Packing efficiently and smartly is crucial for any journey, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a long-term adventure. The right travel gear not only makes your trip smoother but also enhances your overall travel experience. If you’re aiming for more freedom and flexibility on your travels, fitting everything into a carry-on and a personal item is a game-changer. You’ll appreciate this decision, especially when travel plans take unexpected turns. While checking bags might be necessary for specific trips like extended business travel or destination weddings, for most journeys, packing light and smart with Cool Travel Items is the way to go.
Cool Carry-on Backpacks (Non-Rolling)
For travelers who prioritize mobility and ease, a carry-on backpack is an excellent choice. These backpacks offer hands-free convenience and are designed to meet most airline carry-on size restrictions.
Top Pick: Cotopaxi Allpa 35L – Your Versatile Travel Companion
A person standing outside in a light blue short sleeve shirt wears the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L backpack, in black with a gray llama-head logo and aqua accents.
The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L is a top-tier cool travel item, perfect for both short weekend trips and week-long adventures. Its clamshell opening makes packing and organizing a breeze, allowing you to neatly arrange your belongings and easily access them. The robust strap system offers versatility, enabling you to comfortably wear it as a backpack or carry it like a briefcase when navigating crowded spaces.
A Versatile Small Pack for a Week or a Weekend
The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L excels in its design for organization and durability. It simplifies packing with its suitcase-style, zippered opening, and its straps are designed for comfortable carrying. Handles on all four sides add to its grab-and-go convenience, regardless of how you’ve stowed it. The Allpa’s thoughtfully designed straps ensure a comfortable fit for various body types, a feature particularly appreciated by our female testers. Cotopaxi’s updated version includes a luggage handle pass-through and a handy stretch-mesh water bottle pocket, enhancing its travel-friendliness.
This cool travel backpack is built to last, backed by a full lifetime warranty. The water-resistant, TPU-coated polyester front panel ensures your gear stays dry and protected, even in damp conditions. The 1680-denier ballistic nylon paneling adds to its durability, making it resistant to wear and tear. Kit Dillon, Wirecutter’s senior staff writer, has relied on the Allpa 35L (paired with a personal item) as her primary travel luggage for years, testament to its reliability and practicality.
While the Allpa 35L offers streamlined organization within the main compartment, it has minimal dedicated pockets for smaller items like pens or documents. This is where a personal item comes in handy, complementing the backpack’s capacity.
Buying Options:
- $180 from REI
- Buy from Amazon
Upgrade Pick: Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L – Customizable and Expandable
A tester from behind, wearing the uniformly black, sporty Peak Design bag
For longer trips or travelers with specialized gear, the Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L stands out as a cool and highly adaptable travel item. Initially designed with photographers in mind, its thoughtful features and customizable nature appeal to all types of travelers. Its easy access points, cleverly hidden straps, and expandable/compressible design make it incredibly versatile. Though accessory cubes are sold separately, they enhance the bag’s organizational capabilities.
An Easily Customizable Large Bag for Long Trips and Expensive Gear
The Peak Design Travel Backpack 45L is like a Swiss Army knife for backpacks. It’s adjustable, customizable with modular accessories, and creates a near-perfect system for photographers or tech enthusiasts on the move. Unlike many expandable bags that look bulky and awkward when expanded, the Peak Design maintains its sleek appearance whether packed to its 45-liter capacity or compressed to a 30-liter daypack. Accessing your belongings is easy through the back panel (which also houses a laptop and tablet sleeve), the front panel via a pass-through divider, and side wing-like flaps. In its standard configuration, it holds 35 liters, expanding to 45 liters when needed.
For day trips or lighter loads, the backpack easily transforms into a 30-liter daypack by folding in the top corners and securing them. While slightly larger than a typical daypack, this compromise is worthwhile for having a single backpack that serves as both your main travel bag and daypack. Constructed from durable 400D nylon and polyester fabrics, the Peak Design Travel Backpack is robust, though perhaps not as rugged as the Cotopaxi Allpa. The primary drawbacks are its higher price point, especially when factoring in the optional packing and camera cubes, and its complex design with multiple zippers which, while versatile, could be potential points of weakness. However, Peak Design backs its bags with a lifetime warranty.
