Unlock the Hidden Travel Gems of 2026: Esquire’s Awards Reveal Surprising Winners You Need to Know Now

Our luggage list just wouldn’t be complete without a Rimowa shout-out. We have stood behind the brand’s luxury designs and high price point for many years. This year, our hands-down favorite launch was this leather Distinct Cabin. While the brand is known for its stainless steel, it doesn’t come short on producing top-tier materials across the board, and the leather on this thing is simply stunning. Plus, its edges still give you a touch of that classic look with anodized aluminum. This is surely the suitcase that will grab attention at the airport.

If understated luxury were a carry-on suitcase, it would be this one from Carl Friedrik, a brand known for its simple, Scandinavian-inspired design. The Carry-on X takes the signature look of the Core Carry-on and adds a soft-shell front pocket for a more varied mixed-material look and a more lightweight feel. With its dual-zip TSA lock, smooth spinner wheels, and easy-to-organize interior, it’s the perfect companion for a five-day trip—like the one our tester took to London.

We realize a majority of the suitcases on this list are hard-sided options, but a soft-sided option with all the right compartments is where Tumi reigns supreme. The shell of this carry-on is still sturdy and plenty durable, but it has flexible fabric that makes it so you actually can overpack a little if you want to. The best part: its front pocket, meaning there’s no more swinging open your entire suitcase in the airport when you have to. You can simply unzip the front pocket and reach right into the contents of your bag. The sheer practicality of this bag is what makes it a winner.

Another winner for the soft-sided category; we absolutely love the iconic Lost in Berlin collection from Lipault. This suitcase is extremely malleable but built to take abuse: You stuff it, pack it, kick it to shit if you want. It will withstand just about anything and store more than anything else you can find. And sure, it’s practical and all, but we haven’t gotten to the best part. It looks sleek and slides like a dream.

The Monos Aluminum Check-In leans into that elevated, almost old-school idea of travel. Your luggage feels more like a piece of gear, not just a container. The all-aluminum shell looks sharp out of the box and is meant to wear in, picking up a patina that adds character over time instead of just looking beat-up. The latch-lock, zipper-less frame brings a bit of security and a satisfying, tactile feel. The interior is clean and well-thought-out, with smart compression and a soft lining that keeps things in place.

This is low-key in the best way. It’s not trying to stand out; it just quietly does everything you want it to do really well. The shell is solid without feeling overbuilt, and the interior is where it really shines, with smart compression and organization that makes packing feel way less chaotic. It’s the kind of bag that feels thought through by people who actually travel a lot. The wheels are smooth, it’s lightweight, it handles well, and nothing about it feels fussy or overdesigned. It’s not flashy, but that’s kind of the appeal—just slap some stickers on it to make it your own at baggage pickup.

Even the sharpest suitcase strategy can go awry. Weather shifts, souvenirs stack up, and suddenly you’re asking yourself if you really need to repack your Dopp kit. Jeep’s Small Rolling Duffel Bag, however, is made to shrink and swell. Its soft-sided design is durable and water-resistant, with two surprisingly spacious exterior pockets for easy access to any essentials between destinations and straps to help smoothly transition from rolling through the terminal to carrying it across a tarmac. When it comes to a bag fit for all seasons, hemispheres, and terrain, trust the people who make the quintessential off-road vehicle to stick the landing.

The Vessel Golf Travel Case 2.0 feels like the kind of upgrade you don’t think about until you’ve wrestled a flimsy cover through baggage claim. It’s unapologetically premium—built with tough 1680-denier ballistic nylon, a structured base, and a heavily padded top that gives you real peace of mind in transit. Golf clubs aren’t cheap, and a damaged set can ruin a year, not to mention a vacation, so protecting that investment just makes sense. Everything here feels intentional, from the smooth-rolling wheels to the well-placed grab handles, making airport travel a lot less painful.

July does everything you want from modern rolling luggage—sleek look, built-in charger, built-in tracker—for a fantastic price. But that’s not what makes it special. This is nerdy to say about a piece of luggage, but damn if it isn’t true—the July CaseSafe is fun to drive. Trust us: It actually makes a difference when your luggage rolls so smoothly that your hike from the terminal to your Uber is just a little bit easier.

Long the go-to for photographers, hunters, and anyone whose livelihood relied on protecting their gear, Pelican has now moved into the consumer market. And oh what a move it’s been. The brand makes durable half-hard, half-soft suitcases for the best of both worlds. The soft top is easy to handle and durable, with a quick-access clamshell opening. Then the polycarbonate back keeps it durable enough if you ever have to gate-check it. It’s capable of dealing with whatever you throw at it.

