// WIRED US/UK — MODA & SOCIETÀ
Away’s New Series 3 Luggage Plays It Safe—That’s the Point
When Away launched the Carry On suitcase in 2016, it created the must-have travel accessory. It went viral for its sleek, simple polycarbonate design (plus a dash of smart social marketing). Its pioneering ejectable portable battery earned it the “smart luggage” moniker, and other bag makers quickly copied the concept.
A decade later, Away is launching the Series 3—its third generation. The battery is gone, but the features that attracted and retained a loyal following remain, with a heavy focus on invisible tech.
“We didn’t like to be called ‘smart luggage’,” Sarah Amidi, Away’s senior vice president of Brand, tells WIRED at the company’s design studio in New York City’s SoHo district. When the first Carry On was conceived, charging solutions weren’t as ubiquitous as they are today, Amidi says, which created a unique travel pain point for Away to tackle. It may have seemed gimmicky, but a quickly accessible USB port to charge a phone made sense. The ejectable design was forward-thinking, given evolving regulations around traveling with batteries.
Away's new Series 3 luggage and Signature Bags collection of travel bags.
While the battery hasn’t been available in Away luggage since 2023, Amidi says tech isn’t entirely gone; the company is looking at how technology can play the right role in luggage design. Instead, with the Series 3, Away has become more of a traditional luggage maker than a disruptor. “We design it to last the next 10 years,” Amidi says.
On the surface, every piece from the Series 3 Classic and Flex (expandable) series will look familiar to Away fans, and that’s intentional. Instead of a new design, Amidi says the company strengthened its carry-on by putting it through rigorous testing. In fact, the Series 3 launch was delayed because it didn’t fully meet expectations.
“We asked, what features solve friction and earn their place,” Amidi says. “We didn’t want to add things just to add things that take away from capacity or add weight, and we couldn’t make polycarbonate any better.”
The Series 3 uses Away's StopLock Brakes system that stays in position even on an incline.
A switch hidden in the trolley handle cavity activates the wheel lock.
Amidi says the shell design still works today (with the battery option gone, it also shaved off weight and added more room), so Away looked at two areas that could use some work: the wheels and telescoping trolley handle—what travelers often complain about in luggage.