It’s here: Peak Design’s newest product in all their lines of gear. It’s the Roller Pro: a revolutionary carry-on suitcase that I can promise you is not only worlds away from the competition, but also, an inventive can’t-miss new piece of gear that’s going to quickly become a travel essential in the industry.

In this review, I will walk you through exactly what I’ve learned about this rollaboard luggage, from the benefits, to a few of my criticisms, to what you should know right away.

Finally, I’ll let you in on a few secrets that I learned from Peak Design’s founder and CEO Peter Dering, along with the engineering team that developed the Roller Pro for the last four years, at the Roller Pro media launch in NYC at the Peak Design Store (where I got some more sneak peeks).

If you’re ready to be amazed, let’s begin this review.

Get in early and become a Backer in the Peak Design Roller Pro Kickstarter, available starting NOW!

What is the Peak Design Roller Pro?

The Roller Pro is Peak Design’s newest, and maybe most different invention. It’s not like other rolling suitcases. It’s better.

In the shortest summary, it is basically a carry-on sized piece of luggage that’s a hybrid: it’s not quite hard shell, and it’s not quite soft, either. It has layers.

It’s strong, it’s weatherproof and it is darn tough. It’s made for the most modern tech-savvy traveler and it’s made to be a photographer’s best friend, too. It can be used as a day bag for storing gear on a gig, or can be the carry-on that houses all your photography equipment during a day of flying.

It’s compact, full of pockets and versatile, to say the least. It fits the newest PD camera cube, the XL Camera Cube, like a glove, so that all your gear remains snug in there and doesn’t bounce around.

Overall, it’s a sort of mind-blowing travel product, if you’re a gear geek like me who finds the smallest details of luggage and backpacks to be incredible.

Now, we’re going to get into the features and why they’re awesome.

(In these photos: we’re at the Peak Design Store in NYC checking out the Roller Pro before the Kickstarter launch date; Becca was 9 months pregnant and wanted to make sure she was there!)

Quick specs

  • Measurements: 21.8 x 14 x 9”
  • Weight: 8.8lbs
  • Capacity: 34L (when expanded: 39L)
  • Approval: international carry-on size approved for flying

See the Roller Pro in action at my YouTube walkthrough:

Where to get the Roller Pro

As of this moment, the Roller Pro is available at the Peak Design Roller Pro Kickstarter. It’ll be available to the general public in another few months (summer 2025, estimated). Be sure to read all the details as you join the launch!

If you’d like to get in on becoming a “Backer” with the other top Peak Design fans, check out the Kickstarter here.

Features to know about

I’m ready to dive into all the benefits and revamped qualities of this rolling suitcase. I think you’ll find them fun and innovative.

The wheels

Try to picture your current rollaboard luggage. It has single wheels, right? As in, the wheels are just one wheel each?

Well, the Roller Pro has reinvented wheels. Literally: they’re engineered custom by Peak Design for this suitcase. They’re Peak Design-branded wheels and each wheel is composed of two little wheels. This means the suitcase rolls better, with fewer glitches and fewer “ugh” moments, than most other suitcases in existence.

They swivel flexibly, and each wheel part on the wheel swivels independently, which I think is key.

Carbon fiber trolley handle

My favorite part of learning more about Peak Design’s carry-on suitcase was seeing just how the carbon fiber handle is cutting-edge. The handle is made of two carbon fiber tubes that are flat, meaning they take up minimal volume. And yet: they offer maximum strength. No other suitcase has this specialty, and I know that much because Peak Design engineered this aspect from scratch!

Also, I tested it for trolley sleeve capability: I slid my Peak Design Everyday Backpack onto the trolley handle of the Roller Pro and it fit like clockwork.

We value your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
Photo of Becca Siegel and Dan Gold

Grab handles

I think grab handles are often overlooked. Think about all the times you’ve pulled your suitcase out of the back of a car truck, taxi or Uber. Sometimes, my suitcase will be so heavy I just kind of hope that the grab handle won’t break off completely.

But the Roller Pro, naturally, is different. The grab handles are not like the ones you’ll find on the Away suitcase, which we own in bright yellow. The ones on the Roller Pro are thick, nice to feel and not plasticky. They won’t pinch your hands.

