Gadget of the Week: When luggage becomes companion

Don’t shout at me, but I’m in a new relationship. She travels with me, I run after her, and I dance with her.

I never imagined I would get so close to an inanimate object, but it changed my travel life in the time it took to walk from a car dropping me off at the Gautrain station to reaching the train.

It is called the Cellini Monte Carlo 4-Wheel Front Opener Trolley Case, but I decided, for the first time in my travel life, to personalise it with a name. Meet Celia.

What is it?

Celia is a black, hard-shell carry-on model with tan trim, from Cellini’s Monte Carlo sub-brand. The product tag calls it a Business 4-Wheel Carry-on Trolley Case. Its full name sounds like something one would enter on a customs declaration, but the Monte Carlo sub-brand suggests it expects better accommodation than the average business traveller can justify.

The suitcase first attracted me because of the functionality offered by its outer compartment. It combines the storage and organisation of a laptop bag, allowing one to travel with one piece of luggage, while still providing quick and easy access to a computer.

My Dell XPS 13 ultra-light laptop practically vanished into the laptop compartment, but it even accommodated a heavyweight Huawei MateBook D16 on a subsequent trip, with room to spare. Judging by the space remaining, I expect it to comfortably accommodate a 17-inch laptop. This also means the computer and its accessories travel on the suitcase’s wheels, taking their weight off a shoulder or back.

The outside compartment is, in effect, an organiser, with a laptop sleeve and retaining strap, additional slip pockets, and a zipped pocket in the lid. A tablet or documents can travel alongside the computer, while smaller accessories can be arranged in their own dedicated storage. The layout provides the organising capacity I expect from a laptop bag, but inside the suitcase.

It also keeps the work equipment accessible while clothes remain packed in the main compartment. At airport security, the laptop comes out through the front. Between flights, the same access allows a traveller to open the computer and get on with work. In short, a cabin case can hold the equipment for the working day as well as the clothes for the overnight stay.

Celia living her best life, watching football highlights in the SAA lounge at Cape Town International Airport. Photo: ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.

Luggage makers are putting effort into this feature. Samsonite’s Paralux carry-on has a separate front pocket for a laptop or tablet, while Rimowa’s Essential Sleeve includes a padded section for a laptop of up to 16 inches. The appeal is strong on a short business trip, when a wheeled case can accommodate both parts of the visit.

The locking arrangement secures both compartments. A pair of short metal cables links the front-compartment zip sliders to the main zip pulls, which clip into an integrated TSA combination lock. Locking the case therefore secures the computer compartment as well as the clothes.

A double-layer zip track, with one row running beneath the other, is designed to make it harder to force the fastening apart with a sharp object. Cellini calls this Safe-T-Zip, and it complements the combination lock by strengthening the zip itself against tampering.

The 43-litre case measures 553 x 212 x 400mm in height, depth and width – useful numbers for the pro traveller who plans around airline requirements ahead of flying and luggage purchases.

Ultimately, the wheels won me over. The ease with which the case moves became apparent on that first walk to the Gautrain. A slight change of direction at the handle sends its wheels obediently along the new route. Turn the case around and it obliges so readily that it becomes tempting to do it again. Give it a light push, and it easily glides ahead without you.

It comes into its own when dealing with the vagaries of airport transit. OR Tambo airport has more uphills than the Magaliesberg. My previous carry-on trolley suitcase left my hands almost raw from dragging it along its cavernous arrival hallways. Now, the Monte Carlo manages those uphills effortlessly, with barely a nudge.

Cape Town airport provides its own form of passenger exercise through those absurd carpets leading from security to departures. One wonders who approved flooring that adds resistance to wheeled luggage on a route largely populated by people with wheeled luggage. Yet, Celia crossed those carpets easily, and for the first time I didn’t feel the need to hog the sides where tiles allow smoother transit.

I so enjoyed this newfound freedom, I began twirling the case around. Because I could. The movement is so effortless that it encourages a certain amount of showing off. People stared, apparently not used to seeing someone dancing with their luggage.

What does it cost?

The Cellini Monte Carlo Business 4-Wheel Carry-on Front Opener Trolley Case costs R2,9099, with a 10-year warranty, in Cellini stores. See https://www.celliniluggage.co.za/products/cellini-monte-carlo-front-opener-carry-on-trolley-case-copy

Does it make a difference?

Combining a laptop bag and cabin luggage in one wheeled case can ease a mobile worker’s load. The outer compartment provides the organisation and access needed for work, while the wheels take the effort out of moving the computer and clothes through an airport. Should the laptop bag be needed, for example for meetings, standard bag slide easily over the pull-handle.

What are the biggest negatives?

• At 3.04kg empty, the case takes a bite out of a restrictive cabin-baggage weight allowances.

What are the biggest positives?

• The organised outer compartment can replace a laptop bag, with ample room for a large notebook computer and its accessories.
• Excellent wheel performance makes airport slopes and carpets easy to negotiate.
• The locking system secures both compartments, complemented by a tamper-resistant Safe-T-Zip.

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge.

The post Gadget of the Week: When luggage becomes companion appeared first on Gadget.