While I agree that the fear of lost luggage is vastly overstated on FT, I have experienced delayed (not lost, mind you) bags on 2 occasions over the course of the past 18 months. In both cases, I was on tight connections that I made and my luggage didn't. Also, in both cases, the bags were delivered to ME (i.e. no need to go to any airports) within 12 hours and I submitted receipts for essentials to the airlines (Delta and United) for which I was reimbursed at lightening speed. In the Delta case, I actually spent $200 on a sports coat and dress shirt because I had to attend a wedding before they were going to be able to get the bag to me. If I had gone to Nordstrom instead of the Kohl's near PVD and spent $1000, they probably would have pushed back, but $200 wasn't a problem at all.

To your point about swimwear and gym clothes, I too place these items in the outer mesh pockets of my travel backpack when the need arises, and they are typically completely dry within a few hours so they can join my computer in the inner compartment.