From the only trifold garment bag that has ever worked to the world’s best tennis bag to the British racing-green Le Mans collection, there is no one better, no one more Esquire-y, than Savile Row bag maker Bennett Winch. The S.C. Holdall, a combo garment bag and duffel, is the most innovative of its entire catalog, and the Tobacco Suede is the most beautiful of its collection full of beautiful textiles. Our tester that uses it regularly goes on weeklong trips using nothing but this bag, and it gets compliments everywhere.

Fly into Naples in a south-facing window seat and you get a view of the Mediterranean, Vesuvius, and the city that’s survived millennia of chaos. It’s the most stunning view of an enchanting city. You get that exact feeling looking at this tote. Look at that calfskin (or the classic Métier suede) and you cease to feel the chaos of travel. The interior pockets feel bespoke for your needs. The way the leather slumps, the way the magnetic closures snap—it has an eternal beauty, the same eternal beauty of those cities that remind us why we love travel.

First of all, this Filson bag is just about bulletproof. The 1,000-denier nylon requires no special treatment. In fact, it almost asks you to beat it up. The combination backpack and duffel carry systems do the same. Backpack it when running through the airport, hiking into the campsite, or hopping into a bush plane. Duffel it when walking up into the Italian villa where your old friends are hosting a destination wedding. In any event, it looks perfectly at home.

It’s rare that you find a backpack that looks this professional, holds so much of your cargo, and handles the dirt and dings from your morning commute for this price. The Leatherlite Cascade backpack is all of those things. Plus, if you’re fussy about wearing a backpack to the office, fear not—you can comfortably carry it by the handles and no one will know the difference.

After testing this backpack for a few days, our tester decided to swap out their old workbag for this one indefinitely. The Apex backpack has everything you could ever need in a backpack—and the 4.0 version is truly the best of the best. It has a futuristic look, not one but two expandable side pockets, a hidden slot for an AirTag, a seriously cushioned laptop pocket, and multiple interior pockets to store everything else you need.

Unless you’ve hit it big on FanDuel recently, you’re not going to pay to check your bag. And that means you need a personal bag. The Antler 2-in-1 backpack is transformative for that. It’s the perfect size for storing your laptop, so no need to stress about digging around for it and holding up the security line. There’s even a dedicated pocket inside for the $10 bottle of water you’ll inevitably buy at the Hudson News store. You can also carry it as a messenger bag, don it as a backpack, or use the strap across the back that lets you secure it to your rolling luggage. They really thought of everything.

What will look better than your old backpack but do the same job? The answer is this Herschel tote. Sturdy straps, easy-clean fabric, and low-key colors make it practical, but the real functionality comes with the space and organization. Your laptop is there, but so are your book, iPad, and headphones for when you inevitably decide to use the “Damn, the plane WiFi wasn’t working,” excuse.

Sometimes you need a simple duffel bag for an overnight stay, and sometimes you need a more spacious weekender. This bag can be both, thanks to its clever expandable bottom pocket that adds ten liters of capacity when unzipped. It’s incredibly durable, with a minimalist look that holds many nice surprises, like a padded laptop pocket, a hidden luggage sleeve, and a fleece-lined front-zip pocket for any small valuables.

Look, we love to recommend you the luxurious leather duffel bags and totes that our editors use. But we realized that’s not what a lot of people (men especially) put stock in. Y’all put stock in performance, travel-hacking, Swiss Army knife–style bags. Halfday is the go-to for that sort of thing. Its newest bag has, functionally, the same amount of space as most duffels and some carry-ons, but it fits under the seat of every domestic airline we tried it on. It’s a game-changer.

We’ve already written an entire endorsement for this Dopp kit, but we love it so much we had to include it in our Travel Awards. What makes it stand out from all the other toiletry bags we’ve tested is its unique, functional design—a simple pinch-and-fold maneuver allows the bag to fold to about half its height while maintaining its shape and stability, so it’s easy to pack and easy to use. And it looks great on a bathroom shelf or countertop.

If you’re a “hanging Dopp kit” sort of traveler, Calpak makes the best-looking affordable version we’ve seen. A collapsible hanging hook fits neatly back into the top of the Dopp kit, and the clear pack on the bottom is removable, so if you don’t need the whole shebang, you can just pack the clear case. It also has two large mesh pockets for smaller items and elastic loops for a toothbrush or razor. Pretty handy!

Really? Did we really need a water bottle that needs to charge? But the rare USB plug-in is worth the constant (and consistent) hydration monitoring and filtration the Larq smart water bottle provides. The light going off subtly in the corner of your vision is an actually pleasant reminder that you haven’t had a sip of water in the hours you’ve spent running around. Plus, the bottle filters the water in real time, meaning every time you take a drink, it’s the cleanest it can be.

