The Best Garment Bag for Travel (Great for Suits & Dresses)

If you’re traveling and need to pack nice clothes, or you’re going on a business trip and need to pack suits or dresses that you don’t want to wrinkle or damage, you are probably looking for the best garment bag to keep your clothing neat and wrinkle-free. Garment bags offer the ability to pack your dress clothes in a folded configuration that won’t leave them wrinkled from being wadded up too long in a cramped suitcase.

There are many different types of garment bags, so choosing the best garment bag for your situation can be very difficult. We are going to recommend the best wheeled garment bags, as well as the best garment bag for suit storage and the best garment bag for dresses. 

We’ve done the research to find the best of the best, so you don’t waste your time. We’ve only listed the very best of each type of suit bag. Below you’ll find a listing of the top garment bags in each style and price category.

You might also like:

• Best Travel Pants for Men & Women
• Best Travel Purses
• Best Travel Backpacks
• Best Travel Headphones

See all of our travel gear reviews.

The Best Garment Bags for Travelers

I don’t know about you, but I love the ease of purchasing on Amazon. All of these great garment bags can be purchased through Amazon, so feel free to click to read reviews or check out pricing for the various styles of garment bags we’ve chosen as our top picks. Scroll down to see full reviews for each of these bags.

Best Garment Bag Buying Criteria

Whether you’re a business traveler who flies every week, or a travel blogger like me who rarely sees the inside of my own home, the same basic set of criteria for your garment bag applies.

• It has to be lightweight and easy to pull or carry.
• The garment bag dimensions must fit the requirements.
• The price of the garment bag is obviously also a major factor. You often get what you pay for with luggage, so buying the cheapest garment bag is probably not the best investment, especially after you see how it’s treated by baggage handlers.
• Durability is a major factor. I only go with brands that I know I can trust.

Airline Carry On Sizes for Garment Bags

If you are looking for a travel garment bag that falls within airline size restrictions be aware that every airline’s policy varies. For most airlines, the maximum carry-on bag dimensions are 9 in x 14 in x 22 in (22 cm x 35 cm x 56 cm), including the wheels and the handles.

However, some airlines have different rules about garment bags. Check the rules on the airline you fly most often to be sure the bag you want meets the size restrictions

Garment Bag Styles

As we’ve already mentioned, there are many different styles of garment bags. You may not even realize that all of these options are available. For most regular business travelers, a rolling garment bag that can be carried on is the best option.

If you’re just going for a weekend getaway like a wedding or an occasion that requires proper attire, you may just want a hanging garment bag (by the way, there are wedding dress garment bags too!). If you’re looking for high durability or style, you will want to choose a bag from a top brand, like the Samsonite garment bag.

You can always mix and match the criteria that are important to you. There are many different combinations. The most popular choices are:

• Wheeled, foldable, carry-on or check in size
• Hanging with no wheels – these come with just handles or with shoulder straps

Garment Bag Reviews

Travelpro Luggage Crew 11 50″ Rolling Garment Bag

*Best Large Rolling Garment Bag*

The Travelpro Luggage Crewgarment bag is great for extended travel. It’s the largest and heaviest garment bag on our list. It measures 23.75 x 24.75 x 11 inches and it weighs around 11 pounds. Normally I would shy away from a large case like this, but its size is its greatest asset.

First, it has a lot of space for longer trips – 95 liters of internal space. Second, it is very sturdy and not prone to tipping over, like some bags are. The durability to this bag and its components are really good. Even when you check the bag and it is treated with the great care that is often afforded by baggage handlers, you won’t see this bag falling apart, ripping, or snagging.

It’s reinforced with crash-guard wheel housings, skid guard and molded corner guards. The zippers are tough and durable. It has inline skate wheels and a lightweight, but sturdy PowerScope handle that extends to two different lengths.

If something does break, it comes with a 3-year warranty to cover the cost of repairs from travel damage.

Pros: Lots of internal organization and space, durable, reliable
Cons: Too large for shorter trips, heavy

Samsonite Silhouette 16 Spinner Garment Bag

*Best Mid-Sized Garment Bag (wheeled, foldable)*

The Samsonite garment bag is also a full-size wheeled garment bag, but it is a few inches smaller than the Travelpro. It measures 22.5 x 11.8 x 22.2 inches. You can fit 5 suits, or 10 dresses, plus the accompanying extras like shirts, socks, underwear.

