When you’re a dad going on holiday with your children, your luggage is never your own. Your other half may have their own case, and your kids might have their own Trunkies, but for dads, it is a known given that you take the overflow. What starts as a carefully ordered packing of daily requirements, turns into a free-for-all as your ironed shirts are crushed into the corners by baby monitors, speakers, extra kids socks, ‘must-have’ toys, cheesy snacks, wellington boots (“We’re going to Majorca!” “You never know”) wet wipes, spare wet wipes, extra wet wipes, and a thousand emergency lollipops.

In such circumstances, when you find luggage for dads which can actually cope with such demands, it’s life-changing. This is the bolt of lightning experience which comes when you try the Thule Subterra, which is a kind of duffel bag on wheels with many, many pockets and compartments. Of course! ‘Many pockets and compartments’ – this is what has been required for all these wasted years. Thule are a Swedish brand who make products for active families, so you can imagine how good this luggage is, purely by the Scandinavian associations of functionality and being really good looking.

When I first got my hands on the Subterra and started zipping and unzipping in a fevered act of multi-compartment discovery, I was seized by fantasies of hiding whisky bottles and gold bullion within the case, reserving the secret top pocket by the handle for my newly minted ‘papers’.

Of course the reality of packing for the trip with two small children caused these precious areas to be hijacked by musical bunnies and Pokemon cards and various other enraging contraband. On the plus side, it meant there was always something close to hand to distract them at the airport: “Look – stop biting the security lady – look what Daddy has found in his special bag: a car with Bear Paws crushed into its windows. Shut up and lick it.”

The best feature of the case is there’s a divided main section, which actually means you can separate your clothes from the junk. I also liked the duffel bag on wheels idea, with the big handles on the top as an alternative to the trundle; perfect if you have to swap grips to accommodate a trantrumming ‘Three-nager’ under one arm when on the run for a flight.

In all, this is the best luggage for dads, hands down. Highly recommended.