Best Overnight Bags for Investment Bankers

An overnight bag for a one or two-night trip has to take a suit, a laptop and a change of clothes, meet a cabin limit on size and on weight, and still look right in front of a client. That's a lot to ask of a fairly small bag.

The bags above are the ones we'd recommend for it. Below is how to choose between them: the size and weight that actually fly, leather against canvas, how to get a suit there uncreased, and whether leather is worth the money.

What makes an overnight bag right for an investment banker?

A banker's overnight bag has a narrower job than a generic weekender. It has to do five things well, and the rest is down to your taste:

• It stands up to years of heavy travel, so it doesn't look beaten after a season of red-eyes.
• It keeps a suit wearable, so you arrive ready for a meeting instead of hunting for an iron in the hotel.
• It protects a laptop and a stack of documents.
• It looks senior in front of a client: dark, plain leather, no logo on the outside.
• It meets the cabin limit on size and on weight, so it never gets pulled aside to be gate-checked.

There's a wider checklist in our guide to 7 things to look out for before buying a leather bag.

What size overnight bag for a one- or two-night trip?

For one or two nights with a suit, a laptop and a change of clothes, aim for about 30 to 45 liters. That's enough to take it all without tipping into check-in size.

Then check the bag's own dimensions, because the liters won't tell you whether it fits. An overhead bin is usually around 55 cm (22 in) on the longest side and about 40 cm (16 in) across.

Airlines cap the cabin bag by weight as well as size, often around 7 to 10 kg (15 to 22 lb) on stricter carriers. And a leather bag spends more of that allowance on its own weight: a leather wheeled carry-on can weigh around 4 kg (9 lb) before you pack a thing. That can leave you a couple of kilos short, and staring at a gate-check tag at the desk.

So a wheeled leather carry-on is not always the upgrade it looks like. On a strict-allowance airline, a 2 kg (4.5 lb) leather holdall sitting on a separate light wheeled case often beats one heavy wheeled bag doing everything. On a generous US-domestic allowance, the wheels are worth their weight over the long airport walks. Look at what your ticket actually allows before you decide.

For more on sizing a bag to a short trip, see our guide to choosing a travel bag for short trips.

Leather or canvas: which suits which kind of banker?

Leather and canvas both work for a banker. Canvas stays casual and wears out; leather looks more senior and takes on a patina. Durability barely comes into it either way.

Canvas is the traditional Wall Street bag, the branded duffel handed out on the desk. It's light, it's tough, and it's part of the culture, so a first-year analyst carrying one fits right in. It won't take on any character with age, though. It just wears down.

Leather goes the other way. Full-grain leather takes on a patina with use, so it darkens and softens at the corners and the handles. It's the change a lot of people make after a promotion, when the free canvas bag starts to look junior next to the managing director's leather one.

On both, the zip goes first, then the handle stitching, well before the leather or the canvas wears through. So how long the bag lasts comes down to the hardware and whether you can get it repaired.

How do you keep a suit crisp in an overnight bag?

To keep a suit crisp in an overnight bag, hang it and let it curve, rather than packing it down to fit. Pack a suit down and you bend the wool past the point it springs back from. The fibers stay bent, and that's the crease.

Hang the jacket so it curves gently around the inside of the bag and the wool stays short of that point. It relaxes flat again when you take it out.

So you want a bag that hangs the suit. Any garment holdall does this much: you clip the jacket and trousers onto a hanger built into the lining, and the suit curves around the inside as the bag zips back up into a duffel. Ours is the Grand.

Nothing gets pressed into a hard line, so the suit comes out ready to wear. And you still get the room of a normal overnight bag for a shirt and your toiletries.

The curve is what keeps the crease out, so it only works if you leave room for it. Pack the main compartment too tightly around the suit and you'll crease it anyway. Padding has nothing to do with it.

Keep shoes and anything heavy low in the bag or in a side pocket, away from the suit above them.

There's more detail on the other ways to carry a suit without creasing it.

Does a banker's overnight bag need a laptop sleeve?

