For the past year, for any trip longer than five days, I’ve been travelling with one particular suitcase, and now it’s hard to imagine switching to anything else because this trunk is almost everything I’ve dreamed of.
Meet Tumi’s Rolling Trunk — a check-in size suitcase that has built-in, collapsible shelves, compression straps and zippered covers on both sides. It’s rare to find any modern luggage with shelving, so this was a pleasant discovery when I walked in to Tumi’s store at Mandarin Gallery mid last year. It took me a few months to decide to finally get this (at $2,800, it’s quite an investment), but I’ve had no regrets since, and everyone I’ve showed this to is amazed by it.
Above: the Tumi ROLLING TRUNK at QT Melbourne Hotel. It stands 87cm in height and has an 86L capacity, which can hold more than a week’s worth of travel clothes and essentials.
The Rolling Trunk is part of Tumi’s 19 Degree Aluminum collection, which features the brand’s signature contours that are sculpted at 19 degrees on aircraft-grade alunimum, creating a striking design that’s resilient to all forms of travel. The extendable handle is also made from the same material, making it exceptionally strong. This suitcase looks and feels sturdy, and has handles on both its top and side for easy carrying when needed. And like all the other products in Tumi’s 19 Degree Aluminum collection, this trunk is fitted with 4 dual spinner wheels that are extremely smooth and a joy to use. They glide across floors effortlessly and turn in any direction with ease.
Above: the Tumi ROLLING TRUNK at ace hotel sydney.
This trunk looks great, and protects my things well. It’s not too big that I can’t carry it up and down stairs, but its size can easily fit up to 10 days worth of things.
Its stand-out feature for me are really the shelves. With shelves, I can keep my luggage upright without the need to unpack at the hotel. It’s a portable wardrobe where all my things are perfectly organised and in easy reach. I don’t even need to use packing cubes anymore. I just fold my clothes and place it on the shelf.
One superb benefit of being able to keep my luggage upright, is that I obviously never need to lie it flat down on its side. This means I can easily open the trunk and access my belongings, even in the middle of a busy airport or hotel lobby. Furthermore, it takes up far less floor space in a hotel room, and because it’s not lying flat on its side, there’s less contact with the hotel’s carpet and hence less chance of bed bugs crawling into my suitcase.
Above: the Tumi ROLLING TRUNK at ace hotel sydney.
Speaking of bed bugs, hard-shelled luggage has fewer folds, seams and places for these creepy crawlies to hide in. They prefer soft spots, which means you’re more likely to bring them home with fabric suitcases. I do also like that the Rolling Trunk comes in a gleaming silver finish — this lighter colour makes it easier to inspect and spot bugs, and to clean them off.
The shelves in the Rolling Trunk are also collapsible; so if you have larger or longer items like high boots, you can simply fold one or all of these shelves down to create more space.
Above: the Tumi ROLLING TRUNK at ace hotel sydney.
When I have months between my trips, the trunk turns into handy storage for the home. The family’s winter wear like coats, scarves and Heattech take up one side of the luggage, while the other neatly holds travel pouches, toiletry kits and other travel essentials. And yes, I keep it standing up like a wardrobe because it takes up less floor space, I can easily access my things, and it looks really good as part of the home decor.
Above: the tumi rolling trunk comes with 2 tsa integrated combination locks, a push button to open, and a complimentary monogram service.
The Tumi ROLLING TRUNK is priced at $2,800 and available at Tumi stores and online at TUMI.SG.
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