These aren’t exactly packing cubes; they’re more innovative than that. They’re a system. Unlike other packing cubes, these parcels work together. Each parcel’s magnetically locking top can connect to another parcel, essentially making it an open tray you can use for easy access to your belongings. The parcels are thicker than they look, which means they keep your stuff safe. And they come in five fun colors too.

We’ve all been there—the sudden jolt of panic that comes when you just can’t find your passport. But there’s an easy solution: this trackable passport cover. It looks like a classic passport cover, made from vegan leather and with four card slots and a place to put your boarding pass (and, of course, your passport). But it also has built-in Find My technology. Connect it to your Find My app and never lose it again.

This is one of those low-effort, high-convenience pieces you end up using way more than expected. It’s small enough to carry every day without thinking about it but still packs enough juice for a couple full charges, all without a mess of cords. It even charges your Apple Watch, which makes it especially clutch for travel. It also doubles as a phone stand, which is a nice touch if you’re picky on the in-flight-entertainment front. Everything feels clean and integrated—nothing extra, nothing missing.

For all the parents out there, you know that the stroller market is competitive as hell. One of our staffers put a handful to the test, and nothing can beat the Bugaboo Butterfly 2. It folds up small and fits in the overhead compartments. By far, it has the largest storage space under the seat in the category. You can fold it with one hand. It has an extendable sun shade and reclining seat. You can also purchase a handful of add-ons like a cup holder, a snack tray, and adapters for a car seat. Need we say more?

We can’t bring up strollers and car seats without mentioning which one you should take on a plane. There’s a lot to discuss in this category, but our tester loved the Maxi-Cosi Romi for their toddler. Sure, it’s on the bigger side, but it provides a safe ride anywhere for your kiddo during this stage. It is, however, super lightweight. Weighing in at just nine pounds, it can be attached via its back strap to your travel strollers and quickly get through the airport to the gate if you’re not checking it. If you are checking it, you can buy the carrying case with wheels. When you get to where you’re headed, no problems.

Whether you choose to believe in them or not, we don’t care. They work. Patricks is an Australian brand (you know that team has taken some insane flights) that we go to time and again for grooming and health products. The a.m. pills contain Bacopa monnieri and L-theanine to keep you alert, and the p.m. pills have ashwagandha and (also) L-theanine to promote quality sleep. It’s simple stuff, if a bit woo-woo, but when we added it to our red-eye across the Atlantic, it worked. Can’t argue with results.

A single passport case is chic, but you splurge on a designer option when it’s just for you. For more serious traveling, like when you have a family, a passport organizer is the way to go. This one from Pak Reve does it all, and that’s because the creator knew exactly how to make it. She’s a travel journalist who contributes to many big travel magazines—she even frequently contributes to Esquire—and thats why we love it. When someone who’s a real professional makes a product, we know they thought of every single detail.

First is the worst, second is the best—not sure how that became a children’s rhyme, but here it’s true. Any complaint we had about the original Quiet Comfort Ultra has been fixed. The biggest addition is lossless audio USB-C playback. The already great noise cancellation is leveled up. The metal frame and logo literally shine. They are still lightweight for over-ears, and the travel case is as compact as it gets.

These gadgets are essential to world travel. We just can’t leave the country without one of these to make sure we’re able to charge our devices as soon as our plane lands. This 20-watt adapter has all you need, with EU, UK, and Australia plug converters. It can power up to four devices at a time via USB, making it our international power station of choice.

If you need a watch with a two-week battery life that will be your companion wherever you go, from the jet-setting life to going way off-grid, this is the most advanced one yet. The MicroLED screen is a remarkable innovation that makes this iteration of the Fenix 8 Pro look and feel like no other smartwatch out there. It’s bright in even the darkest of situations, and its ten-day battery life is truly unparalleled. With topographical maps, in-depth satellite features, and so much more, this is the outdoor smartwatch that goes above and beyond.

This is the smallest e-reader we’ve ever seen and definitely a great gift for lo-fi tech fiends. It’s so easy to take everywhere, and if your phone is big enough you can even use the X4’s magnetic back to carry it on the back of your phone. It’s like it doesn’t even take up any space at all, and yet it can fit dozens of novels and provide you hundreds of hours of simple entertainment. That’s the power of reading.

It’s getting hard to innovate on the travel camera, but at this point we give just as many points for refinement, usability, and a dash of extra je ne sais quoi. In this case, it’s all about making it easy for anyone to point and get that good shot, while also allowing room for the experts to do what they do best: tinker. It’s a fine balance, but the RX1R satisfied the interests of both the photo amateurs on staff and our experts who work with cameras every single day. It captures images and videos in stunning 4K, using onboard processing to make each photo immediately look the best it can before you even touch it up in the editing suite.

