A suitcase that loses its frame after the trip.
The suitcase can lose its bulk after the journey. FREITAG’s ZIPPELIN uses an inflatable support structure and removable wheels, allowing a large travel bag to pack down for storage.
CH SwitzerlandIn practice. The Swiss ZIPPELIN luggage design was crowdfunded in 2017 and introduced as a product in 2018.
What to keep in view
This is a documented historical product, not a statement of current availability. Reused tarpaulin and an inflatable frame do not by themselves establish the whole product’s environmental impact.
Inflate the support when it is needed
The bag combines FREITAG’s reused truck-tarpaulin material with an air-supported structure rather than a permanently rigid luggage frame. Inflation gives it working form. Deflation and removing the wheels allow it to roll down between trips.
Make a product’s working volume temporary when its stored volume is the everyday inconvenience.
Design for the time between uses
Our reading: luggage spends much of its life empty, yet conventional cases occupy almost the same volume at home as at the airport. ZIPPELIN treats that inactive period as a central design problem.
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Let the helmet take up less of the day.
Both design for the time an object is being carried or stored. Compare an inflatable support with rigid sections that nest together.
A bottle that packs down after use.
The object’s empty state matters too. Both change structure to reduce the space needed between uses.