Yolanda, who loves the numbers game, recently calculated how many days we’ve not been home in Brooklyn so far this year. The number, including this last trip to South Carolina, is 220 days. I’m also proud to say this is the first time in my life I’ve reached Diamond status from Delta ( if you know you know)—finally in the league of my senseis David Coggins and Michael Williams. All this travel in different countries, climates and terrain—in cars, boats, planes and trains—usually involves some very clever packing. I will be honest with you, I am not very efficient at it; in short, I always overpack. This comes from a place of NEVER wanting to be under-geared. Possible rain showers? Barbour. Cold snap? Cashmere sweater. Nice pool or hot tub? Bathing suit. Possible black tie event? Tuxedo. You get the picture.
What I am good at, is choosing the right bag or luggage for the trip that will accommodate all this overpacking, and I have a steady arsenal to choose from that suits the specifics of each trip. There is hard luggage with wheels (sorry Mr. Coggins, some real men roll), small cabin size options, trunks in aluminum and composite, soft canvas duffles in various sizes and styles, and a few weatherproof lightweight duffles for more “adventure” travel.
In the world of aluminum hard case luggage, you have to remember there can be no overpacking beyond your initial edit. This means if you buy a wool overcoat or chunky sweater on your trip you will NOT be packing it in your hard case aluminum luggage, because you won’t be able to close the damn thing and lock it. There is some wiggle room with composite material luggage, but not much. Also, if you rent small cars (like in Europe) you will never fit 2-3 people with luggage without dropping one back seat. Our poor daughter Clara has been subject to this arrangement many times, being clobbered by a bag on a sharp corner—not fun for the backseat passenger.
This is where soft canvas duffles come into play. You can easily stuff extra items found on your journey, and I have traveled home with them literally busting at the seams. They are also a bit more forgiving when you’re stuffing them into a baggage compartment of a train or trunk of car.
Here is my list of favorite luggage. All of these brands have slightly different aesthetics, fabrication and costs points, but none have failed me. I honestly enjoy the process of picking the right one from the stable to suit each trip.