Rolling Duffel Bag??

[NoiseBoy]

For years I have used an Eddie Bauer rolling garment bag as my checked bag for longer trips. It's been very durable, but it's hard to live out of; you have to open it, then unzip and open again before you can get to anything. I've had my eye on a rolling duffel for a while now, and I just found a deal for 1/2 price on a 120L Patagonia Black Hole duffel bag.

I've pulled it around the store and the handle is long enough for me (I'm 6' 3") and I like that the sale model is in a distinctive white color. But, it weighs 3lbs more than my EB bag and it doesn't have any internal pockets or netting so I'm concerned that the contents will shift around a lot. Not so much worried about clothing, but more so souvenirs or other heavier items so I thought I'd get some opinions on the best bag style for overseas travel. Is there a good way to secure a partial load in a big duffel bag?

Here is a related question; I tend to fly Premium Economy which comes with 2 checked bags included at 50lbs each. Does anyone know if I go over on one bag, say 55lbs, will the airline ignore that since I'm allowed 100lbs total?

 

[cynicalbuthopeful]

Weight limit is per piece. Suggest you check with your airline on the weight limit - while most have a 50 lb limit, there are some airlines for which it is less.

I am sensitive about the bag weighing a lot before I have put anything in it. Here is a link to a sticky on Flyertalk.com about lightweight luggage - worth reviewing I think.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/895927-lightest-carry-bag.html

 

[OldShooter]

Life is a search for the perfect bag. I'm sure we have at least five in inventory right now, after aggressively giving bags away to friends and family.

... the best bag style for overseas travel.

Only you can say what is "best." I do suggest, though, that you look at galls.com. They sell bags for cops, firefighters, emts, etc. A good place to browse for rugged bags and packs, though once you zero in on a bag they many not be the cheapest vendor.

Is there a good way to secure a partial load in a big duffel bag?

Packing cubes. Grid-It panels are sometimes useful too: https://www.cocooninnovations.com/grid.php Finally, I have made myself a few panels from heavy leather with Velcro "fur" glued and sewn on. I put pieces of "hook" tape on small items and I just stick them to he panels. I get quite a bit higher storage density compared to the Grid-It panels. Finally, there are lots ov clear plastic zipper bags around.

Here is a related question; I tend to fly Premium Economy which comes with 2 checked bags included at 50lbs each. Does anyone know if I go over on one bag, say 55lbs, will the airline ignore that since I'm allowed 100lbs total?

Oh, come on ... This is about revenue, not logic. Here is a possible workaround: https://www.scottevest.com/ Supposedly Delta Airlines refuses their advertisements. https://www.scottevest.com/company/rejected_ad.shtml

 

[NoiseBoy]

I am sensitive about the bag weighing a lot before I have put anything in it. Here is a link to a sticky on Flyertalk.com about lightweight luggage - worth reviewing I think.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-products/895927-lightest-carry-bag.html

I searched the Flyertalk forum for posts about checked bags and found a number of recommendations for the brand TravelPro. They offer a 30" rolling duffel that holds 118 liters, very close to the capacity of Patagonia's 120L bag. The TravelPro has straps inside to hold things in place and several outside compartments making it more useful in my opinion. The downside is that it weighs almost 11lbs. Bummer.

There are several comments on that form about how hard it is to keep large duffels under the 50lb weight limit. Looks like I need to give this some more thought. My EB rolling garment bag tips the scales at a fairly svelte 5.5lbs, so perhaps I am better off that I thought!

 

[OldShooter]

TravelPro is a reliable old brand. Originally they seemed to market primarily to flight crews.

Weight is definitely an issue. Sewn/softside is not the lightest kind of construction. I have a (quite expensive) Zero carry-on spinner with a polycarbonate shell that at the time I bought was the lightest weight available, about 4#.

We have a large 511 brand duffel that we don't use any more for the exact reason you mention. It will cheerfully eat enough clothes and junk to go well over 50#.

Watch, too, for airlines that don't allow 50#. 20 kilos is a common limit, aka 44#.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Watch, too, for airlines that don't allow 50#. 20 kilos is a common limit, aka 44#.

I'm on Lufthansa for my next trip and they allow 23 kilos per checked bag, so that's good. I've never been dinged for extra weight even when I've had to sit on my rolling garment bag to zip it closed, so maybe it's capacity is sort of self-limiting me? In any event, for my next trip I'm staying put in one city for the duration, so I can unpack and put my things away thus negating the main inconvenience of using a garment style bag.

