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Lupine Hammack
What you shove into the overhead bin is your business. But gear-hounds like us care deeply. Choosing a bag that holds all your stuff and won’t get taken at the gate depends as much on personal style as the places you roam.
I’m on the road every month, but rarely on an actual road. Whether outside my San Francisco apartment or in a Mexican fishing village, the ground beneath my feet is hardly ever smooth enough for a rolling bag. So I travel with this magically convertible duffel. With grab handles, a shoulder strap, and a backpack configuration, it’s always easy to carry. It holds a week’s worth of clothes and is tough enough for the worst punishment of all: baggage handlers.
Victorinox Mountaineer Duffel Backpack $130
It looks like it should be filled with the parts of a sniper rifle, and I like that—when traveling for business, you shouldn’t look like you’re packing happy-face boxers. It’s incredibly light, compact, and versatile. The hard plastic shell offers enough give that you can stuff the suitcase like crazy. But the best part is its mechanical simplicity—I’ve never had a problem with the handle or wheels, which I can’t say for the many other rollers I’ve spun through.
Muji Hard Carry Travel Suit Case 33L $176
Around my 37th flight in 2013, I grudgingly accepted that I had become a “business traveler.” But thanks to this gift from my amazing wife, I don’t have to look like every other airport-weary schlub. The 21-inch leather-and-fiberboard case has a retractable aluminum handle and silky rolling action, but English craftsmanship and design are the real stars. Each piece is made to order, hand-constructed in Hertfordshire just as they were for Winston Churchill and Edmund Hillary.
Globe-Trotter Original Trolley Case $1,072
Sonia Yeck
