Luggage to Go

MyLittleBird art director Kathy Legg likes these new lightweight Lipault bags. The 22-inch carry-on in an easy-to-clean nylon twill weighs less than 5 pounds. $199 at lipault-us.com.

You’ll be ready to do battle at the airport with Barbour’s 6-ounce, waxed cotton camo duffle with removable, adjustable shoulder strap. $325 at orvis.com.

Inspired by bespoke trunks and designed by experienced women travelers, Ebby Rane’s Quartermaster has a protective hard shell and an interior fitted out with interlocking carry-alls for liquids, jewels, shoes, etc. Weighing in at 7 pounds without the carry-alls, it’s $825 at ebbyrane.com.

Available in girly pink but also in cream, olive, red, tangerine and black, Bric’s Bellagio 21-inch spinner trunk, with polycarbonate shell, weighs in at 5.8 pounds. Interior zipped compartments for optimal organization. $550 at bricstore.com.

A summery pop of color overlays the traditional monogram on Louis Vuitton’s Keepall 45 Ramages. A real splurge at $2,200 (us.louisvuitton.com), but I’ve had a similar LV duffel for the past 19 years.

AS THIS SPATE sunny days teases us into believing warm weather has finally arrived, we can’t help but dream about spring and summer escapes (we Little Birds do like our getaways).

Which inevitably raises the question of how to pack and just as important, what to pack in. The days of luxurious airplane travel having long gone, conventional wisdom says no to checking luggage (unless you happen to own the airplane). But you don’t have to settle for non-descript carry-ons . New choices on the market are lightweight enough to easily hoist into overhead bins and durable enough to weather the bumps along the route. They’re also attractive, available in a range of colors and meet those pesky TSA requirements.

And, if you simply must check your baggage, the latest word in luggage, as in just about everything else, is “smart.” According to a recent article in the New York Times, manufacturers, including Samsonite, Delsey and Rimowa, are set to introduce lines of suitcases with tracking capability.

–Janet Kelly