Travel Gear Review: A Great Rolling Duffel Bag, Perfect for Carry-On
When you travel as much as I do, you want to do it as efficiently as possible. Luggage plays a key role in this. I insist on keeping things simple, compact and carry-on only.
With size and weight limits for luggage on flights getting smaller and smaller, a flexible bag can prove invaluable.
Solo New York offers a rolling duffel bag style that they sent over for me to review. I have been using traditional rolling suitcases for years but never a duffel bag that has a handle and wheels.
The Leroy Rolling Duffel gave me the chance to see just how this type of luggage performs for a variety of travel scenarios. The bag is spacious and much more stylish than the standard boxy suitcase I typically wheel through the airport.
Side pockets and compartments at each end of the duffel bag make it easy to organize all your travel gear. I use the main space for my clothes and some camera equipment. There is a "shoe bag" embedded in the base compartment of the duffel bag. It smartly keeps your shoes away from your clothes (the bag shares the main space within the duffel, though).
With a pair of loop handles that close with a Velcro connection, I can carry it as a duffel. The luggage also has a push-button telescoping handle that extends so that you can use the rollers located the base to smoothly wheel the suitcase through the airport. Plus, a grip on the top allows you to grab the duffel from its end, making it easy to pick up and stow in an overhead bin on a plane.
What I Like
I have always preferred a duffel bag because it offers a measure of flexibility when it comes to stuffing it into smaller spaces. Each airline offers its own overhead bin configurations, and the smaller airlines that fly within Europe can be especially restrictive when it comes to space. I wasn't going to carry a full duffel bag around during my travels, though.
A rolling duffel, however, lets me have the best of both options. It's a soft-sided piece of luggage that I can conveniently wheel through the airport without putting a strain on my back neck and arms. I also carry a backpack, so I really need my second bag to have wheels.
The Leroy Rolling Duffel from Solo New York also has a mesh pocket within the top closing flap for the main storage compartment. This is a nice addition to help with organizing items. I have been using the bag on multiple trips for two months to give it a good test run before writing about it, and its polyester and molded-plastic construction has proven to be quite durable.
The bag's dimensions measure 12 inches by 12 inches by 22 inches, and it weighs 6 pounds. It's lightweight and offers good space for its size.
It works quite well for short trips like business overnights or weekend getaways, and if you pack efficiently and can do some laundry on the road, you will have no problem using the duffel for long trips, too.
The Limitations
The Leroy Rolling Duffel gets wobbly and unwieldy if you don't keep the wheels on a straight path. You must tow it along smoothly and not change direction too quickly, or the bag will try to spin and fall over. This can be frustrating if you need to pick up the pace to get from gate to gate in speedy manner.
Also, the bag has a tendency to tip over when rested on its end. It can be mildly inconvenient to have to lay it down when you want to let go of the extended handle or walk away from the bag for a moment. However, I have had good luck with the bag standing upright just fine if I pack my shoes in the bottom compartment in a way to create a steady base. (Note: My shoe size is 12, so my footwear might provide a bigger steadying "platform" than most when placed in the bottom of the bag.)
The Details
Solo New York offers the Leroy Rolling Duffel and a wide variety of other attractive travel gear, such as backpacks, tote bags, messenger bags, rolling suitcases and tablet cases, on its website. The Leroy Rolling Duffel is priced at $120.
Thanks for reading,
JR