Level 8 Voyageur Luggage Set

The search for the perfect set of luggage seems to be never ending. Over the past 20 years of travel, we have gone through no less than a dozen different carry-on and checked luggage products.

When it comes to checked luggage, we have had hard-sided luggage and soft duffel bags. We have had luggage with wheels and some without. We definitely prefer those with wheels. Our most recent checked bags are wheeled soft duffels that came from COSTCO. They have performed well, but are beginning to show some wear and tear.

Finding the perfect carry-on bag is no less challenging. Rickee and I agree that a carry-on must have four wheels that easily swivel and fit “wheels first” into the most common aircraft overhead bins.

We recently became aware of Level 8 luggage from YouTube and reached out to them to see if they would like for us to review their products during a cruise with Swan Hellenic.

The first to arrive was the Voyageur 2-piece luggage set which included a 26” checked bag and a matching 20” carry-on. Some may find the yellow-and-black color scheme to be a bit garish, but we like luggage that we can easily spot in a sea of black bags on an airport carousel.

26” Voyageur Check-In

Voyageur check-in

The Voyageur Check-In is available in three sizes: 26”, 28” and 30”. We opted for the 26” and it looks quite substantial compared to our current duffel checked bags. The 26” actually measures 27.3''H x 16.6''W x 13.3''D, weighs 11.8 lbs and has a claimed capacity of 93 liters.

The Check-In is shaped more like a trunk than a traditional piece of luggage. The shell is a German-made Makrolon® polycarbonate construction, which Level 8 claims to be light and durable. Ours came in yellow and black making it hard to miss.

The base of the Check-In is XX” deep while the lid (the yellow part) is XX” deep.

The zipper has Level 8 branded pulls which appear sturdy. The zipper is not waterproof, so care should be taken not to leave the luggage in the rain. The zipper is the most likely point of failure on any piece of zippered luggage, and only time will tell if the Level 8 zippers will hold up to the rigors of abusive baggage handlers. The zipper does glide easily and the pulls can be secured into a TSA lock mechanism on the side of the bag.

The four casters each swivel 360 degrees to turn this into a spinner bag. Each caster has two wheels and each wheel has a rubber tread. The bag glides easily on hard or carpeted surfaces.

The aluminum telescopic handle has three detents and is one of the distinguishing features of the Voyageur line up. Unlike on the more traditional spinners, the handle spans the entire width of the bag, making it quite sturdy and stable while placing the support rails inside the bag at the very edges.

Edge-To-Edge Handle

This design places the support rails on the interior of the base at the far edges of the bag rather than in the center of the base. This design makes it easier to pack the base without the need to work around the handle support structure inside the base of the bag.

Opening the shell of the Voyageur Check-In may lead to some confusion as the interior designs are not consistent from bag to bag. For some reason, the Voyageur luggage interior comes in two different layouts. On the Check-In sent to us, the black base is covered with a zippered mesh fabric, underneath which are compression straps. On the lid (the yellow piece), is another zippered panel with two zippered pockets. One pocket is a breathable mesh and the other a vinyl “moisture proof” design. The interior configuration of the other version is just the opposite with the two zippered pockets being placed on the black base side.

Interior versions are shipped randomly

You won’t know which configuration you get until your Voyageur arrives because the bags are selected for shipping ‘randomly’. There is no option to select which version you actually want. Our Check-In also had compression straps affixed to the inside of the base, even though the accompanying literature does not show any straps. This confusion continues to the Voyageur Carry-On, as we will discuss later.

As for the zippers, there is a reference on the Level 8 website to suggest that YKK- brand zippers are used, but with zipper pulls branded for Level 8. This is good news since YKK is known for making the highest quality zippers. While the shell material of the Voyageur bags is completely waterproof, the zippers are not. Therefore, the Voyageur bags should not be left out in the rain.

Voyageur Carry-On 20”

20” Carry-On

The Voyageur Carry-on is a 20” roll-aboard bag with 4 caster spinner wheels with two wheels per caster, just like its big brother, the Check-In. The shell is constructed of the same German-made Makrolon® polycarbonate as the Check-In. Notwithstanding the lack of an additional handle on the bag’s lid, the Carry-On is basically a smaller version of the Check-In in almost every way.

And, for some reason, just like the Check-In, the interior layout comes in two versions that ship randomly. Our Voyageur Carry-On did not have compression straps in the base side of the case, even though the accompanying owner’s manual did show the straps. We were disappointed that these compression straps were missing because we feel they are critical to securing items in the bag.

As with the Check-In, the zippers on the Carry-On are not waterproof.

While the wide edge-to-edge handle does offer an unobstructed base when packing, it limits the ability to slip a personal item, equipped with a sleeve, over the handle. Your only option may be to set your personal item (backpack, etc) on the top of the Voyageur and hope it does not slide off onto the floor as you travel through the airport.

If you absolutely insist on being able to slip your personal luggage over the handle, you might be better served with the Level 8 Luminous 20” Carry-On, which is essentially the same bag, but with a narrow pull-up handle.

Performance

We field tested the Voyageur Check-In and Carry-On during a cruise vacation that had us flying from DFW to San Jose, Costa Rica. Arranging packing cubes (Eagle Creek) in the Check-In was effortless and the shape of the Check-In along with the design of the wide handle offers a lot of unobstructed space for packing.