The ShelfPack: New suitcase with built-in, stackable shelves

Are you a messy suitcase packer? Tired of finding wrinkled clothes in your suitcase? Enter the ShelfPack – a suitcase that comes with built-in shelves that can double as a portable drawer unit.

Designed as a checked baggage item (not for carry-on), this new travel innovation features four built-in, pull-out and collapsible shelves aimed at that travellers who want easy-to-find, wrinkle-free clothes on their trips.

The shelves are said enable better packing organisation by allowing travellers to pack, for example, shirts on one shelf and pants on another. The shelves stack vertically, when the suitcase is layed flat on the floor, with support poles that pull out and lock into place.

The ShelfPack is designed to be a standard size suitcase: 66cm case (71cm with wheels) (H) x 46cm (W) x 35cm (D) with an extra 104,304 cubic cm of space, and weighs 7.71 kg. When stacked, the shelves reach 107cm in height.

It also features three outer pocket compartments which are ideal for toiletries (when the shelves are stacked). The shelves can be easily dropped and the suitcase closed while travelling.  

The suitcase was the concept of Ken McKaba, a US-based software engineer, who dreamed up a suitcase that didn't require digging through the whole luggage to find a shirt; something that would make it easier to see the contents inside a suitcase and make it easier to get to.

Shipments for the new suitcase will begin in August 2015. The manufacturer's suggested retail price is $US350

For the traveller wanting something more hi-tech than a padlock to lock their bag, Space Case 1 features a fingerprint-based lock system and an anti-theft sensor (monitored via a phone app) which activates an alarm sound when the app moves more than 12 metres from the suitcase. It also sends a text to the phone to let the owner know when the suitcase has arrived on the baggage carousel.

This ultra-light suitcase also features a digital scale, removing the need to lift the suitcase, and 360-degree rotating wheels.

The ShelfPack and Space Case 1 are the latest in a series of unusual suitcase designs which includes arguably, the world's most sexiest suitcase - The Trunkster suitcase - created by New York-based designers that features "sexy silhouette, impeccable construction and intelligent features."

Then there is the Bluesmart - a suitcase synced to an app on your smartphone, allowing it to lock, weigh and track itself. Bluesmart also includes a powerful battery charger that can charge your phone six times over and charge up to two devices simultaneously.

One Chicago-based entrepreneur introduced a suitcase that could be converted into a chair. The four-wheeled suitcase by neXstep luggage comes with a pull-out handle that can be detached and unfolded into a backless chair. 

The City Cab, a motorised suitcase that doubles a scooter, which surfaced last year, is a three-wheeled electrical suitcase, fitted with a steering grip, brakes, safety lights, a horn, a GPS device and a theft alarm, carries up to two passengers, seated on its side, travelling up to a speed of about 20 km per hour and a maximum distance of about 60km.

with The Telegraph, London.