Review · Travel · 1 model
Cabin Max Metz 20L review: living with the UK's default under-seat backpack after the Ryanair rule change
The Metz 20L was cut to Ryanair's old free-bag size, 40 × 20 × 25 cm, and hundreds of thousands of them have gone under seats. Ryanair's free size is now 40 × 30 × 20. The bag still passes — on its side — but a 24-litre bag now flies free for the same nothing. This review is about what the Metz 20L still does well, what it gives up, and who should buy the newer shape instead.
Verdict
What it is
the bag reviewed
Cabin Max Metz 20L
- Capacity
- 20 L
- Weight
- 0.5 kg
- Height
- 40 cm
- Warranty
- 3 years
Check price on Amazon.co.uk
A soft rectangular backpack of 40 × 25 × 20 cm and 20 litres, 0.5 kg, in recycled polyester, with a full front-panel zip that opens it flat like a small suitcase. Cabin Max, a UK company, made it for the Ryanair free bag of 2018 to 2025, which was 40 × 20 × 25 cm — the same bag stood on its side — and the listing still carries that shape in its title. It is currently sold in the Recycled Edition, which is what the photographs show.
Strengths
- 0.5 kg and 20 L in a shape that fits every budget airline's free bag
- Suitcase-style opening, compression straps and a trolley strap on a bag this small
- Recycled polyester with a three-year warranty from a UK company
Limitations
- Built for the old 40 × 20 × 25 rule — a 40 × 30 × 20 bag carries 4 more litres for the same fee (none)
- No laptop sleeve, only an iPad-sized compartment
- A single unit left at fetch — this listing comes and goes
Good for
- one or two nights
- a passenger who never pays for a cabin bag
- a second bag under the seat next to a paid trolley
Look elsewhere if
- a laptop bigger than a tablet
- three or four nights without a wash bag compromise
The airline arithmetic
Every UK budget airline gives you a free small bag and charges for anything bigger. Ryanair and Wizz Air: 40 × 30 × 20 cm under the seat. easyJet: 45 × 36 × 20 cm. Jet2 and TUI: a 40 × 30 × 20 personal item alongside a 10 kg bag. The Metz 20L at 40 × 25 × 20 fits inside all of them, with 5 cm of spare width on Ryanair and Wizz and much more on easyJet.
What it does not do is use the space. The current Ryanair and Wizz box is 24 litres; the Metz 20L is 20. Four litres is a pair of shoes or two days of T-shirts and underwear. Cabin Max’s own re-cut Metz 24L is 40 × 30 × 20 exactly, at a similar weight, with the same opening — and that is the honest comparison in 2026.
Living with it
The suitcase-style opening is the reason to buy a purpose-made cabin bag rather than a school rucksack. You pack flat on a bed, see everything, and lift out what you need at the hotel without excavating. Two internal compression straps hold rolled clothes in place; the front organiser has slots for a passport and cards and a tablet-sized compartment; there is a side bottle holder and a strap on the back to slide over a trolley handle if you ever pair it with a paid case. Cabin Max also describes a hidden rear pocket for valuables, which the listing bullets mention and we have noted as a listing claim.
At 0.5 kg it is one of the lightest bags in the class, which matters against Jet2’s and TUI’s 10 kg totals and matters more on a hot walk from a bus. The straps are simple and unpadded compared with a hiking pack; for a bag that weighs 5 to 7 kg full and is carried for an hour, they are adequate rather than comfortable.
What it gives up
No laptop sleeve. The tablet compartment takes an iPad or a small e-reader; a 13-inch laptop travels unpadded in the main compartment or does not travel. Cabin Max’s Manhattan 24L solves this inside the same free size and is the bag to buy instead if you work on the way.
No structure. A soft bag half-full slumps; a soft bag over-full bulges past 20 cm and fails a sizer. Packing cubes help both ways, and the compression straps help the second.
Availability. The listing comes and goes — at our fetch a single unit remained — because Cabin Max’s colour variants redirect to one listing and stock moves between them. If it is out of stock, the 24L is the same bag in the better shape.
Strengths
- 0.5 kg and 20 L in a shape that fits every budget airline's free bag
- Suitcase-style opening, compression straps and a trolley strap on a bag this small
- Recycled polyester with a three-year warranty from a UK company
Limitations
- Built for the old 40 × 20 × 25 rule — a 40 × 30 × 20 bag carries 4 more litres for the same fee (none)
- No laptop sleeve, only an iPad-sized compartment
- A single unit left at fetch — this listing comes and goes
Good for
- one or two nights
- a passenger who never pays for a cabin bag
- a second bag under the seat next to a paid trolley
Look elsewhere if
- a laptop bigger than a tablet
- three or four nights without a wash bag compromise
Who should buy it
- Anyone who already owns one: it remains legal everywhere, and the difference to the 24L is four litres, not a rule.
- A traveller who prefers a slimmer bag against the back and packs light.
- A second bag under the seat beside a paid trolley on Jet2 or TUI, where the 40 × 30 × 20 personal-item rule is generous.
Who should not
- A buyer starting fresh for Ryanair or Wizz Air: the Metz 24L carries more for the same free fee.
- Anyone with a laptop: the Manhattan 24L.
- An easyJet-only flyer: the 45 × 36 × 20 allowance takes a 30-litre bag for nothing.
Sources
Facts checked 24 September 2026
- Ryanair Help Centre — bag policy articles (search results, 2026-09-23) — Other source, checked 23 September 2026
- easyJet — Cabin bags help page — Other source, checked 23 September 2026
- Wizz Air — baggage help-centre page — Other source, checked 23 September 2026
- Jet2 — baggage FAQs — Other source, checked 23 September 2026
- TUI UK — luggage allowance page — Other source, checked 23 September 2026
- Cabin Max — Metz 20L Underseat Cabin Bag product page — Manufacturer documentation, checked 23 September 2026
- Amazon.co.uk listing (Cabin Max) — Retailer listing, checked 23 September 2026
Does the Metz 20L still fit under the seat on Ryanair?
Yes. Ryanair's free small bag is 40 × 30 × 20 cm; the Metz 20L is 40 × 25 × 20 cm — the same height and depth, 5 cm narrower. It goes into the sizer standing on its side as it always did. What has changed is that a 40 × 30 × 20 bag carries 24 litres for the same fee, so the 20L no longer uses the allowance fully.
20L or 24L?
The 24L if you are buying now and fly Ryanair or Wizz Air: same weight class, same opening, four more litres inside the free box. The 20L if you already own one, if you prefer a slimmer bag against your back, or if you find it cheaper — it remains legal everywhere the 24L is.
Is there a laptop pocket?
No. The front organiser has a tablet-sized compartment; there is no padded laptop sleeve. Cabin Max's Manhattan 24L has one, in the same free size.
How much fits for three nights?
Twenty litres is two nights with a change of clothes each day, or three in summer with rolled clothes, a compact wash bag and shoes on your feet rather than in the bag. Cabin Max lists the bag with compression straps, which help keep it inside the 20 cm depth when full.
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