A bag for all seasons

One of the many reasons I like wearing linen is that is about the only fabric in which it is acceptable to look like you're wearing an elephant's ear which is why I like to travel in it.

The Samsonite Pro DLX.

Other than using a classic portmanteau that remains upright during its journey the best solution I have found is to use a garment bag with flat-pack hangers, which is not the same as a suit bag in which your two-piece comes. A garment bag is much bigger and this makes the world of difference, especially if you have broad shoulders.

The Samsonite Garment bag has a zip that opens all the way (why oh why don't they all open like this?) and a separate wide zippered area for a folded shirt and accessories like belts and cufflinks. Theirs also has three carry points but I packed mine into my suitcase.

I marvel at people who appear to manage a case in each hand while travelling but I can't. I chose a backpack as my hand luggage and when I read about Samsonite's checkpoint-friendly laptop Pro-DLX3 case, which means you don't have to remove it from the case during security screening. I simply had to have one. It carries a 15-inch laptop in a cushioned compartment that looks like a Rolls Royce's interior and I'm sure it will protect it from a substantial fall. It also looks wonderfully C-suite and you'd happily walk into any boardroom holding this bag by its Napa-leather carrier. The downside of all this padding is that there is less packing space so if you also want to use this bag to carry gear, you are limited.

When in Heathrow, do it Heathrow's way

The Columbia SanGill back pack.

By contrast, the Columbia SanGill lets you stick more stuff into it but offers no protection for your laptop or iPad so you have to take a view about what you will mainly use it for. I actually found it more comfortable to carry on my back and tended to use the Columbia rather than the Samsonite as my daypack of choice while in Europe. The fact that it has a waist band helps take some of the pressure off the shoulders, especially with a heavy load and the Columbia straps and back area are designed to keep you cool.

I've retired my leather hold-all which I previously used and now use the Samsonite as my work bag: it has useful partitions for all the obvious things but also three different zippered sections and even though it cuts a sleek silhouette it does have a pull-out mesh holder for a water bottle, the downside of which is that if you forget that you are wider than you were previously and can knock expensive items from their shelves while browsing through Duty Free.

Like all Columbia gear, this bag is designed for hard-wearing weather. We were caught in a downpour and were very grateful that the Columbia bag comes with its own rain jacket neatly tucked into a base pocket.

I did almost get detained at Heathrow when I refused to take out the laptop from my Samsonite bag. Despite my protestations that the bag is especially designed for security screening with the laptop strapped in place, I was told that Heathrow has its own rules. So there.