Luggage for Business Overnights--What are you carrying?

[echelon_john]

So, my work (creative freelancer/mktg consultant) has entailed more travel lately, including more overnights in order to be ready for meetings 1st thing the next morning.

I have a garment bag that I've been traveling with, but I feel like it's a bit overkill/wrong purpose for what I really need. Plus it's old. I generally don't wear a suit (occasionally do); usually nice pants, dress shirt, sometimes a blazer.

I need a bag that:
- is carryon size
- fits a suit in a pinch
- holds 2 nights' worth of clothes, a pair of shoes
- looks presentable to bring into client offices with me
- doesn't cost crazy $$

Is Tumi worth the money? Other than Tumi, what brands are you all using? Wheeled? 4 wheel or 2?

Thanks,
John

[TMB]

Briggs & Reilly.

The only choice for my money. Lifetime guarantee, if it gets damaged or ripped or torn they fix at their cost. Authorized repair depots all over the place.


My most used one is about 7 years old. Looks brand new, no marks, scratches, etc.

Great luggage.

[christian]

Briggs and Riley is good stuff, as is Tom Bihn, and Red Oxx. Personally for me, for trips lass than a week, I use a Filson 243 Pullman case and a 257 laptop bag.

[PJC]

After the first decade of biz travel I stopped buying the travel pro/tumi stuff. Cost too damn much and gets tore up quick. So now half way through the second decade, find I can find nice luggage at Marshall's/TJMaxx at pennies on the dollar. No one steals it, it's colored, and when it's ragged out....I toss it in the bin.

Rinse, repeat....

[chasea]

I'm going to go against everything I think about manhood and style here: Get rolling luggage.
And for short trips, get something with a hard shell, and at least an inch or so wider than your jacket's shoulders.

Also, I linked some videos in the "aleternative to dry cleaning" thread on how to pack a suitcase. Not exactly edge-of-your-seat viewing, but it'll save you a lot of time and hassle in the long run.

[echelon_john]

Thanks--will look. I'm 6'6" and wear a 46-48XL suit/jacket, so it's always a compromise putting things in a garment bag anyway. I've gotten pretty adept at using the dry cleaner bags to reduce friction since inevitably SOMETHING ends up folded/crunched a bit.

Good thing I'm going for more of the 'rumpled professor' look than anything more polished... ; )

Agreed on the wheels; basically, I have my briefcase, which for now is a Filson field bag I carry over my shoulder, so rolling for the carry-on makes sense.

Any particular brand of hard shell you like?

Thanks,
John

[joosttx]

I travel a lot. And have tried several different options. My favorite is a canvas brief / computer case w a shoulder duffle bag. I like Tumi. Reason behind the shoulder bag opposed to a roller bag is you get a little excercise walking to terminals and it conforms to over head cmpartments better than rollers. There was been manny times I am able to get the bag on a small plane while everyone has to check their rollersat the gate.

[roseyscot]

Patagonia Maximum Legal Carry On, or MLC. Wear it as a backpack when you're running to catch a connection, use the shoulder strap when with clients, shove it into the tiny overhead bins with ease on regional flights. It's been my go-to for years of business travel.

[Eddie]

Baileyworks Whalemouth medium + Eagle Creek folder = traveling ease. Shoes on bottom in shoe bags or grocery bag, stacked folded clothes on top of those, folder goes on top.

Hang your suit in the bathroom and run the shower real hot for a couple of minutes to release the wrinkles.

[Zimmermanbicycle]

I travel a ton (100+ flights a year,most continents) and I've got a small rolling Haliburton hardshell aluminium case that seems to be impossible to destroy and is very presentable in a techy sort of way.
-Eric Z

[cody.wms]

Patagonia Maximum Legal Carry On, or MLC. Wear it as a backpack when you're running to catch a connection, use the shoulder strap when with clients, shove it into the tiny overhead bins with ease on regional flights. It's been my go-to for years of business travel.

Currently 50% off at Patagonia.com

Patagonia MLC® Maximum Legal Carry On Bag

[chasea]

Hang your suit in the bathroom and run the shower real hot for a couple of minutes to release the wrinkles.

Never had much luck with this technique. The wrinkles are removed through the drying process, post-steam. If I steam an entire garment, the whole thing goes limp. Much prefer to steam spots; and mold the garment back into shape. The steam-shower thing is sort of a worst case scenario for me.

[COVRTDESIGN]

I am a photographer, so if I am on a short trip I bring some regular clothes in a small Burton carry on, along with a nice suit when visiting clients. My camera gear takes up a full F Stop gear photo bag, and my other carry on, (the burton carry on) holds clothes. Here is exactly how I pack my suits for the trip, it works amazingly well. How to fold a suit to go in a suitcase without wrinkling. [VIDEO]

[DrZRM]

This is right, there is no other luggage guarantee that holds a candle to B&R. They are nearly the only company I know that takes the fact that you have something as proof that you own it. No receipts or paperwork necessary, any damage at all, bring it to anyplace that sells it and they will make it right. I have an expanding roller that would work, but they also have a soft bag with hidden backpack straps (they are hidden by a zip in panal) that is good for short trips.

Here

Exchange 26 Duffle Bag, BD126X, BRX | Briggs & Riley Official Site

Expensive, but sometimes goes on sale at STP. Really this stuff is lifetime luggage.

Briggs & Reilly.

The only choice for my money. Lifetime guarantee, if it gets damaged or ripped or torn they fix at their cost. Authorized repair depots all over the place.


My most used one is about 7 years old. Looks brand new, no marks, scratches, etc.

Great luggage.

