For the longest time, I stuck to the ardent belief that everything had to fit into my backpack when traveling—an ideology born from a six-month backpacking trip through Europe that served to break both my bank and my back. But after a six-block walk with my ski gear crammed in a top-loader left me gasping and sweaty long before I even reached the airport, I decided that rolling luggage does have its advantages. Enter Victorinox's Trek Pack Plus line, active-minded luggage geared toward the rolling-bag reticent. Targeted for the trail as much as the tarmac, this bag employs trekking pole technology into its swivel-grip telescoping handle, has a dual-access sleeping bag/boot compartment with anti-bacterial coating that cinches closed to keep the dirty away from the clean, and contains two removable internal pouches to mitigate sifting through the other items in your pack to get to your phone charger or toothbrush. And—backpackers rejoice—when the terrain is too much for the 80-millimeter wheels, padded shoulder straps and a hip belt zip out from the fabric backing. You wouldn't want to trek through the Alps on this harness, but it's plenty comfortable for that rocky two-hour hike to your backcountry hut. The 4,700 cubic inches offered plenty of space for essentials and souvenirs while stomping through Sri Lanka for three weeks (22- and 24-inch sizes also available), and the detachable daypack with concealed shoulder straps, moisture-wicking mesh lining, hydration port, and dual mesh water bottle pockets is a great city-stomping or day-hiking fall back. The bag did get mangled by overzealous TSA agents en route from D.C. to Manhattan, coming out on the conveyer belt wrapped in plastic like some perverse birthday present, but even with one busted zipper, the Trek Pack Plus performed just the way a bag should—and for those new to the wheeled-luggage gospel, that was downright heavenly to discover.
$299; www.swissarmy.com (available for purchase exclusively at REI)