Calling all Travel Warriors. Advice needed.

[El Presidente]

There are plenty of FOH members who appear to travel endlessly and while I travel a lot, they make me look like a hermit

My travel luggage is coming to the end of it's life span and so I turn to those who do this day in day out for their recommendations.

My focus is on business travel so I need:

Carry on with capacity for suit and 2/3 days of clothes.

Check in for long haul (everything from Oz is long haul ).7 days.

Ultimate toiletries case.

Throw in a couple of pointers as to the the travel accessory(ies) that make your life on the road so much easier

Feel free to expand on any points and thanks in advance. I will review your recommendations and order tomorrow night. While I do need the advice, I am sure that all input will prove beneficial to the airport brigade FOH'ers from all over the world.

[Fuzz AI]

Get a Samsonite Hyperspace XLT spinner. My bro has one and he loves it.

[JY0]

I've gotten lots of trouble free miles from Swiss Army luggage.

http://www.swissarmy.com/us/app/category/Category/Luggage/4000?f=category&v=4/400/4000&m=add&

[PapaDisco]

If you can find a 22" roller that is the perfect bag for a week's worth of travel or even longer, and you don't have to check it. I've traveled with a Hartmann 22" belting leather roll-aboard for nearly 20 years and have only had to check it once (China Airlines. Bastards).

The challenge, is that the airlines in the last 10 years have slightly reduced their permitted carryon size. They didn't move the reg down to the next standard bag, they just reduced the former standard, the 22", by a little bit. So you have a choice between going too small or maybe/maybe not getting your 22" on. The 22" still fits just fine in all the overheads (except for little regional jets where only a briefcase will fit), but you might get pulled over at the gate if you're not a frequent flyer with the airline in question (that's how I got snagged on CA). I never get bothered on Cathay, American, United, Thai, BA, Delta, Virgin, Lufthansa and I'm only high miles on the first three.

So I still travel with a 22", twice a month from the US to Asia and it fits: two suits, work out clothes, two casual slacks, 5 shirts, two pairs of shoes and flip flops. That along with a bit of hotel laundry service and you can last weeks and weeks.

A big decision is whether to get the two wheel or four wheel version. The four wheel cuts down a bit on interior space (maybe the equivalent of 1 pair of shoes), but it is much lighter in your hand. The two wheel version is heavy in the hand, but carries more, and if you strap a briefcase or second bag on the outside you can balance the bag to eliminate any weight in your hand.

If you get a suitcase with a suit compartment, I recommend one where you can load the suits from the outside (i.e. the suit compartment has it's own external zipper) rather than having to first open the suitcase and then unzip the suit compartment from the inside (Hartmann has suitcases that do it either way). If you have a bag that does the later (suits enter/exit from the inside) then you have to lay the bag completely open to get to your suits. This is a problem on any standard luggage stand (which are designed for the bag lid to open up and stay up) and it's also a problem in any airport shower room, where there's never enough space to completely open your bag.

I may or may not replace my current Hartmann with another one. The company sold out to Samsonite and all the replacement parts since then have been made in China and are pure crap. They also no longer honor their lifetime guarantee.

[meatball41]

Get a Samsonite Hyperspace XLT spinner. My bro has one and he loves it.

I'm not a full time road warrior but I have this same one. I can get three suits, three pairs of shoes easily, and a good bit of business casual clothes in it. It's not a carry on obviously, but when I have a long travel week for work, this bag is the one for me.

[Fuzz AI]

I'm not a full time road warrior but I have this same one. I can get three suits, three pairs of shoes easily, and a good bit of business casual clothes in it. It's not a carry on obviously, but when I have a long travel week for work, this bag is the one for me.

I've heard that some airlines allow this bag as a carry on. Obviously won't fit under a seat, but it will go into the overhead.

[Lotusguy]

Been traveling 100k+ miles a year for 15+ years now. Nothing beats a Tumi. The models change all the time and I don't change my suitcase more than once every 10 years (except when I had Samsonites which are low quality POS that break within a year under my use) so I can't recommend any current model. Soft case is better for squeezability.

[Nrengle]

I bought an aqualung (as in diving gear) bag, because the warranty covers damage from the airlines, where many don't, and it was a reasonable price compared to ones that do cover airline damage. As someone that lives out of a suit case via plane bus and bullet train 11 months of the year, I haven't had any issues in three years with it.