Yes, a banker's overnight bag needs a dedicated laptop sleeve, and the kind matters. Most people need one sized for a 14 to 16-inch laptop.

What protects the laptop is the padding; the leather around it barely helps. A dedicated sleeve keeps the laptop off the base of the bag, where it would otherwise take the knocks.

And a back-entry sleeve, with the slot on the panel against your back, lets you slide the laptop out at security without opening the whole bag. The main compartment stays free for the rest of your things.

For the documents, a separate zipped pocket stops anything confidential sliding out when the bag tips over on a belt or in a bin.

How to carry an overnight bag and a briefcase together

To carry an overnight bag and a briefcase together, let one sit on your wheeled case while you carry the other, or buy two that are made to travel as a set. Carry two shoulder bags and one of them slides off while you're showing a boarding pass, and you end up holding both by the handles.

The fix is a trolley pass-through: a strap on the back of one bag that slots over the extending handle of a wheeled case, so the bag rides there instead of on your shoulder. Check that yours has one, because plenty of bags don't.

If you'd rather carry a proper briefcase for the laptop and papers and keep the holdall for clothes, the two are much easier to manage when they're made to sit together. Our briefcases for investment bankers are built for this kind of travel.

Is a leather overnight bag worth it for a banker?

A leather overnight bag is worth it for a banker, as long as the hardware holds and you can get it repaired. A good leather bag that lasts ten years costs less per trip than a cheaper one you replace every year or two, and that only works out if it survives the travel.

You want a maker who'll actually fix the bag. A 5-Year Limited Warranty covering defects is a fair signal. But a warranty only covers what it lists, so read it before you count on it.

Spending more doesn't always buy better leather. On some ranges the entry bag and the flagship use the same hide, so you're paying for size and construction.

And when a brand keeps its price and never marks it down, there's no sale to wait for.

Leather needs a little care to go the distance. Wipe it down and let it dry if it gets soaked, and condition it now and then so it doesn't dry out and crack. It's water-resistant, not waterproof.

There's more on how long a leather bag really lasts, and how to look after it.

So which overnight bag should you buy?

• If a suit travels with you: the garment holdall.
• If your allowance is strict: a lighter holdall on a separate wheeled case, which often beats one heavy wheeled bag doing everything.
• If you want the one that looks more senior and takes on a patina: leather, as long as the hardware holds and you can get it repaired.

The bags at the top of this page each answer the same five points in a different way: heavy travel, a suit that arrives wearable, the laptop, looking senior in front of a client, and the cabin limit on size and weight.

Other questions bankers ask about overnight bags

Is a backpack or tote acceptable in investment banking?

A backpack or tote is acceptable in investment banking, within reason. A plain leather backpack or tote is fine at most desks now, and plenty of juniors carry one day to day.

For a client meeting though, a structured holdall or a briefcase looks the part in a way a backpack doesn't. A dark, plain leather bag with clean lines and no logo on the outside looks senior; a slouchy nylon backpack looks like a student's.

If in doubt, keep the backpack for the commute and carry something structured on a client day.

What makes a good overnight bag to gift a new banker?

A good overnight bag to gift a new banker is a timeless leather weekender in a plain color (black, brown or tan), the kind they'll still be carrying in ten years. You can't see their exact taste, so a classic shape beats anything trend-led.

Add their initials and it becomes theirs. A lot of makers include complimentary embossing, up to four initials, pressed by hand onto a leather luggage tag that hangs on the bag. Check it's offered free, since some charge for it.

A clear returns window and tracked, insured delivery lower the risk further, since a wrong guess is then easy to put right. The bags made for exactly this are in our gifts for investment bankers.

Do the initials go on the bag or a luggage tag?

On most premium leather bags, the initials go on a leather luggage tag that ships with the bag. They're not set into the body. That surprises some gift buyers, who picture a monogram stamped on the front.

The tag is the more flexible route anyway: the bag stays clean, and the tag makes it easy to spot on a carousel. Smaller items like wallets are usually embossed directly, but for a holdall or a briefcase, expect the tag.