Living on the Road

SkyRoll Garment Bag

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Suits wrap around the outside

I travel for work, often on 2-night trips. For more than five years, my luggage for such trips is a Skyroll. It presents as a tough nylon garment bag that wraps around a nylon covered tube. Tube is big enough around to hold a pair of shoes with space to spare or a reasonably big toilet kit (new version comes with a toilet kit included). Length of tube is the width of the garment bag. The tube is divided into two compartments, which open at the ends. It has two handles (one on an end, one in the middle) and a strap. Packed with a small amount of care, the Skyroll allows you to avoid hard creases or folds. Two suits, with ties and shirts to go with them, are laid out in the garment bag, which is wrapped around the diameter of the tube. This does a very good job of preventing wrinkles. Underwear, socks, etc. fit in with the shoes and the toilet kit.

On a two night trip, I never feel like I’m sacrificing space (although I’m a believer in the One Bag Checklist). Unless the gate agent is feeling his oats, there is almost always room for the Skyroll in overhead bins. It is soft and takes up less space overall than a rollaboard. And when it does get checked, it holds ups fine. Rather than use the strap, I stack my Skyroll on a rolling briefcase and use the case’s wheels as a mini luggage cart. This packing approach has changed my expectation about wrinkled clothes on work trips. Before: I ironed in my hotel room, or looked frumpy. Now: I expect no more wrinkles than were present when I packed. Maybe experts get similar results by bundle wrapping into standard luggage, I do not. Also, using the SkyRoll is easier. I’ve never tried any of the products the company sells other than the SkyRoll Garment Bag, although they have similar garment bag around a core designs.

-- Thomas T. Ballantine 12/1/17

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