I'll just have to put that incredible deal on the Patagonia rolling duffel out of my mind!

 

[OldShooter]

... I've never been dinged for extra weight even when I've had to sit on my rolling garment bag to zip it closed, so maybe it's capacity is sort of self-limiting me? ...

Maybe. We have an inexpensive baggage scale that we use to verify weight. We never check more than one bag but we can and do use the scale to move heavy items to carryons if necessary.

Interestingly, many airlines publish weight limits for carryons but I have never had one weighed. Good thing, too, as I have seen limits as low as five kilos.

 

[Luck_Club]

Timely topic.

We have friends who recommended the LL Bean rolling duffel. They had one on the web site that unzips like luggage.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/321...olling-gear-bag-drop-bottom-extra-large&csp=f

 

[omni550]

Noise Boy,

I travel frequently and have many pieces of luggage as a result. Like everyone, I'm forever seeking the "perfect' bag...but I don't think it exists.

I do have a large black fabric rolling duffel (27"x13"x13" = 4563 cu. in.) that weighs less than 4#. The weight savings is due to the fact that is only has 2 skate wheels at one end and 2 (different length) strap handles on the opposite end. The longer strap is what I use for pulling it along. The floor of the duffel is stiffened with 2 tracks/feet, so the bag doesn't collapse when I'm pulling it. It's my go-to bag when I need to haul a LOT of stuff. I can't recall when or where I bought it. It was super cheap. Now that I've looked at it closely, I see there's "Macgregor" stitched into the side of it. (It does have 2 outside pockets, which I empty whenever I'm checking the bag. I do use them when 'staying put' or traveling by car, just to easily corral things like underwear/socks, etc.)

I'd advise against a white bag. If you've ever taken a look at the bags as they tumble onto the airport carousel, you'll see any of the light-colored bags often showing black marks from rubbing against conveyor belts, other bags, etc. Checked baggage getting beaten and banged-up is a fact of travel, so why start with a beautiful white bag that will soon be scuffed and marred.

omni

 

[NoiseBoy]

Timely topic.

We have friends who recommended the LL Bean rolling duffel. They had one on the web site that unzips like luggage.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/321...olling-gear-bag-drop-bottom-extra-large&csp=f

That is a nice looking bag, but at 9 lb 6 oz, the bag by itself is 20% of the typical weight allowance It's also 122 L, so I'd worry that I would stuff it too full. I think a ~100 L rolling duffel that tips the scales at 7 lbs or less would be good. I don't know how much airlines charge for over weight bags, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out

 

[donheff]

Good thread. I am in the market for a new rolling duffel.

 

[H2ODude]

We've traveled a lot going through Africa and other questionable airports. We have rolling duffle type bags we got at Target. Have held up incredibly well, we find pretty convenient. Best of all they are not name brand or look spiffy so less likely to encourage the rampant pilferage of some airports, have never had an issue. DF always recommended luggage that looks el Cheapo for that reason. Yeah, when we've checked into some NY hotels on business it looked odd but who cares. If it's functional that's all we care about.

 

[Rosie]

Timely topic.

We have friends who recommended the LL Bean rolling duffel. They had one on the web site that unzips like luggage.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/321...olling-gear-bag-drop-bottom-extra-large&csp=f

FYI, LLBean is having a 25% off sale that ends tonight (Tues 2/20) at midnight ET. Promo code is GET25

 

[NoiseBoy]

I am packed for my next trip so I weighed myself and then myself and my rolling garment bag. The result -- 36lbs. Not even close to the 50lb allowance on Lufthansa. The bag is pretty full, but I might squeeze in another pair of jeans given the nasty forecast for my destination. I will definitely start shopping for a bag with a larger capacity when I get back.

 

[brett]

Duplicate

 

[brett]

I purchased an Eagle Creek rolling duffle a few months ago. There are several sizes. I selected the 20" international size (30L I think) to replace my old bag.

We are into week week six of an eight week trip in SE Asia. Plains, trains, buses, ferries, etc.

So far, I am extremely pleased with it. Really like the flexibility of not having fixed sides. I was not sure when I first got it. First two tris were short one seekers. This has been the first real test and it passed with flying colours. Great wheels. We only do carry on do can't say how it will hold up on the airline baggage process.

 

[brucethebroker]

Here is a related question; I tend to fly Premium Economy which comes with 2 checked bags included at 50lbs each. Does anyone know if I go over on one bag, say 55lbs, will the airline ignore that since I'm allowed 100lbs total?

