Recommends · The Journey
Essential Cabin
The grooved polycarbonate carry-on in gloss slate, built for three to four day trips.
By RIMOWA · $990 · Photography, see credits
Photography: Saks Fifth Avenue
The Essential Cabin is RIMOWA's lightweight polycarbonate carry-on in gloss slate grey, and it carries the brand's signature in every groove of the shell. A stage-free telescopic handle, the ball-bearing Multiwheel system, and TSA approved locks handle the airport; inside, a dual-organization interior with a zipped compartment, mesh pocket, and the patented Flex Divider compression system keeps three to four days of packing in order. It ships with a leather luggage tag and a lifetime guarantee.
Polycarbonate is the right material for a case that will be thrown, stacked, and dragged: it flexes instead of denting, weighs just 3.2 kilograms, and the gloss slate finish hides the scuffs of real travel better than black or white. This is the carry-on that frequent flyers buy when they are done buying carry-ons.
Why it belongs
A Napa weekend is a carry-on trip by definition: fly into STS or SFO on Friday, home on Sunday, with a case that has to survive the overhead bin and still look right in a Yountville hotel lobby. At 55 by 39 by 23 centimetres the Essential Cabin fits the hand luggage restrictions of the major airlines, and the slate grey reads as quiet money next to the rental car at Charles Krug. For anyone who treats wine country as a second home, this is the case that makes the commute.
“The rare suitcase that arrives looking better than it left.”