Paravel Aviator Carry On Review
A premium, sustainable spinner for the image conscious traveler. But is it any good?
Paravel Aviator Carry On Review Introduction
Paravel - a company that appears to be concerned with two things: neutrality, and details. We’ll get into both right here! And not to dismiss their climate focus - they are actually certified as climate neutral as a company. That’s not easy nor is that what opponents love to call “greenwashing”. That’s a real thing.
Paravel is actually known for making their design forward, sustainably focused luggage. That’s right - I said luggage. Welcome to the first rolling luggage review from AW. While backpacks tend to be the darlings of the onebag community - there are a TON of nice rollers out there and rolling luggage definitely has its purpose. It’s also having a bit of a moment. Folks with back issues. Car-to-airport-to-car-to-hotel travel. I find them better for work travel as well because they tend to be better for packing business attire or dress attire. I also use them when I’m traveling to weddings for that same reason.
Paravel has been out for a little while now. I’d put them as starting in the “golden age” of boutique rollers. This was the time that Away, Monos, Rimowa, Level, etc. began pushing their marketing online. Away got famous for their now-useless built-n batteries and for their … marketing budget. Paravel comes in at a premium price point but is putting sustainable manufacturing and attention to detail at their forefront. I’m sure their marketing budget plays into that pricing, too.
This is my review of the Paravel Aviator Carry On - a 4 wheeled spinner with a ton of external style, sustainable-leaning materials, and a premium price point to match. This is the smallest in their lineup.
As always for full transparency, I paid for this spinner with my own money and had no interaction with Paravel for this review. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Paravel Aviator Carry On Overview
Preview of the Materials
The Aviator luggage line is claimed to be the world’s first carbon neutral roller. Far as I can tell, that’s true. In fact it might still be the only one. And they really aren’t messing around on this, like I said earlier. Here’s a link to their page with lots of materials transparency as well as an inset from their site.
The plastic on the luggage is made from 100% recycled polycarbonate (made from water cooler tanks and CD cases, no kidding). The zippers are recycled. The liners are made from 100% post-consumer Nylon in their Negative Nylon blend. The aluminum in the handles is also recycled. The leather is vegan, which I’ll comment on later in the editorial sections.
The suitcase itself is about 43L in total.
Materials from the site:
Length x Height x Width: 13.7" x 21.7" x 9" (34.8cm x 55.1cm x 22.8cm)
Weight: 8.2lb Volume: 43.7
Use: Meets TSA carry-on requirements.
Built: Made of recycled polycarbonate, recycled aluminum handles, recycled zippers, vegan leather details, and Negative Nylon® lining made from 15 recycled plastic bottles
It retails for $445 USD as of October 2024 but they seem to regularly put it on sale so keep an eye on it. They have 5 different variations in some really high-end looking, classy designs. I got the safari green for my testing, which, I’ll just come out and say looks incredible.
Aviator Carry On Features
Reverse Side
In this case I would not say sustainability is just an idea or wish. It’s a baseline/table stakes kind of thing with this bag and I would say it’s purely a feature. Afterall, basically everything on this bag is upcycled or recycled.
There is a nice telescoping handle on the luggage, and it’s aluminum. The handle is nice and beefy but not TOO beefy. Just premium beefy.
The wheels are 360 degree spinners with carbon steel bearings. While they are in fact super smooth, they do not appear to be from one of the premium makers but instead branded as Paravel. That’s not a good or bad thing, just stating that I could find no reference to Himamoto or any brand like that.
Inside, you’ll get some water-resistant lining with a compression divider, a laundry bag, and a fully zippable flap on the left compartment that keeps it closed off from the rest. (I like to use these for suit jackets or delicate shirts/dresses if I’m sharing with my wife).
We’ve got a top grab handle in vegan leather, and another on the side of the bag in the same material.
Lastly, there’s a nicely made TSA compatible lock for the zippers to hook into.
