The Best Garment Bags for Life on the Go

There are a number of tutorials on the Internet that show travelers how to pack a suitcase without causing wrinkles. Shirts, T-shirts, pants and suits… they can all be stored inside a carry-on without creases, but plenty of folks opt to avoid potential damage by using a dedicated garment bag.

The simplest ones are little more than a sleeve — a separate compartment for white shirts, crisp, new suits and the ilk. The most robust, on the other hand, double as duffles. Which you carry with you depends on where you’re going (and what you’re bringing). Here’s how to pick the right one for you.

Types of Garment Bags

Folding

Some garment bags are essentially perforated, which means there are marked lines where the bag folds, often into thirds or fourths. These are less bulky than rolled bags (see below), but not as compact as most packable options.

Rolling

Rolled garment bags pack together like a cigarette, or, if you’re a serious packer, a cigar. When full, they assume the shape of a standard barrel duffle bag.

2-in-1

The best 2-in-1 garment bags switch from tall, open-hanging bags to true duffles. The difference between a 2-in-1 garment bag and a garment bag that rolls into itself is that the former looks convincingly official in either form, meaning it isn’t better at being one version of itself than the other.

Packable

You can spot a packable garment bag by its thickness. It should be super-thin — thin enough to be folded a few times and put in a suitcase. It keeps delicates separated and untouched — unwrinkled, too, if you know how to fold them.

Storage

These garment bags are made specifically for the back of your closet or some distant storage unit. In most cases it’s smart to get a waterproof one, especially if it’s going in a warehouse you won’t access 24/7, but a dense canvas works well if you’re confident what’s inside can get a little wet (and fully recover).

Materials

Synthetic

The whole point of a garment bag is to keep particularly important (or delicate) designs out of harm’s way. A synthetic-based bag will keep water out (most of the time) while protecting it from dust and other debris.

Natural

Sure, water can penetrate if it’s enough water, but a natural bag will do the job most of the time, too. It’ll keep dirt and dust off your white shirt, protecting it from dirty floors and spilled coffee.

Garment Bag: Carry-On vs. Personal Item

Although consensus, at least in online chat forums, is divided, the TSA makes its stance on garment bags clear: they’re a carry-on, not a personal item. That means you’d have to take your carry-on suitcase or your garment bag, not both — unless you’re willing to check one of them. One might be able to sneak by security if the garment bag is small enough, but you’ll run into issues when boarding the flight (unless you’re flying first class and can bend the rules by hanging it up).

Away

Editor's Pick

Away The Garment Bag

• $195.00 at Away

• Dimensions: 22.5″ x 3.35″ x 20.5″

Away’s Garment Bag looks delightfully simple: black or blue nylon, two handles and a shoulder strap, and a couple subtle pockets. But don’t confuse simplicity with cheapness; this bag is a high-quality beast.

Away says it can carry two suits, but our tester was able to squeeze that, a sport jacket, a pair of khakis and three dress shirts in there, as well as a pair of shoes in the shoe pockets, and it took it all in stride. The straps feel sturdy and secure even when the bag is overloaded, too; no risk of sudden snapping here.

The only potential downside: you might mix it up in the overhead bin with your seatmate’s bargain-basement ripoff if you don’t pay close attention; those aforementioned simple looks really do verge on generic.

Shinola

Best Upgrade Garment Bag

Shinola The Convertible Traveler Garment Bag

• $995.00 at Shinola

• Dimensions: 14″ x 22.75″ x 10″

Shinola’s high-end convertible garment bag is the ideal 2-in-1: it features an excellent suit storer, and it is essentially a duffle, too. You see, there’s a duffle bag in the center, and your garment bag wraps securely around it. You can undo the garment bag if you want, and carry it on its own, but they work best in tandem.

Halfday

Editor's Pick

Halfday The Garment Duffel

• $98 at Halfday Original 40L
• $108 at Halfday Original 45L

• Dimensions: 22″ x 12″ x 12″

Sure, you can find $25 and $50 garment bags on Amazon, but you’ll spend much more, in the long run, considering the quality of those bags. They’ll break, and you’ll be replacing yours every two or three trips.

That being said, Halfday’s $98 garment bag isn’t a bad deal. It compresses into an easy-to-carry duffle while doubling as a full-length garment bag when you want it to. And although it functions a lot like Shinola’s, it isn’t built the same way. Halfday’s doesn’t break down into two bags. Instead, it’s a garment bag that transforms into a duffle bag with a couple of clever folds and a few zippers.

Tumi

A Solid Option for Business Travelers

Tumi Garment Cover

• $175.00 at tumi.com

• Dimensions: 12.5″ x 18.8″ x 1.0″

A garment bag in the more traditional sense, Tumi’s Garment Cover can fit one suit. That’s not a lot for most travelers, but for the fine-tuned businessman, that’s ample room. This is one you could probably get away with carrying as your personal item if you fold it as you pass the flight attendants. It has a leather handle, too, making it easy to lug around.

Calpak

An Ultra Compartmentalized Option

Calpak Compakt Large Garment Bag

• $78.00 at Calpak
  $98.00 (20% off)

• Dimensions: 48″ x 23″

Pockets are by no means a requirement when it comes to garment bags, but they’re welcome nonetheless. Calpak’s Compakt Large Garment Bag offers plenty of them: for socks, a comb, shoes, a belt, a tie and other accessories. They’re on the exterior, too, which helps keep spilled toothpaste off your tuxedo.

You can carry this option unfurled or folded into thirds, but both positions come with a tidy handle for carrying it high enough that it doesn’t drag on the ground, especially if it’s heavy with all your extras.

Away

Another Packable Options

Away The Centerfold Garment Sleeve

• $65.00 at Away
  $646.00 (90% off)

• Dimensions: 19.5″ x 12.6″ or 19.5″ x 37.8″

Away’s popular garment bag looks bulky compared to the brand’s Centerfold Garment Sleeve, which is designed to be folded and stuffed into a suitcase, not carried alongside one. There’s room for a single suit or a few shirts, but no shoes (or other accessories). It isn’t the biggest, but it’s durable and it’s pretty damn compact.

Container Store

A Good Option for Long-Term Storage

Container Store Cotton Gusseted Coat Bag

• $20.00 at Container Store

• Dimensions: 24″ x 4″ x 42″

If you plan on putting a few suits, a couple of jackets or a ton of vintage tees away for a while, whether in your closet or in a separate storage unit, it’s important you put these pieces in a dedicated garment bag. This protects them from dust and dirt, sure, but also moths and other bugs.

No, this isn’t a vacuum seal, but the Container Store’s Gusseted Coat Bag, which is made from natural cotton, keeps the no-good stuff out while letting the garments breathe.

Courtesy

Briggs & Riley Classic Garment Bag

• $249.00 at briggs-riley.com

• Dimensions: 22.5″ x 24.5″ x 2″

Briggs & Riley makes getting a delicate suit to your final destination a breeze. The inside is a standard full-zip garment sleeve with a pocket for two ties, but the outside offers pockets for shirts and a belt, too. It’s a compact carry-all in a classic shape, without the bells and whistles, which is a good thing. It’s easy to carry and unfold and never difficult to store or stow away.

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