The piece is a collaboration between Samsonite and Micro Mobility, and will certainly improve your Terminal A travel time thanks to the three wheels housed below. Not feeling a race or a scoot? You could always just pull this puppy like normal luggage. Square.

There's no pricing on this thing, but the CrunchGear fellas wagered a $120 guess. I'm no luggage expert, but that sounds about right. The looks and exercise you get will pay that off in fitness/popularity in no time. [Reddit via CrunchGear via Ubergizmo]

Waaaay beyond actually. That way you can bitch at the baggage handlers tossing your luggage off a plane in Alaska while you sit in the airport in Philadelphia. [TYNKE via TRFJ via OhGizmo]

If the shape didn't tip you off, let me explain: Like those golf bag-shaped monstrosities you see on airport luggage turnstiles from time-to-time, the AeroTech is shaped like a collapsed bike. Because it's meant to transport bikes in airplanes.

There's room for two detached tires/wheels and the frame, the pedals, and space for other cycling goodies. Just be sure you're carting around one of those lightweight aluminum or carbon fiber bikes in this thing—steel frame Huffy's need not apply. [Core77 via Likecool via Design Blog]

That's because this steamer trunk has a secret—it doubles as a portable office worthy of the Titanic. That said, don't let it sink because it costs almost four grand. [Mayfair via Boing Boing]

I am not going to lie. What got me excited about HAL wasn't fashion. Besides the Kubrickian name, the allure was a long skinny laptop slot, with its own zipper access, right up against your back. The $120 pack (one size: medium) can hold a 17" MacBook Pro, or any laptop that's 15" wide and 11.5" from front to back. The reason for the separate zippered compartment should be obvious: Airports. No longer do you have to reach into a fully packed piece of luggage and pull out the most buried object. It's not exactly one of those TSA approved bags, but when I flew with HAL, I was pleased by its convenience.

HAL has a lot of pockets, a prerequisite of a gadget guy like me. Besides the laptop slot, there's a spacious main compartment for large objects, plus a nice series of pockets on the back face. One is the traditional "organizer" pocket, with lots of silky subpockets for precious items like checkbooks, passports and portable hard drives. There's an outer pocket—one I typically refer to as the "speed rack"—where I keep all sorts of odds and ends, SD cards, pens, 30-pin iPod cables, Flip cams and guitar picks. They fit.

There's also a funny side pocket, opposite the laptop slot, that I will identify as the "wine pocket" since it's just right for fitting a 750ml bottle of wine. Would you then attach a straw out of the zipper hole and then up over your ear, for quick drinking? I suppose it depends if the wine is white or red. (A 40oz might also fit, but I didn't have one handy.)

If you're more a fan of the wacky tabacky, you'll enjoy the little pocket on the back. It's subtle, but it's not exactly concealed. I mean, cops would probably look there (especially cops who read backpack reviews on Gizmodo), but it's probably a decent way to hide small amounts of contraband from your parents, guidance counselors and parole officers.

What's great about HAL is that it wears the bulk well, but doesn't look empty when it's empty either. I guess what I mean is that I am sick of backpacks that "show" like a pregnant lady, and this one hangs, nice and casual, whether it's empty or fully laden. And, on the fashion tip, it's got skinny straps. Apparently people like Buchanan think fat straps are uncool. I was not aware of this, but now I am.

I do have three complaints, mostly minor. There's no padding on the bottom of the bag itself, so carrying DSLRs and other expensive hardware takes some added caution. It may make sense just throw a rectangle of foam padding in there, to be on the safe side. As I said, the "speed rack" fits all of my fast-access crap, but it has a zipper that runs down the side, so there's a risk of losing said guitar picks and SD cards.

My final complaint may put me back in custody of the fashion police: There's no place to strap an umbrella or bottle of water on the side. Certain crap like that, I want to be able to access fast. I can put a dry umbrella in the side wine pocket (as you see in the pics) but what happens when it's wet? This may be me letting practicality get in the way of good style sense, and I'm willing to concede in order to keep up with the backpackerati—and in Buchanan's good graces. I just thought you should know. [Product Page]

In Brief

Stylish but not over the top; looks good full and empty

Enough variety of pockets to satisfy gadget geeks

Places to put both weed and wine

Not the cheapest backpack on the block, but quality makes up for some cost

Not enough padding in the main compartment

Nowhere to put a wet umbrella

Top photo by the multitalented Chris Mascari

The luggage is not your everyday pie-in-the-sky concept; Folman has already created a proof-of-concept prototype using a Burton bag with a Duracell PowerSource Mobile 100 battery back, a stepper motor and a Burton SolarRolls panel. Folman claims that the battery charges in about two hours with an average walking pace, and should be able to power a laptop for about an hour and a half. There are a few obvious downsides to the concept: I don't know many people who are willing to walk around for two hours, hauling a suitcase behind them. Using Pluggage would also force a user to avoid those moving walkways at the airport, one of life's simple joys.

