Cramming everything you need for a trip into a carry-on suitcase is the best way to avoid checked baggage fees. It’s a refined skill that bag maker Briggs & Riley has just made a little easier with its Baseline luggage, which features a clever compression mechanism to ensure your bag always fits in an overhead bin.
Instead of using a vacuum system, which is hard to re-compress when you’re away from home, the Baseline series employs a rather ingenious ratcheting mechanism on either side of the suitcase’s interior. When filling it with clothing, you can expand the case up for up to 33 per cent more capacity. When you’ve closed the lid and zipped it shut, you can then compress it back down to carry-on approved dimensions.
It maximises how much clothing you can take and should also serve to hold everything inside firmly in place. It’s just too bad the cheapest and smallest model comes in at $US400 — that’s the price to keep your stuff being roughed up by baggage handlers.
