Now, I’m probably a little crazy (or a lot crazy), but this review is not an affiliate link or anything.

I simply wanted to write an honest review of Cabin Max’s Manhattan 30L Hybrid travel bag.

While this bag is still available for purchase on Cabin Max’s website, I don’t know how easy or expensive it is to ship outside of the UK. Back when I bought it, it was available on Amazon, although that no longer looks to be the case.

The backstory

There is a story about how I came to purchase this bag.

After booking a trip to England, I decided to head to Edinburgh for a week before meeting up with family in London.

Short on time, I decided to fly from London to Edinburgh. Also short on money, I decided to fly on one of Europe’s budget airlines for the first time in my life.

EasyJet it was.

Like most budget airlines, EasyJet has relatively low fares, but almost none of the amenities that come with more traditional airlines.

One of these budget saving measures is having to pay for overhead cabin storage space.

Well, being the cheapo I am, I did not want to pay for overhead storage space.

Now, the other thing about budget airlines in Europe, is that they have restrictions on the size of your hand luggage – i.e., the bag you can fit under the seat in front of you – i.e., the bag which is included in the cost of your ticket.

And those restrictions are generally tiny.

On EasyJet, it’s about 45 x 36 x 20cm (roughly 18 x 14 x 8 in) – including handles and wheels.

I pulled out my measuring tape and – lo and behold – my faithful travel backpack that I’ve used for years was, unsurprisingly, far too big.

I was left with no choice. It was time to buy a new travel backpack.

The search

So now I had to look for a bag that was spacious, yet small.

Spacious, because this girl does not pack light, especially when bringing all my electronics with me.

Small, because I had to have it fit in EasyJet’s size limits for a free bag.

Assignment in hand, I opened Amazon and typed “bag fits EasyJet.”

Several results popped up. But one was particularly intriguing: a backpack that promised to fly for free on EasyJet, but which could also convert into a rolling luggage.

Say what???

As someone who occasionally suffers from back problems, this sounded like a dream come true. Instead of lugging around a weighty backpack for hours on end – and having to get a major adjustment from my chiropractor when I returned home – I could now switch the bag into luggage mode and roll it around with me.

After seeing that feature – and add to the fact that it was surprisingly affordable – nothing else could compare. I immediately ordered it off of Amazon, praying that it would make it in time for my trip.

And it did! The day before. The package came to the door and I eagerly opened it up. The bag looked undamaged. I was ready to get packing!

The bag

Cabin Max is a UK-based company that sells hand luggage and travel accessories.

The bag I purchased was the Manhattan 30L Hybrid.

Height: 45cm (approx. 18 in)

Width: 35cm (approx. 14 in)

Depth: 20cm (approx. 8 in)

^exactly EasyJet’s allowance for a free under-the-seat bag

Weight: 1.9kg (approx. 4lbs)

It’s made from recycled plastic bottles and eco-suede.

There are 3 pockets:

Pocket 1 is deep and quite spacious. The zipper goes ¾ around the bag, so it opens up really well.

Pockets 2 and 3 are smaller pockets at the front. The larger of the two fits a small laptop or tablet. The smaller one fits objects like pens and notebooks.

How do you go in between luggage mode and backpack mode? Simple, thanks to the fact that the straps are hidden in the back within a zippered section.

When it’s a rolling luggage, simply unzip the back part of the bag to reveal the straps. Wrap the part you just opened all the way around the wheels and secure it in place with the Velcro located at the bottom.

To go from backpack to rolling luggage, simply un-Velcro the back, tuck the straps in, and re-zip the back portion in place. Voila! It’s now a backpack again.

The straps are padded and comfortable.

The handle, which you use to pull the bag when it’s in luggage mode, is found at the top. You can zipper it in when you’re using the bag as a backpack.

There’s also an external pouch for a water bottle on one side.

The things to consider

Before you rush out to buy it, there a few things to consider before purchasing this bag.

Due to its hybrid nature, the bag is naturally going to be heavier than a regular backpack. I mean, it has the wheels as part of the structure, and that’s going to add weight.

The bag, in its rolling luggage format, only has two wheels. That makes it a little less maneuverable than the four-wheeler you may be used to.

The zippers of the front pockets are on the side, making it a little more difficult to access items, especially when the backpack is in the upright position. It would be more convenient if the zippers were along the top, or at least if they zipped around horizontally and vertically, as does the main zipper.

The front laptop pocket may not fit your laptop. Mine is pretty small and fit perfectly, but definitely wouldn’t be the case for every laptop.

The overall opinion

Overall, I really, really like this bag. It’s been on a few long-haul adventures with me at this point and has held up impressively well.

Despite everything I’ve put it through, it’s still in good shape. For being soft-shell, neither the fabric itself nor the stitching has frayed or broken. Same goes for the zippers.

It’s smart-looking. And in a world where many bags are plain black (not that I have anything against plain black bags), the coloring really stands out while still being stylish.

I absolutely love the ability of this bag to convert from a backpack to a rolling luggage and back again. It’s so useful for someone whose back can’t take the strain of carrying something heavy for too long.

The main pocket is also really spacious. Like, surprisingly spacious. You can fit a lot in there, which is so important for a small bag.

As promised, the bag fit under the seat of my EasyJet flights. Did I look smooth or elegant trying to fit it in? No, but I had that sucker filled to the brim. (And I’m not exactly a smooth or elegant person to begin with.) Even then, it fit just fine.

The small size also means it can easily be taken on traditional airlines as well, though not on Ryan Air or Wizz (at least not for free, anyway), which have even smaller size restrictions.

It’s simple to change the bag from backpack to rolling luggage. I tend to go between the two quite a bit, as my back frequently needs a break, but there are lots of instances where I find it more convenient to have as a backpack (such as boarding and deplaning).

All in all, I love my Cabin Max Manhattan Hybrid. I’d definitely recommend it if you need a small yet spacious bag and you’re looking for one that can easily switch between being a backpack and being a rolling luggage while still conforming to EasyJet’s restrictive sizing requirements.

The final verdict

5/5 Recommended!