Buying Options:
- $300 from REI
- $300 from Amazon
Cool Rolling Carry-on Luggage
For those who prefer to roll their luggage, a carry-on spinner offers convenience and less strain, especially on longer airport transits.
Top Pick: Travelpro Platinum Elite 21″ Carry-On Spinner – Feature-Rich and Reliable
A person walking through an airport with the Travelpro Platinum Elite carry-on bag.
The Travelpro Platinum Elite 21″ Carry-On Spinner is a fantastic cool travel item, offering an optimal blend of size, value, dependability, and long-lasting durability, complete with premium features. Its lifetime warranty provides added peace of mind.
Great Features, Great Value
The Travelpro Platinum Elite 21″ Expandable Spinner has been consistently recognized since 2015 as a top choice for most travelers due to its excellent balance of features, durability, and price. Extensive testing, including evaluations by flight attendants in a simulated plane fuselage, has solidified its position as a leading carry-on. It’s particularly ideal for those flying less than 25,000 miles annually.
A person sitting in an airport chair with our pick for best carry-on luggage in front of them.
The Platinum Elite boasts smooth, replaceable wheels, a sturdy and comfortable telescoping handle, and a robust nylon exterior built upon a solid internal frame. Improvements over previous Platinum models include a reduced handle footprint when stowed and the addition of a second zippered exterior pocket for quick access items, along with a USB pass-through for on-the-go phone charging (requires your own battery pack). Weighing in at just 7.8 pounds empty, it’s lighter than its predecessors.
For its price range, the Travelpro Platinum Elite offers surprisingly high-end components and a comprehensive lifetime warranty that even covers airline damage, provided you register the suitcase within 120 days of purchase.
Buying Options:
- $365 from Amazon
- $365 from Travelpro
Upgrade Pick: Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential 22″ Carry-On Expandable Spinner – Premium Choice for Frequent Flyers
The Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential 22– Carry-On Expandable Spinner, our upgrade pick for rolling carry-on luggage.
For frequent flyers logging over 25,000 miles a year, the Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential 22″ Carry-On Expandable Spinner is a worthwhile investment in cool and high-performance travel gear. It offers unique features, superior construction, and ample expandable space, backed by a satisfaction guarantee.
For Frequent Flyers
The Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential 22-Inch Carry-On Expandable Spinner is recommended for those who travel extensively and demand top-quality luggage. Its standout feature is its exceptional packing capacity, exceeding that of other tested bags thanks to its spacious interior and innovative expansion-compression system. This system adapts to varying packing needs, offering more than just simple open and closed states.
Brian Lam, Wirecutter’s founder, used the Briggs & Riley Baseline for over 150,000 miles before the pandemic, a testament to its durability and functionality. His only minor critique was that longer pants may require an extra fold compared to taller bags.
Buying Options:
- $699 from Briggs & Riley
Cool Personal Items (Underseat Luggage)
A personal item bag is an essential cool travel item, fitting under the airplane seat and providing extra storage and organization for essentials.
Top Pick: Waterfield Air Porter Carry-On Bag – Tech-Savvy and Stylish
The Waterfield Air Porter Carry-On Bag, our top pick for personal item luggage, in brown leather and canvas.
The Waterfield Air Porter Carry-On Bag is a cool and versatile personal item, ideal for tech-savvy travelers. It combines the professional look of a briefcase with the organizational features and capacity of a small daypack.
A Shoulder Bag to Organize Your Tech
Personal items are, by nature, very personal. The Waterfield Air Porter Carry-On Bag excels as a tech organizer while still providing enough space for a change of clothes and other essentials. Its refined aesthetic makes it suitable for both travel and professional settings.
Buying Options:
- $389 from SF Bags
Alternative Pick: Monos Metro Duffel – Luxurious and Spacious Duffel
The Monos Metro Duffel, our weekend-bag alternative pick for personal item luggage, in black nylon.
If the Air Porter’s style or price isn’t quite right, the Monos Metro Duffel is a stylish and cool travel item alternative. This luxurious shoulder bag offers excellent organization and travel-friendly add-ons.
A Weekend-Bag Alternative
The Monos Metro Duffel is a refined carryall with luxurious details and impressive capacity, rivaling even our rolling carry-on pick in terms of space. It’s designed with detailed organization features and optional add-ons to streamline your travel experience. For more personal item options, explore our full guide to underseat luggage.