This one is a bit of a unicorn in the world of film photography. It’s a brand-new release that appeals as much to professional photographers as it does to the most amateur of shutterbugs. With the Snapic A1, Kodak essentially made the perfect version of a disposable point-and-shoot. You get a three-element glass lens and ergonomic body. Two-zone focus gives you the option to take portraits, and double exposure lets you get more artsy. All that for $100, and with fewer moving parts than something like a vintage Olympus, it’s one of the best-value cameras we’ve seen in a long, long time.

JBL was always the Bluetooth-speaker brand of choice in our tester’s house, but when they brought home the Grip for the first time, an incredible thing happened. They stopped using their larger, more powerful speakers and instead found this to be enough. Since it’s almost the exact size of a seltzer can, it can be easily packed, carried, or otherwise transported. Basically, it’s a loud-as-hell speaker that can travel easily. Whether your idea of a travel speaker involves a hike up a glacial peak listening to your favorite tunes or something you can bring from beach to beach on a cruise, the Grip is the one that fits into everyone’s ideal vacation.

The AirFly is an invention that solves a very real problem: needing to wear shitty plane earbuds. To avoid this, and to be able to use the travel headphones you just spent hundreds of dollars on, you can plug this little gadget into your seat-back screen instead. From there it’s just a wireless transmitter, and you can connect whichever headphones you like. This year, the AirFly Pro 2 was released, which has all the functions of a wireless Bluetooth adapter except you can connect two pairs of headphones at once to it. It makes watching Roman Holiday on the seat back until you actually land in Rome all the more romantic.

When it came out, we asked if Apple really needed to update the AirTag. Sure, it could probably make it better, since we’re five years out from the original launch, but how much better could it get? Turns out, it got a lot better. The new AirTags have significantly greater range for Precision Finding, as well as a new feature that can share your bags’ location with licensed airline officials. It all gives us a lot more peace of mind flying into those famously disorganized airports our editors frequent. We won’t put them on blast, but you can guess.

The Yeti Trailhead field chair is about as straightforward as it gets … in a good way. No cup holders, no armrests, no extra features—just a really solid, comfortable place to rest by the fire. It’s light and easy to carry, with a simple fold and a shoulder strap that makes it simple to bring it along without much thought. It can handle being tossed in the car or dragged around outside without any issues. It’s definitely not cheap, but if you like gear that’s low-key, well-made, and made to last a lifetime, this fits that mold perfectly.

Going somewhere rainy? You’ll need a water-resistant backpack to protect your stuff (especially tech). Weatherman makes one of our favorite travel umbrellas, so it’s no surprise that the brand also makes a great rainproof backpack. Not only are we impressed with how smooth it looks and feels, but we also like the unique side-open design and dedicated travel-umbrella compartment. It’s comfort, style, and safety all in one.

You get this cooler and it’s totally flat—like four-inches-tall flat. You stack it in the back of your undersized city car with whatever bullshit (sun shade, chairs, toys and books you won’t use) you could never bring when you didn’t have a packable cooler. When you arrive, one pull on each side and it snaps up into a cooler, ready for all the beer and ice you just purchased. When you leave, dump the ice, snap it back down, and have the easiest twilight trek you’ve ever made. You sit in the driver’s seat and wonder: How did I ever live without that cooler?

If you like pocketknives and carry them often, chances are your EDC muscle memory has made you grab one no matter what and you’ve surrendered a knife at the airport. Or, if you’re lucky, you’ve hidden it outside the terminal and come back to find it a week later. Regardless, the stakes are always a bit lower when an Opinel is involved. And for the first time in 70 years, Opinel is offering a new locking mechanism. The Opiflex lock is a bit more modern but keeps that Opinel charm. Best of all, they’re still made in France, and they still come at a very affordable price.

The LifeStraw Sip is one of those “Why didn’t this exist sooner?” kind of travel items. It looks like a regular reusable straw, but it quietly handles the whole “Is this campground water sketchy?” problem for you. It filters out bacteria, parasites, and even microplastics, so it’s perfect for travel days or tap-water situations. It’s not for hardcore backcountry stuff, but for everyday travel it’s one of those simple tools that just do their jobs and make life a little easier.

Why does the adventure need to stop when the sunlight does? That’s the question this headlamp asks as it illuminates the darkest of nights. It is compact, comfy, waterproof, and bright (importantly), and it has a night-vision mode. Pretty essential stuff for a hike. Best of all, it can run on dual power sources for extra battery reliability. From the get-go it runs on disposable batteries, but you can also load your own rechargeable lithium-ion battery in there and use both interchangeably.

This flashlight really does it all and clips right onto your belt. See, it’s not just a flashlight. It’s also a laser pointer, and a UV light, and a damn good fidget toy, for what it’s worth. It’s ergonomic, making it easy to operate and control all functions using just one hand. A little feat of design brilliance that makes this take on a camping essential shine.