Best Travel Gear for Business Travelers: 10 Picks

Most business travelers are able to breeze through airport security with just a carry-on, inducing both envy and promises that "I'll pack lighter next time." To help you pack lighter for your next trip, I interviewed 10 experts for their favorite business travel gear. After all, business travelers have perfected the art of packing light.

View the slideshow at HuffingtonPost.com, ABCNews.com, or see the original slideshow that I created for LinkedIn.

Photo by Amy Chen

A Decade of the Best Travel Innovations: My Top 5 Picks

For Budget Travel's 10th-anniversary issue back in 2008, we polled our readers about their picks for the 10 Best Travel Innovations of the past decade (give or take). Surprisingly, the roller bag emerged as the winner.

As this decade wraps up, it only seems fitting for me to share my own Top 5 picks.

5. The roller bag -- it's hard to believe that the wheelie only became popular in the last decade or so. Companies like Samsonite, Eagle Creek, and Timbuk2 are constantly improving their lines: the latest lightweight options are easier to handle, and the Rollerblade-like wheels glide silently.

4. Google -- From Google Maps to Street View, you can suss out the neighborhood where your hotel or vacation rental is located before committing.

3. User-generated reviews -- TripAdvisor heralded an era where every opinion counts, if you don't mind wading through every gripe and every superlative: is it really the best? You be the judge, and then tell everyone about it.

2. Digital cameras -- I once only shot film; those days are over. Now you can pick up an entry-level digital SLR like the Nikon D3000 for about $600, which is the same that I paid for the Nikon Coolpix S4 point-and-shoot back in 2006.

1. Cell phones/smartphones -- Remember the days of buying prepaid calling cards, or being punctual? If you said you'd meet someone outside the Louvre at 2 p.m., you had to be there. Now you can call or text if you're running behind, which frees you up to embrace spontaneity just a little more: "I know we said the Louvre, but I just stumbled on the cutest cafe. Meet me here instead?" The iPhone alone has revolutionized the way we travel. As long as I can connect to GPS and Yelp reviews, I can show up in a new city with very little advance planning. And then I can tell everyone about my discoveries along the way.

Here's to another decade of innovation!

Photo: Nikon

Matching Luggage: Tacky or Classy?

Whenever I'm waiting at an airport, I play a game that I like to call Luggage Spotting. You see, I have an unhealthy obsession with luggage. I drool over wheelie bags the same way other girls collect designer handbags. Never mind that my Samsonite has survived more than 10 years of abuse—in the event it finally gives out, I want to be prepared with a replacement.

So I survey other people's luggage at airports, taking note of duffels, spinners, carry-ons, and totes that seem to be doing the trick. I also empathize with people who struggle with bags that always tip over. And I confess that I dream of having enough closet space to warrant one day investing in new pieces, preferably a matching set.

That dream (hey, don't knock my dream) screeched to a halt last weekend when I saw this guy at JFK with a set of matching Tumi luggage. A bit tacky, no? Not unlike perfume or jewelry, a little Tumi can go a long way...

Photo: Amy Chen

Holiday Travel: Should you check your bags?

CNN reports that this holiday season, air travelers may clog the overhead bins with more carry-on bags. If you've been on a plane recently, you already know that claiming the storage space above your seat is like something out of the Amazing Race.

It does seem that airports are now trying to enforce the airline limitations of one carry-on and one personal item. When I flew to San Francisco two weeks ago, I was stopped even before I could show my I.D. at the security checkpoint line. "Will that bag fit in the overhead bin?" an airport worker asked, suspiciously eyeing my bulging Eagle Creek backpack. Even after explaining that the outer removable pack was stuffed with magazines that I'd read and discard before boarding, I actually had to place my backpack into the luggage sizer to prove that it would in fact fit in the overhead bin (just like it has ever since I bought it a few years ago).

Unfortunately, the woman behind me wasn't so lucky -- she had a rolling suitcase, a purse, and a tote. "But they let me through at SFO," she wailed. The JFK airport worker stood firm and made the woman go back and check the extra bag (for a fee, of course).

So what should you do with your luggage when traveling during the holidays? Cast your vote here.

Photo: Eagle Creek via Buy.com