Your Expert Guide to the Best Travel Gear in the UK
Somewhere between the rigid suitcase and the shoulder-crushing rucksack sits a bag that never quite gets its due credit: the holdall. Squashable, stretchy, happy to be shoved under a bus seat or wedged into an overhead locker — and, when it’s got wheels bolted on, suddenly a genuine rival to the wheelie case you queued … Read more
Here’s a confession most gym-goers won’t say out loud: half of us pick our workout kit based on how good the leggings look, then shove it all into whatever bag happens to be gathering dust by the front door. A rucksack that’s really meant for laptops. A weekend suitcase that takes up half the changing … Read more
Here’s a scenario you already know by heart. You’re standing in the hallway three days before a trip, staring at a suitcase that’s somehow both too small and, mysteriously, still half-empty of the stuff you actually need. You bought souvenirs. Somebody handed you a “just take this back for me” bag. Your holdall from 2019 … Read more
There’s a particular kind of dread reserved for the check-in desk queue, when the person two spots ahead of you is having their bag weighed, measured, and quietly rejected. You watch them repack a jumper into their coat pockets right there on the airport floor, and you promise yourself it will never be you. The … Read more
Somewhere between the rigid suitcase gathering dust in your loft and the flimsy tote bag that splits at the seams on a rainy Tuesday sits the holdall — arguably Britain’s most underrated piece of luggage. It folds flat when you don’t need it, swallows a fortnight’s worth of clothes when you do, and doesn’t charge … Read more
Somewhere between “carry-on” and “second mortgage on excess baggage fees” sits the large holdall bag — and if you’ve never owned a proper one, you’ve probably been quietly overpaying at the check-in desk for years. A large holdall bag is the soft-sided, squashable, gloriously over-capacity answer to the question “how do I fit two weeks … Read more
A good bag should disappear the moment you stop thinking about it, and that’s exactly what the best canvas holdall does. A canvas holdall is a soft-sided, rectangular travel bag made from heavyweight cotton canvas, sometimes wax-treated for water resistance, prized for its durability, character and old-world charm compared with synthetic alternatives. Search for one … Read more
There’s a particular kind of chaos that happens at 6:45am when you’re trying to leave for the gym and your trainers are somehow still damp from yesterday, your towel’s gone missing, and you’re stuffing a protein shaker into a bag that was clearly never designed to hold one. A decent gym holdall bag doesn’t sound … Read more
A decent leather holdall for men has a funny way of outliving three phones, two jobs, and at least one relationship. It doesn’t do anything flashy. It just sits by the door, ready, and somehow looks better every year you own it while everything else in your wardrobe quietly falls apart. That’s the appeal, and … Read more
Somewhere between a suitcase that won’t squash into a car boot and a rucksack that leaves your shoulders aching, there’s the humble holdall. It’s the bag that doesn’t ask questions — sling it over your shoulder, drop it in the overhead locker, wedge it under a train seat, chuck it in the loft when you’re … Read more