The Good
I mean come on, this first one is obvious. Sustainability. I don’t mean that like you have to be into it, like in a soapbox way. But, if a company is going to align with that way of thinking, you respect them for going into it the way Paravel has done. They aren’t cutting corners, they aren’t half-assing it. Carbon neutral is no joke in terms of making a product like that and to do this with almost all of the pieces of that product is an achievement. It’s funny, that shouldn’t be a controversial part of the culture war, but it is. Shouldn’t we WANT good products to be NOT using more resources? I’ve no idea why that’s controversial but I think it’s the way some groups PUSH the agenda which has ruined the idea to some folks? I don’t know. But, no greenwashing here - they walk to walk. You can align with them on that or not, but I’ll commend them for going all in and achieving it. Myself, I don’t really actively seek out this kind of thing, but if I find a product I like and respect that also does this, well it’s dumb to see it as a negative.
Aesthetic design. We covered the manufacturing design above. But let’s not forget about the aesthetic piece. Man do these pieces look the part. It’s not a secret these are expensive bags and while not in the Rimowa stratosphere, they are a premium price point. Partly, that’s going to come from the build process. Sadly, we’re not at a point where the sustainable build can replicate the scale of the non. While ideally that improves over time, it leads to higher prices. That said, you often see them being very outdoorsy looking backpacks, or just straight black on a bag. Not here. They are using a high end, almost vintage and often safari style look with leather and aluminum accents to pump up the premium feel. Really, really works for the most part. These details are high end and the two white models plus the safar green are really striking in person. I’d like to see a Navy and white, too.
These details also extend to the inside. Not sure if it’s the navy coloring, but the inside LOOKS and feels premium, too. I mean, you want it to be at this price. They don’t disappoint. Just really well done overall on the details for the most part.
Another kind of detail is the kind that you feel. The kind you touch. The main handle for the telescoper on these pieces is outstanding. It’s thick but not too thick. It’s aluminum but has a vegan leather accent to it for both looks and hand feel. And the button is solid. I just found it really nice to use in practice.
I do like the functionality on the inside, as well. Having a zippered flap for separation is a favorite of mine in rolling luggage. As noted above I like to put delicate items in there and it’s a great spot for a suit coat. There is also a zippered pocket on the outside of this if you need to store some flat items. The compression divider - I like that it’s included though I’m not sure how I feel about them. Seems like a modern addition to rolling luggage and in practice they do actually work - I’m just unsure if it’s really necessary. That said, at this price point you want a little “extra”. This divider and the included laundry bag are both nice touches.
I love pointing out “A Tale of Two Cities” in my reviews. So the first city regarding the wheels - really nice and smooth. On smooth, airport surfaces they were an absolute dream to roll around.
Loved the zippers, too. They may be recycled, but they put a lot of material into them and they feel fantastic in hand.
The Bad
Let’s jump into the “second city” on those wheels right away. I think due to the dimensions of the luggage itself, the wheels either need to be bigger or kind of offset in a wider stance. Any time I hit a divider (like in the jetway or tile to carpet or hotel doorways) the wheels were just too small to handle that and the luggage often tipped. I had to get used to using my foot in those scenarios. This is compounded when you’d put a duffel or backpack on top of the bag (which adds more weight and top-heavy-ness). Ultimately, I think this is a combination of the size of the luggage, but also the size of the wheels. Mostly, make bigger wheels in this case. At least on the smallest piece in this lineup.
Price point has to be named here. This just isn’t a “for the people” price point. Now, I personally believe that’s OK. I am not the kind of consumer that feels everything should be accessible to everyone and that you can’t have nice things. I love nice things and we should be able to buy them if we can afford it, but not if we can’t. I’ll forever be baffled by commentors on Instagram that rage over higher priced goods. Lol. No reason to complain. But just pointing out that with the manufacturing process and design features, quite a few folks are going to be priced out of this one no matter how much they like the looks. Right now, it’s the nature of sustainable, smaller scale builds.