Buying Options:
- $215 from Monos
Cool Checked Luggage for Extended Trips
When you need to pack more than carry-on capacity allows, reliable checked luggage becomes essential. However, before resorting to checking a bag, consider whether you truly need everything you plan to bring.
Top Pick for Taller Torsos: Osprey Farpoint 55 Men’s Travel Pack – Comfortable and Versatile
The Osprey Farpoint 55 Men's Travel Pack, our top pick for checked travel backpacks for taller torsos, in dark grey.
The Osprey Farpoint 55 Men’s Travel Pack is a top cool travel item for those needing checked luggage, offering comfort, adjustability, and carry-on compatibility for longer trips.
The Best Travel Backpack for Those with Taller Torsos
Comfortable, adjustable, and carry-on compatible, the Farpoint 55 has ample space for a week or even months of travel.
Buying Options:
- $220 from REI
- $190 from Amazon
Top Pick for Shorter Torsos: Osprey Fairview 55 Women’s Travel Pack – Designed for Comfort
The Osprey Fairview 55 Women's Travel Pack, our top pick for checked travel backpacks for shorter torsos, in purple.
The Osprey Fairview 55 Women’s Travel Pack is the female-specific counterpart, a cool travel item tailored for shorter torsos while offering the same great features as the Farpoint 55.
The Best Travel Backpack for Those with Shorter Torsos
Like the Farpoint, the Fairview 55 is comfortable, adjustable, and carry-on capable, providing everything needed for extended travel.
Buying Options:
- $220 from REI
- $174 from Amazon
The Farpoint 55 and Fairview 55 are excellent choices for travelers who anticipate walking extensively, especially on uneven terrains. These travel backpacks are comfortable, spacious, and designed to keep your essentials organized. The main compartment opens like a suitcase for easy packing, while the detachable daypack is perfect for camera gear, daily necessities, and a small laptop. Straps can be tucked away for checking the main pack, preventing snagging.
Constructed from heavy-duty recycled polyester, these bags are built to withstand rigorous travel. One tester has used a Farpoint 55 for years across numerous countries without damage. Osprey’s lifetime warranty provides additional assurance.
Top Pick Rolling Checked Bag: Travelpro Platinum Elite 25″ Expandable Spinner – Luxury and Capacity
The Travelpro Platinum Elite 25– Expandable Spinner, our top pick for checked rolling luggage, in black.
For those who prefer rolling luggage for checked bags, the Travelpro Platinum Elite 25″ Expandable Spinner is a cool travel item that provides a luxurious feel and ample space.
The Best Checked Bag for Most Travelers
The Travelpro Platinum Elite 25″ Expandable Spinner offers a luxury experience at a reasonable price, with ample capacity, a strong warranty, and reliable durability suitable for most travelers. The 25-inch model provides plenty of packing room without exceeding airline weight restrictions. It earns our top recommendation for checked luggage for the same reasons as the carry-on version: excellent organization, exceptional durability, and a superior warranty for its price point.
Buying Options:
- $416 from Amazon
- $416 from Travelpro
Cool Luggage Tags and Trackers for Peace of Mind
Luggage tags and trackers are essential cool travel items to ensure your bags are easily identifiable and trackable, minimizing the risk of loss.
Top Pick Luggage Tag: Ovener Silicone Luggage Tag – Durable and Visible
The Ovener Silicone Luggage Tag, our pick for the best luggage tag, shown on a wooden background
The Ovener Silicone Luggage Tag is a cool and practical travel item, designed to be robust, user-friendly, and discreet.
Strong and Easy to See
Durable silicone construction and a metal cable ensure this luggage tag (sold in packs of two) will likely outlast your luggage. The brightly colored case displays your name while keeping other personal details concealed.
Buying Options:
- $8 from Amazon(pack of two)
A good luggage tag is crucial for quick and easy bag retrieval and should withstand the rigors of baggage handling. After extensive research and testing, the Ovener Silicone Luggage Tag is our top recommendation for most travelers. It’s exceptionally durable and comes in various colors to make your luggage stand out.
