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Luggage has come a long way in the past decade, and there’s no shortage of brands offering luxury carry-ons, checked bags with wheels, and other suitcases with thoughtful design features designed to simplify the travel experience, from packing, security checks, and travel wear and tear to the dreaded task of unpacking. Over the past five years or so, there’s been a wave of new luggage brands offering beautiful shells and bold colors that would make your designer bag jealous. Many of these new entrants to the market focus on technology and gadget interfaces — travel batteries, cables, tracking devices, and other innovative features built into suitcases.
All things considered, it’s especially hard to stand out in the luggage space right now, but newly launched destination-inspired travel brand Nex is truly a category disruptor. Nex understands that sometimes travel is more than just getting from point A to point B — sometimes it’s about the journey, and sometimes it’s about the destination, but how we choose to engage in tourism — whether domestically or abroad — is an important part of the experience that’s often overlooked.
Championing a unique approach to travel focused on cultivating mindfulness of the nature, culture, and people we visit, Nex has built a brand ethos against empty travel and extractive tourism in favor of mindful exploration and self-realization — and its curated collection of luggage, bags, and backpacks reflects the brand’s DNA while working to make your travels a little more ethical, sustainable, and hassle-free.
“Travel, for me, has always been that part of me that every step I took helped me reinvent myself to become a better person and overcome challenges,” Nex co-founder Jackson Wang told an intimate group of journalists at the brand’s recent launch event in O’ahu, Hawaii. “Every journey you take, you come home with more than just memories. When you travel, you go out, you take photos, you try to understand the culture or maybe the language, and you come home with a new perspective.”
Nex co-founder Adam Luco agrees, adding: “When you travel mindfully, it really changes who you are as a person. You start to see how interconnected life is and how our actions and our failures to act have far-reaching effects globally, geographically and generationally.”
The brand launched in late June with its first collection, Hawaii Edition, which includes a curated collection of premium hardshell luggage in colors inspired by the island’s natural beauty, including Waikiki Blue and Hanelei Green. Staying true to Nex’s guiding principle of changing the way we think about travel, the collection delves much deeper into its muse’s culture and community before launching its inaugural collection.
For Wang, Hawaii is close to his heart because it was where he proposed to his wife. However, the island seemed doubly appropriate to underscore Nex’s founding mission, as Hawaii has been subjected to the extractive legacy of imperialism, which unfortunately continues to this day, often in the form of well-intentioned but ultimately exploitative or deleterious tourism.
Nex debuted its luggage storage in unison with Nex Up, a series of conversation and interview videos exploring the stories, cultures and inspirations behind the brand’s destination-inspired luggage, available on the brand’s YouTube channel. In the first installment, Luco speaks with Kauii-based musician Maluhia Castillo about the ecological, sociological and cultural trauma Hawaii has endured thanks to a legacy of extractive tourism that the Hawaiian Islands have endured.
While Castillo admitted he was initially hesitant about partnering with Nex, after learning about the brand’s mission, he was eager to help educate tourists about the importance of traveling to new places with curiosity, sensitivity, patience and respect for the local culture and environment.
Of course, Wang and Luco understand that the essential space for luggage and travel is saturated, but that only makes them even more committed to doing things differently. “People have had luggage for 2,000 years—that problem was solved a long time ago,” says Wang. “We don’t want to solve that problem; we want to promote a different way of traveling.” In addition to its overarching mission of fostering storytelling, community, and conscious travel through products that reduce hassle, Nex is also committed to not only making it easier for travelers to step out of their comfort zones and explore new cultures, but also making it more environmentally friendly while promoting ethical manufacturing practices.
For example, the brand’s Million Mile Guarantee allows Nex owners to travel up to one million miles on one of its pieces, and when it’s time for a new one, the brand will replace it for free. Once the luggage is retired, the brand will repair any broken or damaged parts, clean them, and make them look shiny and *almost* new again, so that the used luggage is eligible for resale at a reduced price through the soon-to-launch Nexperience program. It’s a win-win for traveling consumers and the environment.
While some other luggage brands today emphasize minimalist and sleek design in their luggage, Nex’s collection is truly next level, no pun intended. The interiors of the suitcases are designed to maximize not only space, but actually usable space, with multiple, nearly hidden compartments for delicate items, underwear, shoes, and even dirty clothes for the end of your trip. Even if you’re typically a careless, last-minute packer (*raises hand*), the interiors of the bags help you easily separate things into at least one of the two halves or between multiple dividers or pockets so that the function rises above the chaos of even the most procrastination-prone packer’s usual luggage nightmare.
If you’re looking for luggage that elevates your travel experience, is well-made, sustainable, and inspires a greater sense of purpose in your travels, Nex stands alone as the number one emerging luggage brand. For a limited time, get a discounted pre-order price on Nex’s first Hawaii-inspired collection.