[kcmontie]

all I have to say is TUMI

[meatball41]

I've heard that some airlines allow this bag as a carry on. Obviously won't fit under a seat, but it will go into the overhead.

I must be wrong on the model name then or the size, mine is a samsonite spinner garmet bag, identical interior as the pic in the post but its a full size bag, definitely will not fit in the overhead. When I travel with my wife I get all of my stuff and her overflow in it, its huge.

[canadianbeaver]

That Samsonite case looks great. Sent the photo to Matthew. Thanks!

[Fuzz AI]

I must be wrong on the model name then or the size, mine is a samsonite spinner garmet bag, identical interior as the pic in the post but its a full size bag, definitely will not fit in the overhead. When I travel with my wife I get all of my stuff and her overflow in it, its huge.

You never know, I could be the one mistaken!

I haven't traveled to the US in years, so I can't remember what they requirements are for carry-ons. I recall something about linear inches, but can't remember what it refers to.

Just checked and the Hyperspace XLT garment bag is discontinued. Been replaced by the Slhouette Sphere 2 Deluxe.

[Ken Gargett]

i looked at exactly this a while ago and am still looking. all the best info i could get sent me to one particular producer - needless to say the name escapes me at the moment but it began with 'B', i think. but expensive. did look like the sort of thing that would last a lifetime and every report was extremely positive.

as for anything samsonite, i would avoid like the plague. shoddy, disappointing, unacceptable. perhaps i've been unlucky but i been unlucky too often with them. never again.

[khomeinist]

Tumi Ftw.

[Ryan]

Not much suitcase info from me really but I often fly from a cold country (here) to somewhere warmer (almost everywhere else) and I find these invaluable. Zip off trouser legs.

http://www.greatoutdoors.ie/product_info.php?cPath=230_241_138&products_id=209152

The ones I have came with a plastic belt-buckle which, zip off legs or not, I'd recommend to anyone when flying. No having to basically get dressed again after security.

Those trousers also come with a few secure pockets for passport/boarding card etc.

I also wear sandals when flying (a pair of socks for cold countries, I don't care about socks and sandals if I'm comfortable). I've never been asked to take sandals off in airport security and no shoes are more comfortable in the air.

[OZCUBAN]

All you need is a gym bag and a tee shirt and two pairs of undies "the Mus bag"?

[Ginseng]

I have owned a fair selection of bags and luggage over the years. I will echo the upvotes for Tumi. I own(ed) Tumi messenger bags, wallets, rollers, satchels, and more. They are classy, well-made bags and of course, premium. Same for Briggs and Riley (owned), Zero, Hartmann, etc. Let me provide a counterpoint from the perspective of a frequent flyer platinum this that and the other.

These bags are brilliant but are also about making an impression on others and yourself. I have found their functionality matched by various other brands. For example, Case Logic has superior, lighter, stealthier TSA-laptop compliant backpacks. Also, if someone's going to ****** your bag off the carousel or mug you, a Tumi basically says "I'm wealthy enough to buy expensive, resellable stuff that you'd want to steal."

When I travel, I do so with the utmost emphasis on light, fast, and tough. I mostly do overnights to 3 days throughout North America, USA/Canada) and a couple of times a year to Europe. I travel with laptop, papers, jacket/suit, and clothes. For the way I travel, nothing provides sheer functionality with ruggedness and value as the eBags hardside spinners. I own 4. Two domestic carry ons (which actually go international as well) and two check-throughs and I've taken them all over from Greece to Hawaii.

Here are the bags I use: eBags Hardside Spinners. I can certainly tell you that if you take out the optional internal plastic dividers, it weighs maybe 6 pounds. Contrast this with a really nice, though not entirely comparable Tumi Osborne International Roller. This unit costs 8 times as much as the eBags and weighs twice as much. It certainly has a lot of built-in goodies though, but the weight and cost rule it out for me.

Speaking of internal goodies. I prefer to configure the space to suit my need exactly. To do that, I use the eBags Packing Cubes System. For an overnight traveling only with my CaseLogic backpack, the small cube with shirt. skivvies, socks. For multinight, medium with 2-3 shirts, t-shirt and a small with undies, socks, other incidentals. Another cube for change of shoes. If I need to pack a sport jacket or suit, the large. Sometimes to spice things up, I'll pack a complete day's change in a small, with up to three smalls for the trip.

