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Traveling well is one of life’s great pleasures, whether you’re alone or with family and friends. But what does it mean to travel well? When it comes to gear, it means packing as few bags as possible and bringing only the necessities. Different trips have different needs, which is why we have recommendations for business trips, family vacations, European backpacking trips, and everything in between.

Backpacks

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  • Four Osprey travel backpacks, two blue, two green, sitting next to each other.

    The Best Travel Backpack

    by Geoffrey Morrison

    For trips ranging from a week to multiple months, the Osprey Farpoint 55 and Fairview 55 carried everything we needed comfortably.

  • A person standing outside in a light blue short sleeve shirt wears the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L backpack, in black with a gray llama-head logo and aqua accents.

    The Best Carry-On Travel Backpacks

    by Kit Dillon

    The Cotopaxi Allpa 35L is our backpack pick for most travelers. We also have picks for other travelers, including those who want to carry a bit more.

  • Our top three picks for best kids backpack for school, from State Bags, L.L. Bean, and Pottery Barn Kids.

    The Best Kids Backpacks for School

    by Ellen Lee

    We’ve been testing kids backpacks for almost a decade. These packs consistently rank among the best.

Bags

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  • Three briefcases and a laptop laid on top of each other, on a yellow background.

    The Best Briefcases

    by Zoe Vanderweide

    Elegant and professional, a great briefcase never goes out of style. These timeless picks will serve you well, from internship to retirement party.

  • several bag organizers

    The Best Bag and Cable Organizers

    by Kaitlyn Wells

    Always losing cables, SD cards, and tubes of lip balm in the depths of your backpack? A bag organizer will help you corral what you carry every day.

Gear

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  • The Gadgets We Bring on Every Trip

    by Ivy Liscomb

    You don't have to be a digital nomad to travel like one. Here are a few gadgets and accessories to make travel as painless as possible.

  • Various travel gear items laid out on a yellow background.

    The Best Gear for Travel

    by Wirecutter Staff

    We put in another year and tens of thousands more miles of travel to test the best travel gear—and we stand by last year’s choices alongside a few new picks.

  • Food and drink arranged on a striped blanket laid on the grass.

    The Best Picnic Blanket

    by Kit Dillon and Dorie Chevlen

    After lounging on 19 top-rated picnic blankets, we found that the Nemo Victory Picnic Blanket offers the best combination of comfort, durability, and easy cleaning.

Luggage

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  • Alt Text: Three of our top picks for carry-on luggage, shown side by side, an Away The Carry-On, a Travelpro Platinum Elite, and a Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential.

    The Best Carry-On Luggage

    by Kit Dillon

    After 10 years of airport dashes and overhead-compartment stashes, the Travelpro Platinum Elite is still the suitcase we want to carry.

  • One of the packing cube sets that we tested to find the best, filled with clothes and shown with a passport and sunglasses.

    The Best Packing Cubes

    by Kit Dillon

    After researching and traveling with packing cubes for more than six years, the Eagle Creek Pack-It Reveal Cube Set is what we keep in our luggage.

  • The Cotopaxi Chumpi 35L Duffel Del Día, on a stone wall next to a water bottle and surrounded by plants.

    The Best Duffle Bags

    by Kit Dillon

    After lugging 34 duffles through airports, to beaches, and on weekend trips, we chose six bags that’ll carry what you need carried in a range of scenarios.

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