The Best Bag for Traveling With a Suit

A suit packed in a regular carry-on gets folded — usually in half, then in thirds — to fit. Those fold lines sit under compression for hours. By the time you arrive, the shoulders are misshapen, the knees have a crease, and you need a steamer before you can wear it. Traditional garment bags hang suits upright and avoid this, but they measure 45–55 inches unfolded — too long for the overhead bin. They get gate-checked, handled by baggage, and arrive anyway. The Nova takes a different approach: the garment compartment runs the length of the bag, parallel to the floor of the overhead bin. Your suit lies flat, shoulder to hem, the same way it would lie on a bed.

For most fabrics, yes. Wool suits, summer wool, tropical, linen — these travel well in the flat compartment. Very heavy tweeds or thick wools may want a quick steam after a long-haul flight, the way they would after sitting folded in a suitcase. The difference is the kind of wrinkle: a suit that traveled flat arrives with minor settling, not deep compression creases. One customer packed 2 silk dresses, 2 dress shirts, 2 trousers, and 2 skirts — eight pieces — and didn't mention wrinkles.

Yes. The Nova has two distinct halves: the garment compartment on one side and a full packing cavity on the other. The packing side holds a laptop, casual clothes, toiletries, and a shoe pocket for dress shoes — separate from the garment side so your shoes and suits don't share space. At 22" × 14" × 9" it fits in the overhead bin. Most business travelers pack 2 suits, 3–4 dress shirts, and 3–4 days of casual clothes in a single bag.

Travel + Leisure independently tested carry-on garment bags and named the Nova Best Garment Bag. Conde Nast Traveler ranked it their #1 garment-duffel. One customer packed for a week in London — suits, shoes, casualwear — in a single carry-on. That's the real test.