So far, Pulman hasn't had much luck getting the big luggage makers to incorporate his idea so he's currently looking to get started with a smaller bag maker. [Boing Boing Gadgets]

This one-off was commissioned by some Chinese guy to Louis Vuitton, and is coated with Taiga leather and LV's standard brass fittings and red interior finish. Absurd, yes—but if we ever become a millionaire and go on vacation, we'd want one of these too. If some Chinese guy can make them build this, why not me? I'm some Chinese guy! [Luxury Insider via Luxury Launches via Luxist via Born Rich]

According to the student, his Xbox "had a specialized hard drive and components he said cost more than $1,000." Yeah right—"specialized." At any rate, the lawsuit is seeking $1700 for the loss of the system, non-economic distress of $25,000 or, better yet, the $1 million maximum allowed by law. Of course, all of this is moot considering that airline federal loss limits are capped at $3,300 per bag—and that excludes electronics.

I feel for the kid, I really do. After all, if someone at US Airways stole the unit he should be awarded reasonable damages. However, you would think that a student at Yale would be smart enough to know that you don't put expensive electronics in checked baggage. Apparently, they aren't teaching classes in common sense over there. [GamePolitics Image via Flickr]

Apparently when asked to identify the suspicious material in his luggage, the passenger replied, "There is fat inside." This explanation understandably failed to allay concerns and the passenger was forced to remove the offending pork products from his suitcase. Evidently, bacon has a similar "nuclear density" to certain types of bombs.

The other items accompanying the bacon were weird enough to warrant an investigation anyway: He also had a hotel-quality electric shoeshiner and a package of some sort of electronic doll with wires and batteries.

It seems that he was concerned that the bacon actually might have been a bomb planted by his estranged wife, who packed it for him, but eventually it was determined to be a safe, if bizarre, item for carry-on. No word on whether the new "checkpoint friendly" bags are bacon-compatible. [Boing Boing]

Looking at Thanko's wheeled laptop case, one cannot help but think that it was designed with the pathologically lazy in mind. I mean, really, is it that hard to carry a bag? Still, there are times that all that lugging really does become too much and that is where this comes in.

It is a clever little laptop case that takes a step beyond the standard rollerbag. I love the fact that it has the bag up the top instead of down the bottom, I figure that has got to pay dividends every time you have to get on a train or go up stairs; the one wheel gives you that extra support without sacrificing too much mobility. Of course, as is usually the case with Thanko, style plays little to no big part in the equation. If you are prepared to place function before form and weather the $97 price tag, then this could be a good way to rest your atrophied muscles as you prepare for the rigorous demands of a day behind a desk.

I only ever really have to walk from my apartment to my car everyday, so rolling luggage is of little use to me. If I were doing the whole public-transportation thing, however, it would definitely be up for consideration. I almost like it enough to part with my hard-earned money. [Thanko Japan via Far East Gizmos]

Trunki Ride On Luggage [MoMa Store]

The next time some BART (that's the mass transit system here in the Bay Area) conductor gives you a hard time about your bike, change it into a carry cart and tell him that his job will never allow him to afford this fancy contraption. Then watch as he beats you with said cart.

Now available for $380 USD. We're just kidding about that conductor jab, too. Seriously.

Carry-Bike [Lutz via Seihin World]

Product Page [Ricardo]

80,000 volt attache case. [The Red Ferret Journal]

Product Page [Euro Spyshop]

Architect/designer Peter Yeadon's concept for Fido Luggage is a reconceptualization of our relationship with something most of us barely tolerate. Instead of having it be what we drag unhappily behind us as one of the most unpleasant parts of any vacation, Yeadon's luggage follows behind and then heels beside its owner just like a well-trained dog.

(Readers of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are probably feeling let down that unlike Twoflower/Rincewind's Luggage, Fido doesn't have teeth and can't protect its owner by eating would-be attackers whole. Maybe 2.0?)

Peter Yeadon: Projects [Peter Yeadon]
Fido Luggage [Inhabitat]
Robot Luggage [MAKE Blog]

The Rolling Luggage Stereo System [MusicGizmos]

There are also some solutions out to speed up the bomb scans in luggage. Clint Sewerd designed a bottle screening machine that fires microwaves through the bottle and is able to detect flammable liquids. Cyterra is building a machine that uses pressure to squeeze explosive particles out of a massive aluminum container that can hold around 100 pieces of luggage. I don t really care what security means are used as long as it speeds up the airport security time for my "leisure" trips to Amsterdam.

Device Scans Luggage, Shoes for bombs [We-Make-Money]

The Henk [Cool Hunting]