[j44ke]

My wife is an international woman of action. She's gone at least a couple weeks every month. We have about 10 different suitcases of varying sizes. Tumi is hands down the best. Hers has been beaten to hell, and it still looks good. It is their small carry-on expandable rolling suitcase. She recommends the rolling suitcase, because travel is hard and you only have one spinal cord. Nothing worse than heading to a meeting and torquing your back while slinging a weighty shoulder bag. Plus the Tumi has a really nice suit immobilizer in it, and her suits stay in fine condition.

Briggs & Riley is a close second, but they really shine on their 27" suitcase with the external handle. Means the inside is totally flat, so you can pack 10+ days of clothes completely flat and (usually) wrinkle free.

I use a Patagonia MLC and BaileyWorks largest Whalemouth, but I am a glutton for punishment.

My sister-in-law uses a Rimowa bag. Spendy but she's had it for 10 years and it is still shiny.

[billrick]

Patagonia Maximum Legal Carry On, or MLC. Wear it as a backpack when you're running to catch a connection, use the shoulder strap when with clients, shove it into the tiny overhead bins with ease on regional flights. It's been my go-to for years of business travel.

Triple ditto on the MLC and Eagle Creek organizers. I've packed a suit in my MLC before, but I'm only 42L.

[Maxspeedwell]

Saddleback Waterbag. You will be repeatedly stopped by strangers who want to know where you bought your bag.

I once broke my hard & fast rule about cheap clothing (or cheap anything for that matter). I bought three belts from a chain store. I got a total of 42 months for $100. The Saddleback belt is $100. I know... almost $100 for a belt. It has a 100 year guarantee. Yeah, 100 years. At $100 it will be a bargain if it only lasts 43 months. The fault is all mine. I knew better.

-Max

[11.4]

I had too many pieces of Tumi develop problems right when the warranty expired, and had to pay through the nose to repair them. I will use occasional pieces (the 26578 computer backpack and the Monterey sling for my iPad and daily walkabout stuff), but Briggs & Riley is built tougher and has a no-questions warranty. I have a couple rollarounds (Baseline series, which is their best) that have traveled with me long enough to get a 4-million mile lifetime Platinum membership on American and 2 million each on Singapore and Alaska. They look great and have never needed a repair.

I tried Rimowas for a while and got the expensive ones with the mating aluminum channels around the opening. I learned that the smart Rimowas are the ones with the zips -- the aluminum channels are easily bent and then the bag won't close. Rimowa has a so so warranty. I had one bag with aluminum channels and the polished aluminum body and while it probably could last forever, it'll roll around looking like a bike after Paris Roubaix. I like to think that bags for business remain looking sharp, not just beaten up. Eagle Creek has an unrestricted lifetime warranty and the bags are really solid, but the better ones look like camping equipment and they tend to have extra straps that you always have to cinch so they don't get in the way.

I know Tom Bihn and have had a couple of his bags. I find they are nice but not extraordinary. When you've built up the inside you seem to get a little too much weight or bulk without bulletproof construction. They are great at their price point.

Lots of amazing bags you can go into if the style fits. Check Defybags.com for bags with recycled truck tarp and Austro-Alpin buckles. Check Bedouinfoundry for the absolute best in messenger bags. Check MysteryRanch.com for some great packs and travel bags. There are frankly an endless number of people doing stunning bags in every possible style. If you're into this kind of thing, check out Carryology. They review just about everything sooner or later and unearth some great bags. Also, sign up for the EDCForum.com, which has a couple forums focused on bags and related accessories. On that forum, people act like military wannabes at times, but most bags get brought up.

[dhoff]

Just bought this from Saddleback. I learned about them here 3 years ago and now have several of their bags plus a wallet, oh and a belt and the dog collar. All indestructible and beautiful; they get nicer as they age.

Hard Carry-On Suitcase Hard Leather Carry On | Saddleback Leather Co.

Saddleback is also a great company to deal with. After three years, a bunch of purchases, I have my first issue with them this week. It was all about a miscommunication and they handled it with aplomb. In the words of manager, Jeff Gonzales, "our goal is to always be getting better." A class act for sure.

[TTX1]

Nice zombie thread.

I flew well over 100 segments last year, so my bags get used.

I've received a bunch of Tumi products as gifts over the years - many well-intentioned people think "he's going to love this."

As a result, I've learned that Tumi does a good job of repairing or replacing all the things that break.

They're working on a backpack for me right now - multiple busted seams on a leather bag that's less than a year old.

The thing that I've come to appreciate about Tumi is the pass-through that allows you to easily secure a briefcase or backpack to an extended handle on a roller bag. Tumi is not the only company to offer this (I think), but when you spend a ton of time in airports, it's a really nice feature.

I carry a Coach black leather duffle on 1-night trips for the same reasons Houston mentioned back in 2012. It's at least 10 years old and doesn't seem to age. Another gift - and a good one! Ended up buying a matching one for my wife at a Coach outlet for not-crazy money, we'll probably carry these bags forever. Perfect overnight or weekend bag.

For longer trips, I bring a Tumi roller. I've got an all black nylon and leather "townhouse" that's no longer made - has a shiny silver zipper. If I added a huge clothespin it would look a bit punk. No logo. I don't care for many of the newer highly stylized or overly branded bags...

I use a briefcase about 50% of the time for business - it simply rides on the Tumi.

I switch to backpack if I need to carry a camera or expect to do a lot of walking.

All that said, my all-time favorite bag was a Kirkland roller from Costco. Great Costco warranty, similar construction to B&R - makes me think that they might use the same contract manufacturer, or at least do a good job of copying the design (I know, I know).

Either way, for $100 it's hard to beat the Costco bag in terms of weight, durability, and thoughtfully designed compartments and handle integration. You start to appreciate the details when you clock over 100k miles annually... The day I run out of Tumi warranty coverage is the day I likely return to the Kirkland roller.