CES 2026: I Made Fun of My Daughter, but This Rideable Luggage Made Me a Believer

Like many parents, I sometimes consider my children lazy. This was one of those moments: At Orlando International Airport, on our way to Disney World, my 16-year-old daughter told me about her desire for a rolling suitcase. I laughed and told her she could walk just fine. “Besides,” I added, “it would never work.”

I hadn’t seen rolling luggage yet and pointed out the immediate drawbacks that came to mind. First, it wouldn’t work for someone like me: 6’3 and 215 pounds. Second, I doubted it would have much storage space for carrying stuff, which is the whole point of luggage. And third, who would be caught riding something this stupid? But my daughter was determined to prove to me not only that they exist, but that they are popular. She showed me videos of them in action. I wasn’t convinced.

We joked about carrying luggage as we walked through the airport. This came up again while we were traveling around Disney World. (“See, if we had carry-on luggage, we wouldn’t be so tired.”) By the time we walked to baggage claim after returning to LaGuardia, it was a running gag. That same week, while preparing for CES, I studied rolling suitcases and planned to test them at the show. And it turns out my daughter was right.

At CES, I tried several rolling suitcases, placing my big 6’3, 215-pound frame on motorized, battery-powered bags the size of an airplane cabin. The best one I’ve ridden came from Jitlife, which is introducing its fourth model this year, the Jitlife JS07i. Not only has it impressed, but it is also one of the finalists for the official Best of CES 2026 awards in the Travel category.

Like all the suitcases I’ve driven, the Jitlife rolling suitcase is the size of a standard carry-on bag but can carry up to 250 pounds, has a top speed of about 8 miles per hour, and can travel about six miles on a charge. The suitcase has a capacity of 28 liters, which is indeed much less than the 60-80 liters of space I expect from a standard check-in bag, but it’s better than I thought for something that weighs less than 20 pounds and can carry me. Overall, the kid was right: portable luggage can work, and it’s actually already a fairly common phenomenon in Asia, especially China.

As for looking clumsy while driving one, well, I believe my point is valid. But, for people with accessibility needs, young children, or people who value functionality over the judgment of strangers, rolling luggage could be an attractive solution for getting around major airports faster and easier. Testing it is definitely the most fun I’ve had at CES, so whatever the future of rolling luggage holds, I’ll live with my kid’s “I told you so.”