Business Travelers: What to look for in a Business Case, Laptop Case and Brief Case

Know your carry on luggage lingo:

Carry on luggage - Ballistic Cloth:
A thick nylon weave used in clothing, packs and luggage for reinforcement. Named for its likeness to bulletproof fabric in terms of durability but is not bullet proof. In nylon, usually 1050 denier for US produced goods or 1680 denier for product produced in Asia. No notable reason or the disparity.

Carry on luggage - Brushed
Knit or woven fabrics of wool, cotton or synthetic fibers which have been brushed or napped to produce a flannel-like hand, sometimes called "sueded" or "peached".

Carry on luggage -Bun
Cellular material whose production process results in a single, non-continuous block or sheet of material ranging in thickness from 1" to several feet.

Carry on luggage -Cambrelle
A tough non-woven fabric using a nylon core. High rate of absorption and breathability. Resists odor, abrasion and piling. Found in boots and shoes.

Carry on luggage - Clickability
The ability of a foam to die cut cleanly, without crimping. Expressed as one of the following:
Excellent: Immediate recovery, no pinching or curved sides.
Good: Recovery within one minute, slight pinching, slightly curved sides.
Poor: Does not recover within two minutes, remains pinched and very noticeably curved.

Carry on luggage - Closed Cell
A cell totally enclosed by its walls, and not interconnected with other cells. Will not absorb water or moisture.

Carry on luggage - Coarse Cell
As the name implies, this condition describes a very coarse foam structure. When the cell count is 10 to 25 cells per inch, the structure is too coarse for normal cushion foams and gives an unappealing appearance to the foam.

Carry on luggage - Coated Fabrics
Fabric to which a coating of synthetic substance, such as rubber, PVC, or polyurethane compound has been applied.

Carry on luggage - Compression Creep
The loss of thickness of a material under constant load over a specified period of time.

Carry on luggage - Compression Set
The amount of permanent deformation of the foam when compressed and heat-aged under specific conditions. It is a measure of the foam's "memory" or resistance to permanent deformity when strained. (ASTM-D-3574-81)

Carry on luggage - Compression Deflection
The amount (from original thickness) a material compresses under a given load usually expressed as a percent (%) deflection.

Carry on luggage - Coolmax
DuPont's abrasion-resistant, texturized nylon fabric that yields strong wicking action; often used in outerwear linings and light layering garments.

Carry on luggage - Cordura
DuPont's abrasion-resistant, texturized nylon fabric often used for making backpacks. In clothing, most often used as reinforcements at high-wear areas like knees, shoulders, and arms.

Carry on luggage - Crosslinked
The establishment of a chemical bond between the molecular chains of a given polymer, which creates superior physical properties.

Carry on luggage - Denier
Measurement of fiber weight used to express the yield, or thickness, of a thread or yarn. Higher denier means larger fibers and stronger material; smaller denier means finer fibers and lesser yield. One denier = 1 gram per 9,000 meters (about 5 miles). In clothing, 70-denier fabric is strong, heavy and usually used in tough shell garments; 30-denier fabric is lightweight and usually found in insulated garments like down jackets.

Carry on luggage - Density
The density of the material is the ratio of weight to volume. It is usually expressed as pounds per cubic foot.

Carry on luggage - Drape
The flexibility and suppleness of a fabric.

Carry on luggage - Durometer
A measure of the surface hardness of cellular materials.

Carry on luggage - Elongation
The amount of stretching (tensile strain) at point of foam failure (ultimate elongation). Expressed as a percentage of original unstrained foam dimension. Typical values range from 100% to 300%. (ASTM-D-3574-81)

Carry on luggage - EVA
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate. A copolymer foam which retains many of the properties of polyethylene, with enhanced flexibility, elongation, and impact resistance. When added to polyethylene, as in Evazote, it imparts enhanced physical characteristics and gives a soft, rubbery feel.

Carry on luggage - Flame Lamination
Process of bonding together two or more layers of material by heating surfaces with open flame.

Carry on luggage - FMVSS302
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 302 - measures flammability of a material. The standard requires that a material shall not burn or propagate a flame across its surface at a rate of more than 4" (100mm) per minute.

Carry on luggage - Foam Tear Bond
The term for a bond between foam and another material that is strong enough to create a tear in the foam when the materials are pulled apart as opposed to a separation at the point of lamination.

Carry on luggage - Four-way Stretch
A fabric that stretches uniformly for maximum freedom of movement. For molded laminates, four-way stretch allows for maximum depth of draw and molding definition.

Carry on luggage - Hand
Feel of a fabric, as in "this fabric has a soft hand".

Carry on luggage - Hydrophilic
Water loving, often used to describe the wicking characteristics of fabrics.

Carry on luggage - Hydrophobic
Water hating; used to describe water repellent characteristics of shell fabric, and moisture management or push-pull qualities of underwear fabric.

Carry on luggage - Indentation Force Deflection
The amount of compressive force (stress) necessary to cause an indentation deflection (strain) of a given magnitude. It is a measure of the firmness of the foam. Magnitude of indentation is usually 25% and/or 65%. (ASTM-D-3574-81)

Carry on luggage - Indent Load
A measure of the firmness of foam. It is based on deflecting a sample 25% of its original thickness by means of a 50 square inch area disc and measuring the load necessary to give this deflection on a block of foam 12" square by 4" thick.

Carry on luggage - Knit
Produced by hand or on knitting machines by the interlooping of yarns. Common knit fabrics are jersey, interlock and rib knit.