In total, there are three grab handles, so you could grab your Roller Pro out of a car trunk, out of the overhead bin or off a baggage claim from whichever angle.

Gear loops

Because the Roller Pro is not your average travel carry-on, and because it’s a travel and photography hybrid product, photographers (and travelers as well) will find the gear loop attachments handy.

What can you attach to them? Well, I tried attaching an umbrella, but photographers would be glad to attach tripods and whatever else, to the exterior of the bag while in transit or while out for the day on a gig. Be sure to have some carabiners at the ready if you like to travel like this.

Integrated luggage tag

This bag comes with a luggage tag, but note: it is small. If you have your own luggage tag that’s bigger and allows you to print more info like how to contact you if the Roller Pro were to go misplaced, I’d suggest that.

The Roller Pro’s default and included luggage tag is kind of like a starter luggage tag. You barely notice it, and it happens to match the finish on the carry-on, which is nice.

Weatherproofed exterior

The exterior of the bag also reminds me immediately of my Peak Design Everyday Backpack and my Peak Design Travel Backpack.

Here’s the detail: the material on the Roller Pro is VersaShell™ fabric, and that’s the covering on the lightweight polycarbonate shell underneath it. So with both layers, this carry-on is a true hybrid with both hard and soft shells, giving ultimate protection to my gear.

Weatherproofed zippers

For me, there’s nothing like good zippers on luggage. I say that, after traveling for years with peak Design’s backpacks, as well as travel duffels (have you seen my Peak Design Travel Duffel review?), which have excellent quality zippers—ones that don’t snag, break or let water in.

On a suitcase though, this is next-level. Most suitcases have simple zippers that aren’t made to withstand getting caught in a rainstorm. But being that the Roller Pro is meant for travel as well as photographers who want to be out with valuable and expensive photo or video gear, we need every measurement of protection from the elements. The Roller Pro brings this to life.

Front tech access panel

I like the front pocket, which has convenient storage from the exterior for small important stuff of mine like AirPods and a passport. It’s also where you’ll find the laptop sleeve. This is a smart design, and so minimalist. When I look at the Roller Pro, I barely notice that there’s a front accessory pocket on the suitcase. It blends in so well.

Laptop compartment

Secured by magnets, this laptop sleeve is not like the others I’ve seen on rolling luggage. Well, I’ve only really used hard shell suitcases that have a front laptop compartments on the exteriors. This method on the Roller Pro is more secure, and that makes me feel way more confident in taking my MacBook Pro across the world.

Expandability

The Roller Pro is indeed expandable (34L to 39L in volume). The expandability feature works a lot like my Peak Design Travel Backpack, which has a wrap-around zipper for expansion. On that note, it can also be compressed. This type of benefit is always useful when I go on a trip and somehow come back with more than I originally packed.

Interior “drawbridge” system

The “drawbridge” opening system is unique. It’s meant to help with packing, unpacking, sorting through your stuff to find something or reorganizing in tight spaces. And believe me, I’ve stayed in some studio apartments, tight urban hotel rooms or simply just my seat near my flight gate, where I’ve needed to rearrange my packing cubes or hunt down a particular item.

So the compact footprint of the drawbridge feature is cool. I’ll tell you why. Unlike our Away carry-on and Quince suitcases, which open total “book style,” where both sides of the suitcase have to open and essentially double the footprint of the suitcase when laid down, the drawbridge system in the Roller Pro helps prop it open vertically.

Internal organization panel

The interior organization panel is perfect for storing some additional tech, or toiletries or small stuff like folded-up paperwork or accessories. I like that it is semi see-through.

It is also “stash-able,” meaning you can roll up this entire pocket panel and secure it with an elastic cord.

Internal integrated cord system (organization)

Technically, this proprietary cord system is called the “Cord Hook™ Internal Retention System,” and what’s nice is that in comparison to traditional suitcases, which have an entire compression panel, the cord hook function keeps my packing cubes and my pouches compact, as well as in place, during transit.

AirTag slot (inside)

Lo and behold, behind the internal organization panel is a simple AirTag pocket. You can slide in your AirTag, and basically forget about it, because it’s protected there in that little slot. Now that I’m fully using AirTags on all our pieces of luggage when we travel, it’s a big plus.

