Banana-Plan Luggage

When carrying a heavy suitcase, what feels like three quarters of the energy one expends seems to go into holding the suitcase far enough from one's legs to enable one to walk. This is because a useful suitcase is invariably fatter than the plan distance between one's hand, when one's arm is hanging straight down, and the plan area swept by one's legs.

The intention of the banana-plan suitcase is to place the plan centre of mass of the loaded suitcase outside the plan area of the suitcase. The suitcase is "bent", i.e. it has a convex and a concave side, so that the handle may be placed so as to project slightly from the concave side. One may therefore carry the suitcase without holding one's arm away from one's body.

This handle position also allows for the handle to be lower than the top of the suitcase, making it easier to ensure ground clearance without hunching up one's shoulder on that side.

Walking with the suitcase should present no problem as long as one's steps are of a reasonable length, lest one kick the forward and rear edges that curve in towards one. Longer strides may be taken if one learns the habit of rotating the suitcase slightly with each step, an action that is much less tiring than holding a heavy suitcase out at an angle from one's body.