Shopping for the first day – travel gear

Following up on the last Consulting 101 article, “Shopping for the first day – clothing“, today let’s have a look at the gear for your weekly travels to the client side.  Most people run with two bags: an onboard-roller-suitcase and a laptop bag. Some prefer a suit bag over the rollercase, but as I try not to talk about things I have no clue about, you’re on your own on that one.

Onboard rollers (or trolleys, or the things with wheels to lug behind you)

• Size matters.
  Be sure to buy one that does comply both with your local and international carryon-luggage size standards. The “gold standard” of business travel is to not check in any luggage, which gets you more time before and after the flight, as well as the certainty that your luggage always is where you are – not a 100% sure thing if you check a bag in, especially when you are checking it in late. Thus: Be ready to take it on board, and have it at the size that allows it.
• Flexibility is good.
  Many soft-shell suitcases have an option to expand through a zipper that goes all the way round. That comes in extremely helpful when you find yourself lugging back more than you brought. Be aware, though, that you might not be able to take the suitcase as carry-on once it is expanded. For the same reason, hard-shell suitcases are as much a curse as they are a blessing for their sturdiness. Cramming in a bit more into them just does not work as well.
• Colors?
  All consultants’ suitcases are black, or so they say. I have seen the sporadic blue, silver, even red – and really, it does not matter that much, as long as the thing does not look like you are going on a band camp instead of a consulting project. Of course, you subject yourself to some sneers from colleagues when you go colorful – but there is one big benefit: Should you check in your luggage once in a while (which I, see above, don’t recommend as best option, but I do it, too, on occasion), it is way easier to spot and retrieve at the baggage claim.
• How much to spend?
  The sky is the limit when it comes to suitcases. The top-line brands I see lugged around airports the most are Rimowa (their aluminium suitcases, though they have started producing hard-shell plastic suitcases in recent years as well, which are still quite expensive) and Tumi. Now, my mum always said “we are not rich enough to buy cheap stuff”, meaning that there is no use in buying stuff that breaks in an instant and needs to be replaced often. On the other hand, one of those top-notch trolleys sets you back about EUR 500… here’s what I did: I got myself a simple black soft-shell trolley, the cheapest one that was expandable. It set me back EUR 30. After one year of heavy use, it is slowly starting to show signs of wear, but so far it is still going strong… at this rate, I could go for way over a decade before a Tumi would pay off. Go figure… bottom line: Of course you want your trolley to look good, but it gets thrown around all the time anyway, so don’t go too fancy, keep your eyes on the functional side. Don’t buy it in a supermarket but go to a shop that is specialized in suitcases, bags etc. – they will be able to tell you the difference between “cheap and rubbish” and “cheap but works for a good while”.

Laptop bags

• Company-issued laptops often come with very simple (read: useless) bags, though you might get lucky and fetch a bigger, sturdier and more useful specimen. If not: Store it in the attic so that you can give it back when leaving the company some time in the future.
• Wheels or no wheels, that is the question!
  There are split opinions about that one. Many consultants prefer the no-wheels briefcase look. If you do, too, be aware that those things get heavy – the regular firms’ laptops are not the slimmest models available, and you basically carry a whole office in that bag, which adds up quickly. That puts strain on arms and shoulders. If you go for a model with wheels, that problem almost disappears, but you’ll have to deal with a slightly less polished look.
• Fabric or leather?
  Here, looks actually count for more, and even fashion comes into play. Leather bags have a nicer look to them – IMHO – but are also more susceptible to scratches and stains (even water is kind of evil…). Plus, they cost a whole lot more (compare the prices of Tumi bags in nylon and leather, for example). Fabric (most often found: ballistic nylon) still looks good – when it is black. Did you hear me? BLACK. Brown leather might be acceptable, but nylon: BLACK! It is more scratch- and stain resistant, but wears out eventually, as well. Just make sure that the bag is really suitable for showing up at the client site with. Simple but elegant is what you should look for.
• How big should it be?
  Big enough to put your essentials in, and not bigger… but there are varying opinions on what “essentials” are. For me, that includes an umbrella, a book for leisure and my sunglasses, for example. The basic rule is: You will pack this thing until it is full. Thus, the bigger you go, the more stuff you carry. Of course, again, it should in no case go above carry-on regulations, but it is hard to find a laptop bag that is so huge. It makes sense to first determine what you want to carry on the road and then go find a bag where it all fits in comfortably. As with trolleys, some laptop bags come with an extension zipper – they come in handy.
• What should it have?
  A padded compartment for your laptop. Space enough for letter/A4-sized stacks of documents – if the bag has a frame that keeps itself in shape, that avoids crumpling. Apart from a space for documents, go for more smaller pockets to help you organize your stuff. In my bag (which is not optimal, but I had it when starting the job and it suits me reasonably well) there is a dedicated place for everything I carry, which makes a a quick check when packing on Sunday much easier. If it has no wheels, make sure it has a shoulder strap. They look stupid when worn over a suit, sure, and they crinkle it, sure, but at least you have a hand free when you need it. Plus, go for one that has a slip-through pouch/strap in the back, so you can attach it to the handle of your trolley. If it has wheels, make sure that the handle is long enough for you to walk upright with it.
• How much to spend?
  In contrast to trolleys, unfortunately, cheap laptop bags don’t do you no good. They tend to look as cheap as they are, lack intelligent compartment/pocket design and fall apart quickly. If you spend, spend on the laptop bag instead of the trolley first. Of course, you can go spend big money here – even a small Tumi sets you back around EUR 350 – but in the price range of about EUR 100, things start to make sense.

That’s it for travel gear – you should be all set and ready to hit the road now!

Are you interested in getting a full run-down of what I carry in my mobile office, aka my laptop bag? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll put together a tour for a future part of this series.

This is the third post in the “Consulting 101″ series, dedicated to give an overview of the first steps into consulting – from having scored an offer to the first time on the job. You can find the other articles, “You got the offer, now what?” here, and  “Shopping for the first day – clothing” here.

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