Are the virally popular Béis weekender and carry-on bag worth the hype?
We tried these TikTok-trending products. Here is what we thought.
Credit:
Reviewed / Béis
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I’m a skeptic. There was a time in my life when I’d fall prey to the pitches of just about any influencer with reel-ready waves and an acrylic manicure, but those days are long gone. Five years of working at a product review site will do that to a person. Oh, the disappointments I’ve endured.
All jadedness aside, sometimes those influencers get it right. This time I’m eating my anti-influencer words because I’m all in with my love for the Béis brand. I was fortunate enough to test the TikTok-breaking Béis Weekender Bag and their carry-on roller bag during my holiday travel. Grab a glass of wine or anything else you typically reserve for watching romcoms because you’re about to witness a love story.
What is Béis?
Béis has made a name for having stylish travel pieces that make packing way more fun.
Actress Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars fame is, apparently, a travel aficionado. In 2018, she turned entrepreneur and founded Béis, intending to create stylish and quality luggage that won’t break the bank. Done and done.
Béis has earned a reputation for travel products that boast a clean aesthetic with thoughtful details that simplify packing. Her goal was to make packing more enjoyable. I don’t want to sound like an infomercial, but I think she may have achieved this.
Nothing is going to make the grueling ordeal of holiday packing fun, but these pieces come with pretty smart features that make the process more streamlined and easier to manage. Plus, due to a few extra cute details, there are some occurrences where packing ended up being, dare I say, somewhat delightful.
How we tested the Béis Weekender and the Béis Carry-On
I hate checking bags, so we went full-carry-on for our two-week winter holiday. I packed the Béis Weekender (I tested the Béis Convertible Weekender) and the Béis Carry-On for a trip from Los Angeles to New Hampshire with stops in Las Vegas and Massachusetts in between. In addition to airline travel between Las Vegas and Massachusetts, there was car travel from Los Angeles to Vegas, then from Massachusetts to New Hampshire. It was a long journey that required careful planning and a versatile assortment of clothes and shoes.
Here is what I thought of both items.
What we liked about the Béis Convertible Weekender bag
Béis Weekender bags are worth the hype!
The Béis Weekender is roomy
Extra large and extra roomy, I was able to fit all of my tech, jewelry, and toiletries, a fleece, some snacks, and four (yes, FOUR) pairs of shoes in this bad boy. I was using this piece as my under-seat personal item and was astonished by how much I could fit into it.
The secret sauce of this bag is the bottom-zipping convertible shoe compartment. You can travel with it, or zip it off entirely to make for a more compact bag. I, of course, stuffed it to the brim with shoes. I’m a size 7 and was able to fit a pair of OOFOS, a pair of kitten-heeled mules, slip-on sneakers, and low UGGs into the bottom compartment. I’m always shoe-deprived when I travel, so I loved that I could squeeze in that many pairs.
The Béis Weekender has smart pocket systems
I’m Goldilocks when it comes to bag pockets. I want an adequate number to stay organized, but when there are too many it feels like nothing fits as it should. To put it bluntly, I am hard to please. With the Béis Weekender, there is a place for everything in this bag without it being overzealous with pockets.
The removable bottom pocket fits shoes (up to four pairs, according to our testing).
I love the removable faux leather laptop case that comes with the bag. It fits my MacBook Pro like a glove, and slides out neatly for work. There are additional pockets in the case that are perfect for a mouse, power cord, and an E-Reader. The case fits into a laptop-sized pocket that you can either keep everything tidy in or use to store other essentials. It made grabbing my laptop much less chaotic on a flight, and allowed me to better keep track of my tech essentials while traveling.
There are also other pockets of varying sizes on the inside and a wallet and smartphone-sized pocket on the outside. It felt like there were just enough pockets that I knew where everything was but not so many that things got lost in small hideaways. This pocket system was designed by a mathematical genius.
The Béis Weekender is rugged
The bag itself is made from durable canvas on the outside and reinforced nylon inside. Keys, pens, and knitting needles didn’t poke through and it was easy to wipe down minor spills that inevitably occurred over two weeks' of use.
