Now that even the most hardened travelers have gotten past the stigma of hauling luggage with wheels, you'll want to have a close look at the Rolling Duffel from Aspen Luggage Company (800-326-5156). While the price—$528—is apparently aimed at the residents of the company's chic Rocky Mountain location, it just might be worth the money: This is the finest example we've seen among the new cadre of what are called drop-bottom duffels, which are part oversize wheelie cart and part duffel bag.

The Rolling Duffel comes in two sizes, but we tested the biggest—at 8,000 cubic inches, a veritable trunk—which can fit all the apparel a couple of skiers, bikers, or trekkers might need for a weeklong adventure. It looks like a traditional rectangular nylon duffel bag, only it has a retractable handle, rolls on high-quality in-line skate wheels, and has a stiffened bottom section that's especially handy for stashing alpine ski boots (on their sides). Access the main compartment through a heavy-duty horseshoe zipper, and it's just one big, beautiful cavern in there, save for mesh pockets on either end and under the top flap. On the outside of the bag, zippered pouches on each flank are constructed so that no matter how unreasonably you've crammed the inside, you'll still have a place to tuck in that Tom Wolfe tome you've been meaning to crack. All the hardware is solidly built, and the bag itself is made of an appealingly coarse and incredibly rugged 1050-denier ballistic nylon, making this case every bit as tough as the chicken teriyaki the airline will serve you at 28,000 feet. —BRIAN METZLER

Canine canteens of the collapsible nylon variety are nothing new, and though every model offers convenience over wrestling Tupperware into your pack, none seemed superlative until the Waterproof Folding Dog Dish by Hank's Bowl ($18; 877-641-1993) came along. It's cleverly designed with a spring steel coil in the base that lets you turn it into a hockey-puck-size package a third of its original eight-inch diameter. Once your pup's had his fill (the bowl holds a quart), cinch the drawstring top to flatten the dish, fold it over itself as if you were making a burrito, and the coil snaps the ends into a pocketable bundle. A hook-and-loop tab holds it closed and, when the bowl's open, handily anchors it to the floormat of your car. —WILL RIZZO