Modoker convertible garment bag review
May. 13th, 2026 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkitoutSo, there is a weird category of luggage that involves a garment bag doing garment bag stuff, but that folds / rolls / zips up to form an additional compartment that will not hold very much, and which has various straps in addition to the handles of an otherwise more ordinary garment bag. I believe the best known example of this is a Halfday. I had absolutely no intention of buying one of these, ever, in much the same way I never intended to buy wood look tile.
Anyway. I bought one, because of some complicated travel plans T. has, and that required us to transport some items to DC for him. I figured the easiest way to do this involved handing it over to my sister who lives just outside DC, in advance of his arrival, and then she could deliver it to him relatively easily. Some of it got handed off in April when T. joined them at Busch Gardens (sheets, blanket). Some of it will be loaned to him by my sister (towels and pillows, mostly). And I’m on the hook to get his suit, shirts, tie and two pairs of dress shoes. I figured if I brought them on the train with me to Balticon, I could hand them over to my sister, and she could bring them back home on the train. But that left the puzzle of what luggage could I put his suit etc. in that I could easily add to my luggage and A.’s. Hence the Halfday knockoff by Modoker.
It arrived today. I took his suit out of the garment bag the Joseph Banks sold it to him in. He’s already worn it some number of times. I started by buttoning the top buttons of the two shirts and a lower button on each so they would hang straighter. Then I took the pants off the hanger, where… look, I trouser fold pj bottoms. I don’t know what the hell he did putting those pants on the hanger, but I was offended. I corrected it, got the creases lined up right and hang the pants to balance correctly. Then I put the jacket back on and put the result plus the shirts in the new bag, and folded the arms over in front, which is the only part of this process I’m not totally sure of. Oh, and I pulled the wadded up tie out of the shirt pocket, and rolled it correctly. I mean.
It all fits very nicely in the Modoker. It doesn’t zip well lying flat, but zips perfectly when hanging, so no real complaints there. The side pockets are generously sized. My son wears something like a size 11 (and for my family, that’s small) XW, so I was happy not to have to find separate bags for them. Technically I should probably individually bag each shoe within the pocket, but I’m not going to that much trouble for someone who wads up a tie and does whatever it was that happened to the pants on the hanger when I opened the other garment bag up. (T.: I am not at all upset with you or what you did. If you want help learning how to hang pants on a hanger so they don’t wrinkle, I can try to help, or your dad can help. But it truly does not matter. It’s just a hang up from my past.)
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the setup. I’m leaving it hanging without the shoes in it until it’s time to go.
ETA: There’s only one shoe pocket, so I put the other shoes in the “duffel” compartment once the thing was zipped on the sides. It zips up a little awkwardly, but unzips great and the liner is really nice and sturdy. It’s heavy with a suit, shirts, two shoes in it, but sits fine on a Travelpro rollaboard. Part of why I bought this was the luggage sleeve, and part was the shoulder strap. I figured I’d bring A.’s rollabord, my backpack and park this on top of her rollaboard, which should let me wrangle it all effectively on and off the train and taxi/rideshare from the station to the hotel (I could walk it, I have, but I’m not doing that again).
Of course, you couldn’t actually bring this on a plane with a rollaboard, because it’s too big to be a personal item, but it would ride nicely on top of a rolling checked bag until you checked it, and then you can sling it over a shoulder. But all legs planned with this thing are train / car, so I’m feeling cautious optimism.
For under $50, this was absolutely worthwhile. Obviously, if you are transporting an actual suit for actual work and traveling light, you don’t put it in a garment bag, you wear it and you fold your shirts, and if it’s a problem you have the hotel fix it for you overnight, and if you are staying in cheap digs that won’t do that for you, you hang it in the bathroom after running some hot water in the shower. I grew up in a time warp, but I remember a few things. I would imagine, however, that most people traveling with a garment bag these days are headed to a destination wedding and wearing the fancy togs is not actually an option. If you find yourself in such a situation, getting a Halfday or a knockoff such as the Modoker might be genuinely helpful.
Anyway. I bought one, because of some complicated travel plans T. has, and that required us to transport some items to DC for him. I figured the easiest way to do this involved handing it over to my sister who lives just outside DC, in advance of his arrival, and then she could deliver it to him relatively easily. Some of it got handed off in April when T. joined them at Busch Gardens (sheets, blanket). Some of it will be loaned to him by my sister (towels and pillows, mostly). And I’m on the hook to get his suit, shirts, tie and two pairs of dress shoes. I figured if I brought them on the train with me to Balticon, I could hand them over to my sister, and she could bring them back home on the train. But that left the puzzle of what luggage could I put his suit etc. in that I could easily add to my luggage and A.’s. Hence the Halfday knockoff by Modoker.
It arrived today. I took his suit out of the garment bag the Joseph Banks sold it to him in. He’s already worn it some number of times. I started by buttoning the top buttons of the two shirts and a lower button on each so they would hang straighter. Then I took the pants off the hanger, where… look, I trouser fold pj bottoms. I don’t know what the hell he did putting those pants on the hanger, but I was offended. I corrected it, got the creases lined up right and hang the pants to balance correctly. Then I put the jacket back on and put the result plus the shirts in the new bag, and folded the arms over in front, which is the only part of this process I’m not totally sure of. Oh, and I pulled the wadded up tie out of the shirt pocket, and rolled it correctly. I mean.
It all fits very nicely in the Modoker. It doesn’t zip well lying flat, but zips perfectly when hanging, so no real complaints there. The side pockets are generously sized. My son wears something like a size 11 (and for my family, that’s small) XW, so I was happy not to have to find separate bags for them. Technically I should probably individually bag each shoe within the pocket, but I’m not going to that much trouble for someone who wads up a tie and does whatever it was that happened to the pants on the hanger when I opened the other garment bag up. (T.: I am not at all upset with you or what you did. If you want help learning how to hang pants on a hanger so they don’t wrinkle, I can try to help, or your dad can help. But it truly does not matter. It’s just a hang up from my past.)
All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the setup. I’m leaving it hanging without the shoes in it until it’s time to go.
ETA: There’s only one shoe pocket, so I put the other shoes in the “duffel” compartment once the thing was zipped on the sides. It zips up a little awkwardly, but unzips great and the liner is really nice and sturdy. It’s heavy with a suit, shirts, two shoes in it, but sits fine on a Travelpro rollaboard. Part of why I bought this was the luggage sleeve, and part was the shoulder strap. I figured I’d bring A.’s rollabord, my backpack and park this on top of her rollaboard, which should let me wrangle it all effectively on and off the train and taxi/rideshare from the station to the hotel (I could walk it, I have, but I’m not doing that again).
Of course, you couldn’t actually bring this on a plane with a rollaboard, because it’s too big to be a personal item, but it would ride nicely on top of a rolling checked bag until you checked it, and then you can sling it over a shoulder. But all legs planned with this thing are train / car, so I’m feeling cautious optimism.
For under $50, this was absolutely worthwhile. Obviously, if you are transporting an actual suit for actual work and traveling light, you don’t put it in a garment bag, you wear it and you fold your shirts, and if it’s a problem you have the hotel fix it for you overnight, and if you are staying in cheap digs that won’t do that for you, you hang it in the bathroom after running some hot water in the shower. I grew up in a time warp, but I remember a few things. I would imagine, however, that most people traveling with a garment bag these days are headed to a destination wedding and wearing the fancy togs is not actually an option. If you find yourself in such a situation, getting a Halfday or a knockoff such as the Modoker might be genuinely helpful.