Barracuda Luggage: Space-Age, Space Saving, And Full Of Surprises

Boarding passes live on phone screens, you can find your flight status with a simple Google search – all aspects of travel are being streamlined in this technological epoch in which we live and luggage refuses to be left out of the race. And, provided that San Francisco is the American belly of the tech beast, it should be no surprise that today's most innovative luggage was conceptualized by a startup in that city.

Barracuda, named the "No. 1 Most Convenient luggage" by GQ ,is the closest thing we have to space-age, space-saving luggage today. Funded by over $2 million raised through KickStarter and Indiegogo last year, the carryon's main advertised draw is its collapsible capability: the hard-side suitcase can be flattened and stored by hanging it in the dust bag that accompanies it.

Yet, beyond the realm of collapsibility lie the true joys of the piece of travel technology posing as a mere suitcase. Each of the six colors of Barracuda luggage — ranging from look-at-me red to I-am-about-business grey — is fitted with a foldable laptop tray with cup holder. While the tray can only hold one of these things at a time (the computer or the cup) and feels a tad toy-like in its construction, it does get the job done and is welcome alternative to propping items on one's lap. So if we are keeping tabs, the suitcase saves space and also is a workspace.

Equipped with a TSA locks, an ergonomic handle ring that swivels 360 degrees and locks into place, a digital luggage scale, a 10,000mAh removable USB battery pack, and an optional luggage tracking device, it doesn't take a tech genius to know one is getting quite the bang for one's buck (between 200 and 349 bucks to be precise). Be gone, padlocks, strained wrists, overweight luggage, flagging cell phone batteries, and the anxiety of lost luggage! Most importantly however, to some of us at least, the luggage does withstand the rigorous test of style given its minimalistic features and polished design.

With Barracuda, the next time you are prancing through Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, you can do so with the confidence that should you need to stage an impromptu Fauchon macaron tasting session while you wait in the gate area, your suitcase has got you covered with a tray for your exploration of comestible delights.