Carry on luggage - Lamination
Process of bonding together two or more layers of like, or unlike materials.

Carry on luggage - Metallocene
Single site metallocene resins are catalysts that produce enhanced physical properties in foams and plastics by creating more precise and uniform molecular structuring.

Carry on luggage - MVT
Moisture Vapor Transfer. The rate of transfer of moisture vapor through a foam, fabric, or substrate.

Carry on luggage - Open-Cell
A cell is not totally enclosed by its walls and therefore exhibits a predominance of interconnecting cells.

Carry on luggage - Oxford Cloth
Typically a nylon fabric of lighter weave with a urethane coating on the back to give it some water repellency. In nylon, usually 200 denier or 210denier.

Carry on luggage - pcf
Pounds per Cubic Foot.

Carry on luggage - PLI
Pounds per Linear Inch.

Carry on luggage - Polyester
A synthetic fiber that features quick drying time, high strength abrasion resistance, and crease resistance; frequently blended with cotton, rayon or other synthetics.

Carry on luggage - Polyurethane Coating
Polymer-based waterproof coating applied to the inside of a fabric. In its heavy waterproof/nonbreathable form, it's used in objects like tents and packs. In its lighter, microporous, breathable form, it's used in outerwear.

Carry on luggage - Polymer
A chemical compound, or mixture of compounds, formed by polymerization and consisting essentially of repeating units.

Carry on luggage - Polyolefin
A common term referring to the family of polyethylene, polypropylene, and copolymer foam materials.

Carry on luggage - Polypropylene
In its foam form, polypropylene has a higher working temperature and some enhanced physical properties such as stiffness and dimensional stability.

Carry on luggage - PSA
Pressure Sensitive Adhesive.

Carry on luggage - psi
Pounds per Square Inch.

Carry on luggage - Push-pull fabric
Two part fabric made of nonabsorbent hydrophobicknit next to skin and absorbent hydrophilicknit on the outside. UFPT's HP2 combines a breathable foam with push-pull materials to aid in moisture transport.

Carry on luggage - Recovery
The ability of a fabric to stretch and then return to its original shape.

Carry on luggage - Resilience
The amount of rebound when a steel ball is dropped on the foam. It is a measure of how "bouncy" the foam is. Expressed as a percentage of the dropped height. Typical values range from 30% to 60%. (ASTM-D-3574-81)

Carry on luggage - Resistivity
The power, or capacity of a material to resist static discharge. Measured in Ohms, either on the surface of the material or through its volume.

Carry on luggage - Ripstop
Fabric woven with double thread at regular intervals to achieve small squares that prevent tears from spreading; usually applies to nylon or polyester. Found in outerwear, sleeping bags, packs and tents.

Carry on luggage - R-Value
Unit of measure describing the ability of an insulation to resist heat or cold. Higher values indicate better insulating properties.

Carry on luggage - Packcloth
Typically a nylon fabric of medium weave with a urethane coating on the back to give it some water repellency. In nylon, usually 400 denier, 420 denier, 430 denier.

Carry on luggage - Shrinkage
Flexible foams shrink during the curing and cooling process after manufacturing. This effect comes from the cells shrinking during the curing and cooling process. Shrinkage of 3% to 5% width is not unusual during the curing process.

Carry on luggage - Skins
This term refers to the external surface of the foam, resulting from its manufacturing process. Typically, it is removed in the fabricating process but it can sometimes be retained for special applications where a tough outer surface is desirable.

Carry on luggage - Skiving
A means of cutting materials to a precise thickness.

Carry on luggage - Spandex
Common name for synthetic fiber that offers great stretch, good strength and abrasion resistance, and long-term resistance to body acids; always used in combination with another fiber, such as cotton, polyester or nylon. DuPont's Lycra is the most well-known brand of spandex.

Carry on luggage - Spandura
Cordura filaments spun around a stretchy Lycra core. A highly abrasion resistant, durable stretch fabric.

Carry on luggage - Striations
A term used to describe hard areas or seams in the foam. Striations can occur both horizontally and vertically in the foam but more commonly in the vertical direction.

Carry on luggage - Substrate
In outerwear, the base fabric to which a finishing technique such as coating or lamination is applied.

Carry on luggage - Support Factor
The ratio of the 25% IFD to 65% IFD. It is an indication of how much "body" a foam has. (ASTM-D-3574-81)

Carry on luggage - Sympatex
From Akzo, a nonporous, polyester waterproof/breathable membrane. Laminates to any material and found in shoes, boots, hats, gloves and outerwear.

Carry on luggage - Tear Strength
A measure of the resistance of a material to tearing.

Carry on luggage - Tensile Strength
A measure of the force required to pull a foam or fabric until it breaks apart.

Carry on luggage - Thermal Stability
Dimensional stability in any direction of a material at elevated temperatures.

Carry on luggage - Two-way stretch
The ability of a knit or woven fabric to stretch vertically or horizontally.

Carry on luggage - Void
This term is used to describe large empty spaces within a piece of foam.

Carry on luggage - Water Absorption
Measurement of water absorbed by flexible cellular materials during submersion in water.

Carry on luggage - Wicking
Pulling moisture and sweat away from the skin and dispersing it throughout a material; a critical attribute in high-performance base layers.

Carry on luggage - Wovens
Produced on machines that weave "fill" yarns back and forth through the "warp" yarns. There are three basic weaves from which all woven fabrics derive: twill, satin and plain.