We’ve all been there: Jammed as much stuff as we could into our carry-on bag to avoid the baggage fee only to find out it’s too large to fit in the plane’s over head compartment.

With Balanzza’s TRUCO (Travel Utility Carry On) baggage system, though, that issue should be a thing of the past.  It’s a carry-on bag that can “reshape itself” by offering 2 modular parts that can be removed or added using Balanzza’s click-on system.  The main bag is designed to hold your clothing and other larger items, while a laptop bag/brief case snaps onto the front of it.  The third piece, which clips to the top of the main bag, is designed to hold smaller, more valuable items.  In the event that you board the plane and discover that the overhead compartment is too small, you simply remove any of the two smaller bags and slip them under the seat or next to the bag in the over head compartment. Brill.

The Balanzza Truco has a Worldwide Limited 5-year Lifetime Warranty and is available now for $199.

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For a limited time Balanzza is offering 30% off to all GadgetReview readers.  Just head to their site, choose the product and use the coupon below to receive the discount at checkout.  Balanzza has a variety of product, but mainly they provide portable luggage scales, great for the holiday travel season.  A small investment (less than the price of an additional piece of checked luggage) could save you 100s of dollars over the course of a year.

Use this coupon at checkout to receive 30% off: Grev30

It’s that time again. GadgetReview has teamed up with Balanzza to give away one of their portable luggage scales. It’s small enough to fit in your carry on – heck, even your pocket – and let’s you measure your luggages’ weight on the fly. You can use it for the initial leg of your journey to insure you not over weight or on your return, after you’ve purchased family gifts.

We’re giving away one of these. To enter you must be a US resident and submit a comment below with an email address (so we can contact you). Don’t put your email address in the comment, just register it with the comment in the appropriate field. We’ll choose one winner at random.

The comments are moderated so please be patient and enter only one. If you want a double entry follow us on Twitter and tweet “@gadgetreview #balanzza”.

This contest ends 11/19/2010

Anyone who travels a lot knows the stresses of guessing how much their checked luggage weighs.  I reviewed the Balanzza Luggage Scale a while back, and it now looks like it has a possible direct competitor by the name of the Gravity Ruler.  Sporting a very simple design mechanic, the Gravity Ruler is not exactly a scale but more like an estimate in the way it gauges the tension of its bungee cord to see just how heavy your baggage is.

The idea was set into motion by Marcella Maltese and Lin Wei, who are currently shopping their concept to manufacturers around the world.  Great job you two!

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Anxiety sucks.  Piece of mind is awesome.  The Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale is here to keep gray hairs at bay while possibly saving you money while traveling through airports.  As any traveler knows, most airlines charge you a fee if your checked luggage is over 50 pounds.  To help alleviate the stressful pondering about how much your luggage weighs, the Balanzza Digital Luggage Scale easily lets you weigh your items on the fly.

The Balanzza is quite ergonomic and feels very much like a heavy duty dog toy.  It has a large oval LCD screen and three bright and easy to read buttons.  Not even having to glance at any type of instruction manual, the Balanzza was a breeze to operate.  Its durable strap fastened securely around my large bike bag and all I had to do was turn it on and lift.  Capable of displaying up to 100 pounds it can also show readings in Kilograms.  The Balanzza uses two AA batteries and as long as you don’t leave it on they should last for a while.

Nothing really to dislike about the Balanzza.  It works great out of the box and requires no learning whatsoever.  Super cheap, this is a must buy for anyone who does a fair amount of traveling and is always acquiring more stuff as they go.  Short review, but totally positive!

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Compact and lightweight
• Cheap

Cons:

• May look suspect going through airport screening
• Not that cool of a name, sounds like a weird pizza

Buy it here for $17!