This review has been a long time coming. It has sat in my drafts for a while as I wanted to be able to travel with both of these several times so I could give the brands a fair trial. 

I got my husband this Monos carry-on for Christmas and ended up buying myself an Away carry-on as both of our old carry-ons had seen better days. 

I ended up buying the two different brands because I really wanted to do a comparison of the two. And the quick spark notes version is maybe going to let you down because I'm a bit torn on which is better. I feel that there is really no clear winner or loser here. Which I guess is good because then you really can't go wrong. 

There is not a big enough difference to really sway me to choose one over the other. I do want to get the checked luggage version and I think that when I do, if Monos is a significant price saving compared to Away, I'd choose Monos and if they are priced similarly, I would choose Away because of the ever so slightly higher quality feel to it. 

Here are the exact two items I purchased:

Monos Carry On Plus in Olive Green Full Price $272 (often goes on sale, I paid $240)

Away Bigger Carry On With Pocket in Navy Full Price $345 (rarely goes on sale)

**To make sure we are comparing apples to apples (I don't have this one but this would directly compare to the Monos)

Away Bigger Carry On Full Price $295, rarely goes on sale

*without* the outer pocket and *without the charger* 

They are almost identical in size, capacity, and weight when you are comparing apples to apples. Since I have the Away with the pocket and the charger, it's harder to compare exactly in my own experience. 

- Spinner Wheels

- Telescopic Handle

- Polycarbonate Shell 

- TSA approved lock

- Compression systems 

- Laundry Bag 

- These are the bigger sizes but both brands offer a smaller-sized carry-on as well. I have not had trouble fitting either the Monos or Away up in the overhead bin on airlines like Delta and American but often, I have had to gate check it just because there was no room left in the overhead bins or the bins were just too small and everyone has to check their roller luggage. But basically, I have never had an issue with the size. I have not traveled to Europe with these but some people say they may not fit in European overhead bins like on Ryanair. 

- $23 price difference in that Monos is less costly. Monos goes on sale often and for example, as of writing this, Monos is marked down to $245 making the gap between Away and Monos $50. 

- Away has leather details whereas Monos has faux leather details. Because of this, stylistically speaking, the Away looks higher end. I'm wondering if the use of faux leather on Monos's part has less to do with the cost to produce and more to do with weight. Leather is heavier than faux leather. 

- I think the telescopic handle feels sturdier on the Away vs. Monos but maybe not enough to really sway me one way or the other. 

- The lining of the Monos suitcase is 'antimicrobial'. I am not sure if that truly is something that works to keep germs and ick away or if it is just more of a gimmicky thing but it's worth noting. 

- The lining of the Monos interior is a light gray fabric vs. with the Away, it is a dark gray. I feel like the light gray will show dirt more but I do think I like the lighter interior as it's easier to see everything inside/not as dark. 

- Monos comes with two shoe bags which I thought was a nice touch- Away's doesn't come with it. 

- Monos has an extra zipped pouch section on one of the compression sides which is nice. 

- The monos compression side has much more substantial ties with the clips so you can really compress everything, the Away ones are more flimsy. 

- Overall, the interior to the Monos carry-on interior feels more thoughtfully designed, but again, not enough to sway me one way or the other. 

I think my biggest thing to note with my Away suitcase is that I thought I would use that outer pocket more since I am always traveling with my laptop and I just really never use it. I should have gotten the regular Away Bigger Carry On. Same with the battery pack. I got it with the battery pack and never even bring it with me. It is easy to pop out. First, it's so heavy and really adds a lot of weight, second, I am always in and out of airports where I can always find a place to charge my devices if needed, and third, if you are required to gate check, you have to pop that charger out anyway and carry it on. Everything about that charger in theory sounds amazing but in reality, at least for me, it's pretty much useless. 

The biggest noticeable difference, in my opinion: The weight of the suitcase. There is about a .62lb difference between the Monos and Away suitcases that we own (honestly, it feels like a bigger difference than that). Again, to compare apples to apples, they are the same weight so I am curious to compare the two of the exact same because the away polycarbonate shell just feels more substantial. We have traveled with both and both have gotten as equally banged up and have held up equally as well. 

And stylistically speaking, I do think that the Away, overall, looks slightly more high-end. 

All in all, like I mentioned at the start of this post is that it's hard to really decide if one is better than the other as they both have pros and cons but both nice suitcases. Price aside, I'm ever so slightly leaning towards Away but when you factor price in, Monos (especially when on sale) is plenty good enough for me!