I also appreciated the faux leather removable bottom compartment with grommets on the bottom, which kept it clean even when dragged and dropped on airport floors.
What we didn’t like about the Béis Convertible Weekender bag
Not much
If I were to quibble over things, you should just keep in mind that this bag does not fit under an airline seat if it is full with the removable shoe compartment attached. I’m not sure that’s actually a problem, however. You can’t have a bag that’s bigger on the inside than on the outside. Just keep in mind that compartment works best if you use the bag as an actual weekender or acts as your main carry-on item. If you want the bag to be your personal item with a separate carry-on roller, you’ll need to remove the compartment or underpack the top portion.
If you are hunting for a weekender style bag that will easily fit under your airline seat without compromise, Béis has a slightly smaller Classic Weekender Bag that doesn't have the convertible shoe compartment. There is also a Mini Convertible Weekender Bag, which is still fairly substantial.
This is one influencer-backed product that lives up to the hype.
What we liked about the Béis Carry-On Roller
These Béis Carry-On Roller Bags are packed with smart features.
You can fit nearly three weeks’ worth of clothes
I can’t believe how much I can fit in this bag. Fully expanded, it easily fits three weeks’ worth of winter clothes. Compressed, to be a carry-on item, you can fit two weeks’ worth of clothes without a worry.
I used the Bagsmart compression cubes to fit in as much as possible, but an additional compression panel made for a super-tidy space that didn’t fight against a bit of over-packing.
Here's everything I fit in the bag:
three sweaters
one cardigan
three pairs of pants
two pairs of leggings
two workout shirts
one pair of joggers
seven long and short-sleeved T-shirts
two button-down shirts
two pairs of pajamas
two weeks’ worth of socks and intimates
I had far more clothes than I needed. If I hadn’t been so overzealous with my sartorial choices, I could have easily fit shoes and cosmetics in this bag instead of putting them in the weekender.
TSA has its restrictions for a carry-on bag but do know that the Béis Carry-On Roller edges to the very end of size restrictions of most domestic airlines. Be sure to check your airline’s restrictions before packing.
The Béis Carry-On Roller has smart details
We loved the tiny but smart details, like an integrated weight scale.
The bag is sturdy, durable, and expands to fit up to 61 liters. That said, the general build isn’t all we liked. We also loved the integrated lock system and integrated weight scale. This bag can fit A LOT of stuff, so I was surprised when I tipped over 50 lbs in a bag that was meant for carry-on items. Never fear! The integrated weight scale flashes red when you’ve gone over, so I knew it was time to distribute weight between my luggage pieces to avoid an airline fee.
The suitcase’s 360* smooth-rolling wheels made our numerous stops and changes of gates easy and effortless. We also loved smaller details like the trolley handle with padding, which really helped when dragging our heavy bags from terminal to terminal, and the purse hook—perfect for carrying my breakfast sandwich as I bolted to the gate.
We were so impressed with both the sturdiness and the tiny details of this roller bag.
What we didn’t like about the Béis Carry-On Roller
Nothing
I love this roller bag so much that I bought one for my husband during a winter sale. He loves the bag, too. We plan to get another for our kid after his next growth spurt. Packing and maneuvering through airports has never been so effortless.
There were so many notable features that allowed us to fit far more items in the Béis Carry-On Roller Bag than we have been able to in comparable bags of the same size.
The $218 price tag is reasonable for what you get. That said, I waited for a sale and was able to get my bags for $180 each. This bag is sturdy, well-built, and will last. While there are cheaper bags out there, they just don’t compare.
Should you shop Béis luggage?
Yes! Yes, you should buy a Béis bag. Never has a TikTok-trending line been so worth the hype.
Yes!
If you are looking for stylish and reliable travel pieces that look good and perform well, with a price tag that isn’t obscene, you’ll love Béis. If you’re the kind of person who holds a special place in their heart for coach travel, even better.
Whatever your reason, if you’re wondering why Béis gets all the social media chatter, know that it isn't just a fleeting trend: this is the rare brand that's unequivocally earned the accolades it receives. Béis will make your suitcases smarter and stylish and will make packing—dare we say—more fun.
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