Being a bit of a road warrior the last many years, I have gone through a LOT of luggage. I’ve written before about some of my experience on best practices for travel, and there has been plenty added to the comments of that post.
I have two modes of travel I operate under, one is the multi-day trip and the other is the day or overnight trip. For each one I now use a particular brand of luggage that suits my needs.
The Day / Overnight Bag:
The first is my day / overnight bag. I have been looking for a road warrior, daily / overnight bag that I could use that ideally was a roller (to save the shoulder). In full disclosure, shortly after I published the 10 Tips to Achieving Travel Zen post mentioned above, the nice folks at Briggs & Riley reached out to me and offered to send me a 15.4 inch Rolling Multicase (KR307) to kick the tires on (see below):
When I first received the Briggs & Riley, I was really worried about the space for an overnight bag. Though the bag also expands, I was still slightly concerned. Needless to say, my first trip tested all of the boundaries of the bag. I brought a change of clothes and a pair of running shoes, shorts and shirt, in addition to my laptop, cords, and notebook. I maxed the bag out and vowed never to put myself through such a frustrating experience again. Since then, I have mastered the art of the day bag, and the Briggs & Riley is what I have been using every day for the past couple of months. The roller aspect alone is worth it 
It has turned into my office bag, and my travel bag for any trip that requires me to spend the night. I definitely recommend the KR307, and in fact one of the other members of my executive team has already purchased one.
The Multi-day Rig:
For any trip that requires more than a nights stay, I bring my tried, true and tested Tumi Townhouse roller. I usually bring the Tumi Westminster bag that straps onto the top of the roller for my laptop, notebook and accessories, and the rest goes into the roller. Like I said, tried, true and tested. This is very high quality luggage that can take a beating yet always be functional. In addition to being functional, its pretty good looking luggage, I mean check out those chrome rims Tumi certainly brings it and is a major contender in the road warrior space.
In addition, for any travel where I require a suit or multiple dress shirts, I use my Tumi garment bag (below). This great bag also features and external pocket on the front that can store all sorts of “extra’s” for the intrepid traveler, cords, chargers, etc. I’ve used it for things I need quick access to in the airport or during travel.
The one point I want to mention is that none of my travel gear is designed for checking baggage. I absolutely avoid checking luggage at all costs. The gear mentioned above allows me to always travel with carry on (unless I’m flying a prop or a puddle jumper but thats another situation altogether).
What is your travel rig? Would love to hear your thoughts on the gear you use and how it streamlines or enhances your travel experience. Thanks for reading.
Blue Sky Factory Blog
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Briggs & Riley Baseline 01 “This is a replacement for my other Briggs and Riley bag that I had for over 15 years. Men’S Shoes
I have been a Briggs & Riley customer for a few years now and I have never faced any problems with any of their products. What put my mind to ease when I started using BR luggage was their lifetime warranty. Even though I haven’t had to use it until now, I think it’s a mark of their faith in the quality of their products!
In review of the Briggs and Riley and TUMI standard business travel luggage. I sell both TUMI and Briggs, the two lines seem equal but when I look hard the TUMI things do stands out. TUMI ballistic is very dense yet it is smoother than the Briggs fabric, the stitching is like a cable stitch and it is much tighter, there are about twice as many stitches in the TUMI. TUMI, has stronger piping, the piping is on the exterior as well as the interior. The TUMI telescoping handle is much stronger than the Briggs, and TUMI's wheels are so advanced that I don't even know how to explain them. The TUMI warranty is normal, Briggs is extreme, what does that mean? I can't really answer that question because I have sold far more Briggs and Riley bags then TUMI. I can say I return far more Briggs for warranty repair then TUMI. TUMI is a better bag, no one disputes that if we only look at price. So which brand, I would say if you fly often its TUMI. A better tire will last longer before it blows out, and there is less chance of catastrophic failure. If Briggs and Riley has a blow out, they will fix or give you another bag; that is if you are still at home when it shows up or if you can wait on it. I don't know which bag, all I know is that a broken bag in an airport in a strange place late at night is a bad thing, a very bad thing.
Briggs is the bomb. Tumi is sooooo expensive that IF it broke after a year, then what. I have a brigs garment roller. Carried it on, checked it, the thing took a beating. I over stuffed this bag so much, I can't believe the only thing I did was tear a little interior fabric. This thing has taken a beating and looks awesome. The warranty is what sold me too. they fixed without question.