I'm afraid I can't offer much advice on the toiletry bags. To be honest, I'm not a big grooming products consumer so I use a freezer-grade quart Ziploc bag. I do this because the bag is going to have to touch some surface somewhere in the hotel room and, well, gross. Use it for the trip, come home, empty out toiletries, throw out bag and grab a new one for the next trip. If you carry a boutique with you, this might not work for you.

Hope this is of some use.

Wilkey

[Duxnutz]

From flying long-haul an average of once every 10 days for the past 4.5 hrs, I've discovered;

- no matter the brand of suitcase, they're all able to be destroyed within a year of moderate travel. Checked in baggage is a tough game. I have a 26 inch Samsonite 4-wheeler with largish wheels. Really have to look at the wheels for the 4wd models as a lot of them are flimsy. Scooting round terminals is a lot easier tho with 4 wheels (even if it's kinda feminine looking).

- samsonite wheeled " carry on cases" as shown above are pretty resilient. I've used the same one for over 3 yrs now. Room for clothes and a fair amount of carry-on crap. Try to get one with a metal framed pull handle.

- water, moisturiser, lip balm, face mask and noise cancelling headphones are worth their weight in gold. I also pop a berocca just before top of descent religiously. I'm not fussed if I carry this in a plastic bag, it's about the content vs feel good bag carrying it.

[mikemerry]

I use a jack spade leather duffel and a leather garment bag.

Honestly I don't think brand matters at all as everything is made some factory so I look for certain features. I find leather or sail cloth holds up to a beating and looks great. Further more I'd make sure the suit bag can hold 3-4 suits/jackets and two pairs of shoes.

I keep my shirts folded in the shirt bags (

) in my duffle and all the other odds n ends.

As far as toiletries, I use a leather Danier bag and it keeps my tub of shave cream. Brush. Safety razor and all the other stuff just fine. I never unpack it. I just throw it in my gym bag when I'm not traveling.

I'm not a fan of the roller bags only because they are easy to load too much stuff and put the bag over the weight limit. Also the wheels always eventually break making the bag useless.

I'd suggest looking at jack spade overhead bags if your a laptop guy and not an tablet fella. To each their own, happy and safe travels!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lotusguy]

Adding: for toiletries I use this http://www.jack-wolfskin.de/waschsalon/86130.html

It's awesome and indestructible.

[LordAnubis]

No idea on the suit front, but for travel I currently use a Black Wolf top loading 40L backpack. The top loading is a bit annoying and I'm about to purchase a front loading alternative. Either the GoRuck GR2 or a Tortuga Travel backpack. I'm leaning towards the Tortuga. The bad thing about both of these alternatives is they are quite heavy... about 1kg for the bag alone. I would seriously recommend taking this backpack carry on and a suit bag as well with whatever suit you want carry on as well. Airlines will generally store away your suit bag for you. The amount of times I've heard of people loosing their bags as I walk passed them at the baggage carousels with everything on my back already... hate checking in bags.

As for toiletries, i also use ziplocks and find them the best for my use. You have to show the ziplocks anyway at most airport security checks these days.

Other travel tips? Noise isolating headphones are awesome!!! i say isolating and not cancelling. I have a pair of Etymotic Research ER-4P with a custom moulded tip and also ComplyFoam tips. Very good at cancelling out noise. I fly on small propeller planes often and these do a great job of blocking out noise for me. Never heard a baby cry on a plane yet.

Also, when in a bind and oyu have to wash your clothes in the hotel sink... once cleaned and rinsed, wring the clothes out in a towel.... if you do this they will be almost dry straight away, and will definitely be perfectly dry by the morning.

[JoeyGunz]

If you're travelling with a top loader mus, how about using stuff sacks? saved me rummaging to the bottom of my bag for a pair of knickers e.t.c

[Lotusguy]

I can't think of a single reason why a top loader would make sense...

[LordAnubis]

I can't think of a single reason why a top loader would make sense...

They are designed to be for hikers... tall and not wide... where as front loaders tend to be wider and not evenly balanced so slightly awkward for hiking.

[Lotusguy]

Ah! I thought we are supposed to recommend travel luggage, not backpacking/hiking luggage