Airlines are quite nice about asking you to remove the additional 5 lbs or pay extra. All you have to do is step aside and decide which 5 lbs to throw/give away. I have a friend who, as a ticket agent, has received many free bottles of wine that way.....

 

[Scuba]

I bought an Eddie Bauer rolling duffle last year. Really like it but it does have hard sides and a hard bottom, so not ideal for all situations.

 

[omni550]

I purchased an Eagle Creek rolling duffle a few months ago. There are several sizes. I selected the 20" international size (30L I think) to replace my old bag.

We are into week week six of an eight week trip in SE Asia. Plains, trains, buses, ferries, etc.

So far, I am extremely pleased with it. Really like the flexibility of not having fixed sides. I was not sure when I first got it. First two trips were short one weekers. This has been the first real test and it passed with flying colours. Great wheels. We only do carry on do can't say how it will hold up on the airline baggage process.

I wonder if this is the one you have?
https://shop.eaglecreek.com/morphus-international-carryon/d/1647C5541?CategoryId=1171

 

[brett]

No. I bought the 'no matter what carry on.

It has no external pockets other than one small pocket running across the top that I use for liquids/toothpaste.

I bought the medium blue unit. The colour stands out.

 

[gerntz]

Have had a High Sierra rolling duffel for 5+ years. Over-sized to carry-on. Works fine for me. Yes, no internal pockets but two zippered end ones. Can keep stuffing & stuffing. Has locking straps to keep zipper from separating. Haven't exceeded weight limits even with a wine bottle or two. Only negative is trying to stand on end since it doesn't have feet opposite handle side. I put duct tape on end there to prevent excessive wear. That bag + a small carry-on is all I've needed to 3 weeks+ trips.

 

[NoiseBoy]

On my recent trip I spent some time shopping for a medium sized, hard sided roller for my traveling companion. She likes having a bag that splits in half so she can put shoes on one side and clothes on the other. We looked at everything from 25€ tourist specials to 185€ Samsonites. On the lower end of the scale, I was unimpressed with the quality, while my companion didn't want to pay for a name brand. In general, I think I prefer my ballistic nylon bag over the thin plastic of the "hard shells" we looked at.

To that end I discovered this bag:
https://www.tumi.com/p/large-wheeled-split-duffel-01084452777

Looks just about perfect except for the price! I am not sure I would have $745 worth of clothes and accessories to pack inside that bag Make that $840 because I would definitely want to add the metallic pink accent kit.

One additional idea that I am investigating is finding a single pair of shoes that are good for exploring urban jungles during the day, and also look decent with a pair of jeans and sport coat to please my traveling companion at night. The UGG's Freamons that I tried were an epic failure. Great for my business casual office environment, but it snowed on us one day of the trip, and they have no tread blocks to speak of. Also, very bad on smooth, wet surfaces like mosaic tiled galleries and courtyards.

The searches continue.....

 

[Bamaman]

I have hopefully checked my last bag, and a rolling duffel is just too big for my needs. My wife and I have long ago followed Rick Steve's packing list, and we can travel indefinitely in a 21" carry on bag with swivel wheels.

After observing many very experienced travelers' bags, we are now using TravelPro suitcases that are ultra light. They are available on Amazon.com.

 

[brett]

You will not regret moving to carry on. We have found it to be liberating. Just finished seven weeks of travel. Lots of flights, ferries, mini buses, tuk tuks, and a train. Bags with us all the time, easy for us to handle, and of course no lost luggage.

 

[Nemo2]

https://ca.tumi.com/p/large-wheeled-split-duffel-01084452777

A quote, apparently falsely attributed to bank robber Willie Sutton, but still apropos vis-a-vis checked luggage, is "Because that's where the money is".

Bags are broken into in airports:

Your Checked Bags Aren't As Safe As You Think They Are

The Transportation Security Administration saw 30,621 claims of missing valuables from 2010 to 2014, equaling a total property loss of $2.5 million

....and that's in the US alone AFAIK.

If, and it seems that they are, bags are broken into, which ones do you think are the targets? Yes, me too...."Because that's where the money is". Can't find stats on the average cost of the bags generally stolen from, but I'm willing to bet it ain't the grungy ones.......(as I'm fond of saying "Our bags are so beat up that people open them and put stuff in")

We're trying carry on backpacks only for our upcoming trip.