It's SO DIFFICULT to choose the right luggage for travel. You don't want to spend too little, and wind up with tattered luggage on the luggage carousel, with pitying looks from your fellow travelers. And some luggage is so expensive - is it worth the money? We've had great luck with lilypond and fishpond luggage - and are happy to share them with our Wandering Educators.

You've probably read our review of one of our favorite luggage lines, lilypond (including a fun podcast with creator John Le Coq). One of the cool things abougt lilypond is that they are designed for women, and bring the bright and lively colors of nature to your luggage.

fishpond is the well-established older brother to lilypond, designed for an outdooor/fishing market, but readily transferable to the durable luggage market for travel. fishpond and lilypond are both well-designed, with great features and fantastic colors that stand out from the crowd of black suitcases with red or neon orange markers. The unique colors make lilypond and fishpond luggage really stand out amongst all the other luggage on the carousel.

fishpond is headquartered under the peaks of the Colorado Rockies, and thus has a plethora of great design ideas (and testing grounds) for their products. fishpond gear is good for both land and water (note their expansive fishing and outdoor collections of packs, vests, gear, bags, accessories, tools, dog products, and yes, great luggage). fishpond notes:

"Our designs blend style with functionality-yielding products known for their creativity, durability and value. Each fishpond design is inspired by our own angling experiences and travel adventures-resulting in products that perform flawlessly under the most demanding conditions."

fishpond has a whole line of luggage, including carryons, a briefcase, messenger bag, backpack, toiletry kits, travel pouches, wallets, and laptop sleeves. They are all beautifully designed and extremely durable and functional.

So - let me share with our our experience of the fishpond Bumpy Road Cargo Duffel on our recent trip to Ireland and Scotland. We wanted a bag that was easy to handle, could fit a lot, and was able to accommodate our tripod (26" long when retracted). When fishpond sent us the Bumpy Road Cargo Duffel, we were elated. It is a beautiful pine green, with natural accents. It has very strong handles, wheels at one end, and even a shoulder strap. Best of all, it fit our tripod and ALL of our belongings that weren't being carried on. We had decided to take three pieces of luggage, and in the end took just two, because the fishpond bag held so much - and was under the 50 pound weight limit.

fishpond luggage in Co Kerry, Ireland 

We were astonished in the Shannon airport to see that after several flights, the fishpond bag still looked new. Yes, we fielded great comments from our fellow passengers about the bag - they had never seen such an interesting and useful bag. We loved that the hard bottom by the wheels deflected any breakage of things inside - all our belongings arrived in one piece. It fit well into the rental car, and rolled easily into our home. When we flew to Glasgow (then back to Ireland, and then home to the US), the same thing happened - safe belongings, envy of other passengers, great size and fit (amazing how old hat such compliments get). The bag still looks new here at home - it's the most durable luggage we've ever used.

fishpond luggage at the Shannon airport 

We highly recommend fishpond luggage to anyone who travels.

http://www.fishpondusa.com