I'm tooling around on trains via a Rail Europe Eurail Selectpass, and I am lovin' on the Red Oxx Gator bag -- something about that tractor tire-like shoulder strap just does it for lugging luggage through train stations and hopping on and off choo-choos in hurry. I don't need to drag a bag that slows me down when I'm half-lost, fully whipped and just want to ride the right tube to the next hostel, right now.

Tractor tire aside, the Gator's tough all over -- this kind of crazy good carry-on is what happpens when (true stuff) an ex-paratrooper moves to Montana and starts designing haul bags disguised as luggage; the Billings-based company makes a fairly full line of right living, hard traveling bags to get you where you want to go without breaking the bank or collarbone. Check it out: Red Oxx advises that you write this bag into your will, because it will outlast you.

• Read the Red Oxx Gator bag review