Zippers are a pain, and anyone who has ever had one break on luggage knows it. With just one move, your bag is dead, useless until you get it fixed, and you’re probably just throwing it out, so why hasn’t the zipper had a revolution?
That’s exactly the question some developers and designed have been asking in America, where a team has been working on a new style of luggage that evolves the zipper by getting rid of it completely.
It’s called the “Trunkster,” and instead of a piece of luggage with a zipper letting you into the main compartment, you’ll find a roll-top door used, making the suitcase easy to open and less prone to jams, with a design more capable of taking a beating during travels.
A handle is still here, making it easy to roll around the airport and streets, while a digital scale built into the luggage will tell you how much everything weighs, which is especially handy if the airline you’re taking has specific requirements and you need to plan ahead of time.
There’s also a removable battery in the suitcase with a USB port, so you can charge your gadgets on the go, and recharge the battery later on, while the suitcase can also be equipped for GPS, making it harder to lose and easily tracked.
Aluminium has been used in the Trunkster’s construction, as has polycarbonate, and the suitcase itself is equipped with a TSA approved lock, making the inside safe, but while giving American travel authorities a way in if need be.
Indeed, Trunkster looks like an interesting evolution of the suitcase, and it was in dire need of that.
We’re told there will even be a larger checked Trunkster coming, providing the same concept but in a larger space, so you can stick it under the aircraft when you’re flying and even track it via GPS if it comes off the plane in a different destination.
Pricing for the units sits at around $295 for the carry-on and $335 for the checked version, though these prices are in US dollars and don’t include shipping.
There’s also likely a bit of a wait, as the product is a Kickstarter, and not expected to be delivered until August 2015, though funding has already reached five times the $50,000 goal it was set with.
Given Trunkster has almost two months to go, this one could go big, so if you like the idea of an evolved piece of hand luggage, it might be worth checking out what the team is doing, provided you don’t mind a late 2015 delivery date.
