best carry-on suiter for work travel?

April 20, 2008 1:07 PM

Starting a new job which will require lots of short (i.e. 1-2 nights) travel - what's the best carry-on option that will handle a suit and tie? Is it advisable or should I just bite the bullet and check my suit?

I am growing to hate the check-in process and would like to be able to take my suit and tie and one other change of clothes in the suiter.

Looking for advice from travelers - not sure who to trust from the interweb, so turning to The Hive.

Thanks!

posted by dyerfr to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

You should be able to find a carry-on sized suit bag. Avoid checking if at all possible.
posted by b1tr0t at 1:13 PM on April 20

Thanks, b1tr0t - i see lots of carryon suiters; which do you recommend? That's the crux of the question - which one???
posted by dyerfr at 1:21 PM on April 20

Victorinox's Mobilizer bags have a built-in suiter. The bags can be carried on as long as you don't use the expansion zipper.
posted by Ostara at 1:30 PM on April 20

Which one depends on how much money you want to spend, and what features you need.

If I were you, I'd look for a luggage shop that carries a number of different brands across the price range of what you are willing to spend.

As long as the suit section is wide enough that you don't need any lateral folds, you should be fine.
posted by b1tr0t at 1:30 PM on April 20

i use the Travel Pro stuff, has lasted a long time. on one nighter's i use a rolling computer bag by Swiss that I got for around $200 at staples. My labtop and a couple changes of clothes all in one carry on.

Checking bags sucks, but so does the security lines at the x-ray. i don't even take toothpaste and shaving cream, most hotels will give you those free if you ask

I wouldn't go crazy worrying about the bag, spend your money on wrinkle free shirts and jackets. Every hotel room in the US has an iron ( not so much abroad, most places you have to request them in the UK)
posted by Mr_Chips at 1:33 PM on April 20

Seconding TravelPro's gear. I love my rollerbag and have heard similar praise from other travelers.

For my suit, I just roll the jacket and trousers up which seems to deliver it far less crumpled than when I used a suit bag.
posted by NailsTheCat at 2:17 PM on April 20

As Mr_Chips said, decent hotels (and even some not-so-decent ones) have an iron and ironing board in the room, so you can "fix" minor wrinkles in the morning.

I would avoid checking a bag if at all possible.
posted by QuantumMeruit at 4:04 PM on April 20

A skyroll has always worked for me in those cases. It preserves my suit (relatively) wrinkle free and there is a suprising amount of storage inside the cylinder.
posted by dzot at 4:12 PM on April 20

TravelPro has a great rollerbag. Currently, I use an Atlantic Infinity Elite rolling bag with suiter. It has held up really well over the past 4 years of use.
posted by HauteMama at 5:55 PM on April 20

Are you usually travelling to the same place? Can you arrange to leave clothing there? Hotels may hold it for you, and will almost always have laundry services.
posted by jenkinsEar at 6:09 PM on April 20

Your jacket and shirt will be wrinkled no matter what bag you use. I have found if you fold the jacket in half down the back, and then doubled it over, it will fit into a carry-on bag. Although some wrinkles will exist, it is not the same amount as crumpling up your jacket and throwing it in the bag.

Hang it up when you get to your hotel room and then get your iron really hot at its full steam level, and tilt it upwards so that it faintly brushes the jacket where the wrinkles are. You may need to do this several times until the wrinkles come out. It will look good enough to get you by. Best of luck.
posted by boots77 at 6:30 PM on April 20

Separate the suit out and hang it up in the bathroom, in such a way that gravity stretches it. Shut the door. Run the hotel shower on hot-only at a very low pressure until the bathroom is filled with steam. Make sure fans etc are off. When you can't see further than your arms' length, turn off the shower. Leave it a couple of hours. In the morning, check on it, and if it's still damp, lay it on a towel in the sunlight. (Or if no sunlight is available, run a hairdryer over it.)
posted by aeschenkarnos at 6:58 PM on April 20