Its silicone body is nearly indestructible and available in assorted colors. A metal grommet reinforces the metal cable, preventing wear and tear on the silicone case. The contact information card is securely enclosed, requiring unscrewing the metal strap to access it, offering privacy while still allowing for easy identification if needed. This extra step is a worthwhile trade-off for those who prefer to keep their contact information private.
Top Pick Bluetooth Tracker: Apple AirTag – Accurate Tracking for iPhone Users
For tech-savvy travelers, the Apple AirTag is a cool and invaluable travel item, providing precise location tracking for your luggage.
The Best Bluetooth Tracker for iPhone Users
Bluetooth trackers offer real-time location monitoring of your belongings via your phone, tablet, or computer. For iPhone users, the Apple AirTag is the clear frontrunner. Leveraging Apple’s vast network, AirTags provide unparalleled accuracy in locating lost items. No other tracker matches the AirTag’s broad reach and precision. Apple is also integrating AirTag location data with several airlines, enhancing luggage tracking capabilities directly within airline systems.
Buying Options:
- $65 from Best Buy (pack of four)
- $65 from Amazon (pack of four)
- $23 from Walmart(pack of one)
- $29 from Apple(pack of one)
Cool Compression Sacks for Space Saving
Compression sacks are cool travel items designed to minimize the volume of clothing, especially bulky items, creating more space in your luggage.
Top Pick Compression Sack: Osprey StraightJacket (8L) – Easy Access, Moderate Compression
The Osprey StraightJacket (8L) compression sack, our top pick, shown packed with clothing.
The Osprey StraightJacket (8L) is a user-friendly and cool travel item that offers compression with the added benefit of easy access to your packed items.
Easier Access, Less Compression
Originally intended for compressing sleeping bags, compression sacks are now widely used by travelers to condense clothing. The Osprey StraightJacket (8L) features a side zipper for full access to contents, unlike traditional top-loading sacks. Its side compression straps are less prone to tangling. While it may not compress as tightly as traditional designs, its accessibility and ease of use make it highly practical. It can also stand upright and be used as a last-minute carry-on to avoid overweight baggage fees.
Buying Options:
- $28 from REI
Cool Packing Cubes for Ultimate Organization
Packing cubes are game-changing cool travel items that revolutionize luggage organization, making packing and unpacking simpler and more efficient.
Top Pick Packing Cubes: Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set – Durable and Accessible
The small, medium, and large blue cubes from Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set, packed.
The Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set is a top-rated cool travel item for keeping your luggage impeccably organized.
Well Built with Easy Access
Packing cubes act like drawers within your suitcase, separating clothing categories for easy access. The Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set includes three sizes to organize a week’s worth of clothes. The full-size cube is ideal for shirts and shorts, while the smaller cubes are perfect for underwear and socks. Made from durable 300-denier polyester, these cubes are sturdy and easy to pack, maintaining their shape even when empty. They feature snag-resistant mesh windows and smooth zippers for easy closure, even when overstuffed.
The Eagle Creek cubes fully unzip for complete access when placed in dresser drawers, keeping your clothes protected in less-than-pristine hotel dressers. While Eagle Creek updated their zippers, moving away from YKK, the performance remains indistinguishable, and the cubes continue to be highly reliable.
Buying Options:
- $40 from Amazon
Best Lightweight Packing Cubes: Eagle Creek Pack-It Isolate Cube Set – Lightweight and Water-Resistant
The Eagle Creek Pack-It Isolate Cube Set, our pick for lightweight packing cubes, in grey.
For travelers prioritizing minimal weight, the Eagle Creek Pack-It Isolate Cube Set is a cool travel item alternative that is incredibly lightweight and water-resistant.
Best packing cubes for those who travel light
The Eagle Creek Pack-It Isolate Cube Set offers the same shape as the Reveal cubes but is significantly lighter and water-resistant, thanks to its thinner material. While slightly less structured than the Reveal set, making them a bit trickier to pack, their lightweight and water-resistant properties are ideal for weight-conscious travelers.
Buying Options:
- $59 from Amazon
- $59 from Eagle Creek
Choosing the right cool travel items can significantly enhance your travel experience. From efficient luggage to smart accessories, investing in quality travel gear ensures smoother journeys and allows you to focus on enjoying your adventures.
