Suitcase Transforms to Offer Shelves

Depending on how often you travel, packing and unpacking can become a chore that doesn’t even seem worth doing anymore. When you’re staying in hotel after hotel, putting all of your stuff into the dresser drawers doesn’t make sense. So McKaba Luggage came up with a novel new luggage concept: a transforming suitcase that doubles as a no-fuss dresser.


The ShelfPack is a suitcase on wheels that’s small enough to be manageable but large enough to hold the stuff you need for your trip. It weighs 14.5 pounds and features a telescoping exterior-mounted trolley handle. Its integrated shelves keep your clothes organized; it works by extending the shelf supports, lifting up the shelf assembly, and locking it into place. It’s also rare that travel furniture gets this compact, containing both your usual luggage contents and a dresser to boot.

While the four shelves are extended, you place your folded clothing on each one. Three external pockets securely hold accessories and toiletries. After you’re done packing, you just collapse the shelves. Close the top, which includes the exterior pockets, and zip it up – and everything stays in place. When you get to your destination, just pop the shelves back up and take out your clothes as needed. You won’t have to unpack again until you get home.
The concept and design are pretty cool, but there are a couple of things we would love to see improved before the ShelfPack is made widely available. The exterior pockets don’t seem very secure; they don’t lock and have soft sides that don’t provide any impact protection from careless baggage handlers. Secondly, the price – $350 seems pretty steep for anything but the most luxurious piece of luggage. Still, as of the time of publication the project has raised more than half of its $20,000 Kickstarter goal.