The most important piece of Flyer Kit is the “carry-on” case.

Requirements are:

1. Must meet carry-on dimensions of most airlines – which means 55cm x 40cm x 20cm – see http://thetravelinsider.info/travelaccessories/airlinecarryonluggageallowances.htm
2. Must be light and have a lot of capacity. For example, Virgin Atlantic restricts bags to a ridiculously low 6kg – compared with Easyjet which just says you must be abl eto lift the bag.
3. Must be able to be wheeled (in case its carrying a heavy load) – ideally with a way to “stack” items on the case when being wheeled.

Ideally it must also be able to be checked in easily (so it should have TSA locks on it) and be tough enough to last many travels.

I chose a hard case for three reasons: Good protection of gear inside the case, especially when it is checked in; can be used as a seat when waiting around or wanting to sit and work on a laptop; and better at being a container for items inside without bulging.

I chose the Rimowa IATA cabin trolley, 55cm by 40 cm by 20cm, weighing 3.4kg. And coming in 4 colours.  http://www.rimowa.de/main#/product/850.52

Here is my Red Rimowa Salsa being carried across the snowy apron at Buffalo Airport:

There are only two real weaknesses in this case:

1. Not fully waterproof. The closing is by a zip, and there are some rivets in the case that could leak. The only fully waterproof case I have tried is the Peli case, but these are very heavy.
2. Although the dimensions are quoted as 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, I found that the bag is a few milimetres smaller – so it could have been made a bit bigger.