What I loved!
- Legal Carry-On sized bag
- Two compartments (great for separating clothes and business materials)
- Lots of space – the bag feels bigger than standard carry-ons
- Laptop padded compartment with easy access
Cons
- It was a bit awkward to navigate between the two compartments at first
- With laptop in the front compartment, the bag got top heavy fell over when I opened the top compartment.
- Extra TSA lock is not attached to the bag can get misplaced
- Front compartment doesn’t have a built-in lock
Once I get used to navigating between the two compartments, I think this bag will be a dream. It was a bit awkward when I had the top compartment open and then tried to get into the main compartment, there is a removable inside lining which you can unsnap and unzip from the top compartment, but then you have to empty things out of the top to get them out of the way. That said, once it is all packed and you have to reach inside to grab a few items, opening that top compartment is awesome and my snacks, iPad and other items I wanted to grab quickly were accessible.
CLOSED: Giveaway: Heys Smart Luggage™ Gateway Carry-on 21″ WIDEbody
Heys Luggage has offered to give one of my lucky readers a Heys Smart Luggage™ Gateway Carry-on 21″ bag
Heys Smart Luggage™ Gateway Carry-on 21″ #GIVEAWAY
Congratulations to Wendy from Drayton Valley, AB, Canada for winning the giveaway!
I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a product for review purposes, however, the opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
Ok this is all helpful. Thanks for the quick reply.
I went with the vantage in the red colour. Only because I was a little worried the WB style may not meet some airlines carry on sizes when flying international with regional connections where cabin space may be smaller. I really had to stuff the 21 inch vantage into the air Canada sample carry on sizer at the bay store – so it’s a little snug with the wheels so I’m hoping they never give me trouble with it. Fingers crossed. It should arrive by UPS this week. My large size 4WD is still in perfect working and physical order so I only ordered the 21 and 26 inch to complete my set.
5 days until India. Excited!!!
PS I rarely do carry on only unless it’s a very short trip. I need my full size liquids lol it’s too hard to manage with travel size for me and the fuss with transferring product to travel containers sometimes or buying travel sizes (like hair mouse lol) as they price gauge. Plus my curly hair needs my dryer with a diffuser. It’s hard living off hotel supplies ;). When I’m staying with friends it makes it easier as I have to pack less ;)
TY
OMG. I’m so glad I’m not alone on this carry-on only madness. I agree with everything you said as a curly haired girl too. Unfortunately, on press trips they kind of make me travel carry-on and its a struggle every time. I’m so excited for you about India! I hope you have an amazing time and drop me and email and let me know how it went! Thanks so much for sharing your purchase I hope you enjoy your new luggage!
Do you still happen to use the gateway WB? My old heys 4WD was damaged and irreparable so heys is offering me a discount on a new set. I was deciding between the vantage model and this gateway WB (carry on 21” and midsize checked 26”). So wondering after a year of use how did it hold up?!?
Hi Tara, The gateway holds up fine. When travelling with my laptop this Gateway is my go to bag because of the front compartment which makes it so much easier. I think you will find choosing either the Gateway or Vantage a good option. If I recall they are both quite similar. One thing to watch for is the empty weight of the bag. I find sometimes I choose one of my lighter hard case carry-on bags that is just a simple streamlined Heys model (very old part of their Chrome series). The Gateway is a bit heavier empty than other bags so if travelling carry-on only it might hinder your ability to stay within the 10KG limit on some airlines.
I love the purple color so easy to find on the baggage carousel. It looks like a dream suitcase as I had to recently talk my way into carrying bags that didn’t fit the sizer –
this would be perfect to win ’cause my special color is purple and mommy is still using a suitcase she got in the 80s that now has a duct taped foot on it cause the airport guys broke it.
LOL. Good luck, my favourite color is purple too!
Thanks for such an informative review! Would Really love to win this!
Thanks for the chance to win.Amazing price
My carry-on is so heavy, I’m desperate for a new one. I currently have a Heys backpack so would love to try their carryon. I’ve got my fingers crossed!
Good luck, the bag is lightweight and super easy to roll through the airport!
Thanks for the opportunity to win.
Best of luck!
Thanks for the chance to win
You are most welcome, thanks for visiting the site and very best of luck to you!
Where can I buy these bags??? My daughter is going on a mission trip to Honduras in March & this would be perfect for her!
These bags can be purchased in Canada: Heys.ca, I believe Hudson’s Bay, Sears, in the US Amazon.com and other retailers.