Integration with XL Camera Cube

This is Peak Design’s biggest camera cube to date. It fits 100% perfectly in the Roller Pro, like a marriage. Keep in mind that the XL Camera Cube is sold separately.

One great thing to know is that if you had one of those situations where you got to the gate of your flight and they started asking everyone to check their carry-ons, you could in fact say “yes.” Why?

You could take out the XL Camera Cube from your Roller Pro, and it would stow neatly under the seat in front of you on the flight. This way, you could keep your gear (thousands and thousands of dollars worth of it, but shhh) right in front of you, within eyesight, rather than having to send it to checked luggage and risk it getting lost! Your Roller Pro could go to checked baggage, worry-free.

For photographers: you can attach other camera cubes to the bag. There are integrated little loops that you can attach C-clamps to. This can lock in other camera cubes that are a dab smaller.

Secrets about the Roller Pro carry-on that I learned

I had a really cool experience in NYC before the Kickstarter for the Roller Pro rolled out (ha ha).

I got to spend an evening with the Peak Design team who developed the Roller Pro over the last four years, and got a walk-through in a very cool presentation about the iterations of the Roller Pro itself, the rigorous testing, how the parts were sourced, how the final design was chosen and why the team hyper-focused on so many things that a “regular” company would not.

(Photo above: a shot of us at the Peak Design NYC store. I’m holding the Roller Pro in Black color choice, and Becca is trying out the one in the Eclipse color choice)

I got to see video footage of how the Roller Pro was basically dropped, bashed, banged up and kicked all around, to test it for durability. I got to see the visuals of the designs that “didn’t quite make it” before the current Roller Pro was chosen based on what could physically work, and what consumers would like.

I learned about the nitty gritty of the Roller Pro, from its exceptional build and how no space was wasted, to the choice of carbon fiber for the trolley handle and why that works out so well.

Lastly, I got to partake in a Q&A session with Peak Design founder and CEO Peter Dering (who’s awesome) and ask questions that helped us understand this product better, so that I can relay my learnings to you, the reader.

How to get in on the Roller Pro Kickstarter

The Peak Design Roller Pro Kickstarter launched on March 4, 2025. This means that now, you can participate in the crowdfunding for this product.

How does Kickstarter work? Basically, Peak Design has what’s called a “funding goal” and the “backers” are people who want to back and support the project. This means pledging a sum of money toward the goal, with the “reward” (official Kickstarter lingo) of receiving and being able to own the “project” (in this case, the Roller Pro) perhaps sooner than it would be available to the public, or at a reduced rate compared to the future official retail price.

Hop on the Peak Design Roller Pro Kickstarter here.

When will it be available on the Peak Design website?

The answer to this question is “late June,” with details forthcoming.

What do I like about Peak Design?

I’ve been a fan of Peak Design as a travel, photography and lifestyle brand since about 2017.

My first Peak Design product was the Peak Design Everyday Backpack, which I now even own in two sizes, 20L and 30L. This backpack has come around the world with me, from Vietnam to the Caribbean. You can read the full Peak Design Everyday Backpack review to see all the photos.

Then there’s my PD travel bag, which I reviewed at the Peak Design Travel Backpack review and laid out all my thoughts. This backpack has also traveled the globe with me. It has been both near (served as a hospital bag when our first baby was born—I’m serious!) and far, from Mexico to Myanmar.

What I like a lot about Peak Design, though, is how the more PD products I own, the more they work together like an ecosystem. That means my Peak Design phone case pairs seamlessly with the Peak Design car mount, which we keep in our car. It means my Peak Design camera cuff clips in with the Peak Design anchor clip link system, so I can clip into my PD camera neck/body strap right after.

For all the Peak Design travel products the company makes (I like the Wash Pouch, Tech Pouch, Shoe Pouch and of course, my set of Peak Design Packing Cubes), their photography gear is equally good. I’ve tried and tested the camera cubes, camera backpacks, camera sling bags like the Everyday Sling, and more.

The things I like best about Peak Design are the attention to detail and the company’s attributes of making the perfect product. Peak Design products rarely malfunction. They work great, every time, and they do what they’re supposed to. They’re also superbly crafted and they seem like they could last forever. That’s awesome, because there’s no need to replace them. They’re investments for life.

Have I convinced you yet? There’s always my Peak Design Brand Review to check out, if you want to learn more.