It could be a function of the color I had, but one detail I was not that impressed by is the look of the polycarbonate shell. Being fair, it’s pretty hard to make plastic look premium and to my day to day eye - most luggage exteriors are nearly the same. But, I didn’t get a “premium” feel from the plastic on this one. I do have a Victorinox spinner at home, so I did have another similar priced piece to compare it to, and I found mine to LOOK sturdier at first glance. It’s hard to describe and you might not agree with me or notice, but something that I did feel.
Let’s also discuss “vegan leather”. This is a relatively modern phrasing, and in many cases I don’t like it. Now, I am open to some education here and would love to hear from Paravel directly if they want to provide info on their process. But, the VAST majority of “vegan leather” - is petroleum based. This is no different. So unless you’re able to use plant based vegan leather, whether it’s recycled or not doesn’t really get me. It’s what we used to call pleather. Again, I am SURE the process is much different now and there are more environmentally friendly ways of MAKING it. But this is still petroleum based leather. Frankly, I’d rather use real leather here because it’s renewable. But, this is an opinion piece and that’s just me. You of course need to make your own call here - I’m just bringing up points to think about
This is a criticism of spinners and not Paravel. But remember that you’ll need to take your tech pouch out before getting on the plane. This is why you often need another small sling or backpack with a spinner. No easy access to a spinner if there’s no front panel. I will list this in any spinner review.
Packing The Paravel Aviator Carry On
I used it for a couple of long weekend air trips. Here’s an example pack out. I used the new Western Rise packing cubes (solid cubes if you like that brand). I had much more room if I wanted to be serious about packing this out to the gills. But as we preach here, you shouldn’t do that. Just pack what you need. It’s easier on your brain and your back. But yes, I could have fit much more and could certainly get some indefinite travel out of this if utilizing laundry.
3 Packing Cubes:
Western Rise packing cube set. These had some pants, some shirts, Patagonia Capilene Cool tshirts, underwear, etc. Plus a Fair Harbor bathing suit (no relationship with them but these are fantastic).
Matador ReFraction packable.
Dress loafers in the yellow shoe bag.
Aer Split kit for toiletries.
Alpaka Elements Tech Case Mini (Review)
iPad Air 13 Inch in the zippered slip pocket.
Ray-Ban foldable sunglasses. (Foldies makes a good version, too).
Final Thoughts On My Paravel Aviator Carry On Review
So is there a place for an uber-sustainable, premium price point brand? Yeah of course there is. If I’m honest though, most people are going to be buying this for the looks. I don’t really think that’s a bad thing. What’s the best way to get your sustainable product into the hands of the most people you can? That’s right. Make it absolutely mustard in the looks department (that’s a British-ism for “awesome” that I learned playing hockey over there). And they did that. The other stuff is kind of an add on, but wicked commendable at that considering it’s the core of what they do from a manufacturing standpoint and as a company.
You really do have to commend them on hitting both of those things.
In practice, the Aviator carry on was very nice to use on flat, hard surfaces. Packing was as dreamy as any well made spinner because it’s an open space and you can pack how you want. Added compressibility was there. And I loved that there was the additional zippered flap to both protect and separate some items from the main part. I use those all the time.
The other side of the coin on those wheels was that I did have some trouble rolling over gaps and changes in surface material (hard/smooth to carpet, for instance) and think they need to be both bigger and wider in their stance on a bag this size. But, if you mostly are handing them off to drivers and bellhops while pushing around the airports, then you probably won’t mind as much. Just something to consider.
Overall it’s a fantastic looking bag that the shallow part of me loved the look of, and honestly I got a lot of second glances with it, if that matters to you. The non-shallow part of me respected the crap out of them for how it’s made. So head on over to Paravel if you want to check this one out, or anything else from their growing lineup (that now includes weekenders and duffels, too).
As always with the indy brands, I’d suggest buying directly through their website for best service.
Wander more - and wander smarter everyone.
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