If you’re tall, be aware that taller suits don’t fit as well in this case, due to the smaller size. The bag weighs about 12 pounds. The pro of this case over others is the easy-to-push spinner wheels. We noticed that the wheels glide easily on most surfaces, and don’t seem to get caught on objects or tip over.

The telescoping handle is easy to pull out and retract, and it has a nice sturdy textured grip. The material the bag is made of is durable and resistant to scratches and damage by airline travel. If the zippers or other parts of the bag fail due to manufacturing issues, they can be fixed under the 10-year guarantee.

Pros: Rolls easily, convenient size, organization pockets.
Cons: Heavy, doesn’t fit tall suits.

Briggs & Riley Baseline Wardrobe Spinner

*Best High-End Garment Bag*

Sometimes you need to pay the extra money to get the best quality. In the case of garment bags, you really do get what you pay for. The design is better, the interior lining is better, the construction is just better. Although the Briggs and Riley is an expensive bag, it lives up to its reputation. You will immediately see the difference with this bag.

The bag holds about 3-4 days worth of clothing or 4-8 suits. There are numerous pockets inside and out where you can store additional items in an organized fashion. As far as durability goes, this bag’s construction is top notch. It uses a ballistic nylon outer fabric that resists wear, moisture, dirt and abrasion.

The handle is nice because it has 4 different lengths to suit all users. In the interior, you have extra space because the handle runs along the outside, not taking up extra space in the interior. This also allows you clothing to lay flat, preventing wrinkles. It also has a foam center piece that protects clothes from wrinkling. There’s a door panel that folds out and contains three pockets for better organization.

Pros: Outside handle means more space inside, lots of organization features. High quality construction. Spinner wheels. Lifetime guarantee.
Cons: Expensive.

Modoker Convertible Garment Bag

*Best Carry On Garment Bag*

This is my personal favorite bag for carrying hanging clothes for a weekend event, like a wedding. It can easily be used as a primary bag, where you’ll pack all your extras, and it’s a carry-on size. I like it especially because it’s a garment bag that lays out flat, but it folds up into a duffle bag size. 

The idea is that you place your suit or dresses in the bag laying flat, then you fold up the bag and zip the sides, so the interior of the bag becomes a big pocket to put your other things. On one side of the bag is a pocket for shoes, and the other side has a pocket for small accessories. Here’s the next best thing about the bag.

All zipped up it measures 22.8” x 11” x 11.8” and it only weights 2.5 pounds, which is amazing compared to the 12 pounds of other bags. The bag does exceed the most stringent airline restrictions of 22″, but it can be pushed together to fit the baggage sizer, as long as it’s not packed too full. 

AmazonBasics Premium Garment Bag

*Best Budget Garment Bag*

There are times when you don’t need anything fancy to get the job done. If you just need to easily transport a few hanging items, making sure they don’t get wrinkled or dirty, then the AmazonBasics Premium garment bag is the one for the job.

It’s very lightweight. There is a handle at each end of the bag, so you can draw them together to carry. It also has one large exterior pocket for holding larger items, like a laptop, and an organizer for small items. The interior has 3 hangers for your suits/dresses, one mesh zippered pocket, two non-mesh zippered pockets and one non-mesh velcro pocket. 

The bag can fit up to 3 suits or dresses, with extra room for accessories. It measures 40 by 20.5 by 4 inches unfolded and weighs only 2.2 pounds. There is a removable, adjustable shoulder strap for easy carrying. It’s not a lot, but it does have a one-year limited warranty.

Conclusion

You really can’t go wrong with any of these garment bags. All of them offer ease of packing, with wheels or straps for carrying. Which one you use really depends on what your needs are. What is your favorite garment bag? Have you tried any of these choices?

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Laura Lynch

Laura Lynch, creator and writer of Savored Journeys, is an avid world traveler, certified wine expert, and international food specialist. She has written about travel and food for over 20 years and has visited over 75 countries.