Your Expert Guide to the Best Travel Gear in the UK
A backpacking rucksack is the load-bearing frame pack, usually 50 litres or larger, built to carry a tent, sleeping bag, stove and several days of food on your back across multi-day trails. That’s the textbook answer, anyway. The real answer is messier, because the best backpacking rucksack for a soggy weekend on the Pennine Way … Read more
Somewhere between the fourth “have you packed your pants” and the departure lounge sprint, every parent asks the same question: why does luggage always end up mismatched, half-broken, and impossible to spot on the carousel? A family luggage set solves a problem that individual suitcases never quite manage — it gives everyone in the house … Read more
Here’s a confession most travel blogs won’t make: buying suitcases one at a time is a mug’s game. You end up with a hard shell carry-on from one January sale, a soft shell “medium” that’s actually enormous, and a checked case so battered it looks like it’s been dragged behind a bus (because, let’s be … Read more
Somewhere between the check-in desk and the departure lounge, every traveller has had the same thought: why does dragging this thing feel like negotiating with a stubborn animal? A 4 wheel suitcase is meant to solve that problem entirely, gliding beside you rather than trailing behind like a reluctant dog on a lead. But “spinner” … Read more
Buying luggage one suitcase at a time is a bit like buying odd socks — technically fine, but you know you’re doing it wrong. A 2 piece luggage set is simply two suitcases, usually a cabin case and a larger hold case, sold together in matching colours, materials and design so you’re not left wheeling … Read more
If you’ve ever watched the departure board at Gatwick with your heart in your mouth as the check-in agent plonks your case on the scales — you’ll know exactly why the lightest check in suitcase you can find is worth every penny of research. The difference between a 2.8 kg suitcase and a 4.5 kg … Read more
There’s something quietly brilliant about a soft shell suitcase. While hard-shell cases get all the glamorous press — looking like something out of a Wes Anderson film — a good soft shell suitcase is busy doing the actual work: flexing into overhead bins, absorbing a baggage handler’s best attempts at creative tossing, and carrying everything … Read more
Picture the scene: you’re standing at the baggage carousel at Heathrow, watching your battered soft-shell case emerge looking like it’s had a disagreement with a forklift. Again. If that sounds familiar, it may be time to seriously consider a hard shell suitcase — and you wouldn’t be alone. Sales of hard case check in luggage … Read more
There’s a particular kind of misery that comes from standing at an airport check-in desk, frantically rearranging your belongings between two overstuffed bags because you bought a suitcase that was just — slightly — too small. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there. And if you’re reading this, you’ve wisely decided it won’t happen again. Finding … Read more
There’s a particular kind of dread that sets in at the baggage carousel. You’ve packed sensibly — or so you thought — and now you’re watching an oversized case that won’t close, stuffed to bursting like a Sunday roast the day after Christmas. Sound familiar? The best medium suitcase solves exactly this problem: enough room … Read more