They say breaking up is hard to do. Nonsense. My old black carry-on bag and I have been tight for years, but there's a new charmer in my life. It's the Lipault folding 22-inch bag. This lightweight beauty comes in a variety of colors, is made of nylon twill and sports what the French company calls "airplane grade" aluminum handles. It doesn't have as many pockets as my old Black Beauty, but it also weighs 5 1/2 pounds empty, about 2 pounds less than BB. On a weekend trip, it was a breeze to roll through the airport and so light to lift into the overhead that I felt like Charles Atlas. Bye-bye, BB; bonjour, Lipault. You're not cheap, but you are easy.

Info: From $200, http://www.lipault-us.com/foldable.html

—Catharine Hamm