UKH

Looking for some wheeled soft luggage, getting fed up of hauling big bags around so looking for something 80+ litres and tough built for a bit of abuse, I travel a lot so something cheap designed to be used once a year not any good. The obvious choice are the north face bags but they are pricey and I’m currently looking for a second hand one. Does anyone have any recommendations From other brands? I do have a marmot 35 litre bag that has held up to frequent commuting but it isn’t as well built as the North face ones.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Personally I sacrificed wheels in favour of rucksacks, pita to carry but lighter so you can take more before hitting excess baggage charges.

I know you said you didn't want single use, but I've been really positively surprised at how well the very cheap TNF duffel copies we got from go outdoors have lasted. The odd scuff, but no damage that you wouldn't expect on any bag regardless of price. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Have a look at an Osprey Transporter. Mine has been pretty robust.  A good feature is the way the wheels are protected: a previous Karrimor bag lost a wheel which was impossible to re-fit.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Based on my experience, I'd probably just try and find a North Face one second hand.

I work away from home as a contractor. I've  been using the massive wheeled one ('Rolling Thunder' I think - awful name) for about 8 years and it's been faultless. Constantly lumped in and out of vans and digs and it's still in great nick, nothing's ever gone wrong with it. Bomber construction. 

Edit: it's been that good I'd suggest buying one new, but I've just looked at the current price, f***ing hell.

In reply to gammarus:

Osprey Transporter are good but look decidedly second hand after a few flights, it doesn't bother me personally but might some.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

As mentioned above, wheeled bags have a significant weight on their own and this needs bearing in mind. I've used huge rucksacks and big 100L non-wheeled holdalls for gear-heavy trad climbing trips in the past. But after watching friends trundling their wheeled bags around with ease while I struggled, I eventually succumbed and got myself a wheeled bag. Mine is a Tanker Cargo 90L made by Kathmandu, the NZ outdoor company, a great bag which has now seemingly been discontinued in favour of an updated design. Friends use either 100L ME Roller bags, Berghaus Mules or TNF Rolling Thunder bags. All seem equally robust in use, especially considering how much is packed into them and how they're treated by owners and baggage handlers alike!

HTH 

Dave

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Looking in to the same thing, due to ankle problems, only looking for ones with rucksack straps as well. Ortlieb look good 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I use a lightweight luggage trolley. Probably not as stable as built in wheels but they are easily removable to take off and put in hand luggage. I already had a Mammut duffel that I really like so didn't want to change. Similar to this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Go-Travel-Lightweight-Luggage-Trolley/dp/B000O0YHW...

In reply to jethro kiernan:

You’re much better off getting a piece of good second-hand luggage (German manufacturers like Bawb AG are good) and then upgrading the wheels and handles (fossil oosik is popular) later on. If you’re not sure what to look for then ask a friend to help you. You’ll have much more fun with your luggage this way and it should last a lifetime if you maintain it properly. Yes, I’m a bit bored at the moment. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I've got a ME 120l wheelie bag I use for lugging survey kit around that has put up with dog's abuse for 5 years. With about 20-25Kg of kit it has put up with being dragged around drydocks, over lots of rusty, sharp steel decks, being craned on board tankers, lowered on ropes and bumped up and down dozens of gangways. Other than a few snags in the bottom and smelling a bit of fish and rusty water, it's as good as new. Being able to slide the pull out handle through my laptop rucksack makes it a doddle to get round on public transport and the wheels don't seem to clog up like the Pelicase ones do.  You can fit the medium size Pelicase crossways (handy if you have camera/survey kit as it hides the "expensive gear in a Pelicase" away from prying eyes in a boring black bag) and still fit heaps of kit in. Think I got it on a special offer from Cotswolds. As others have said, it isn't a light bit of kit though.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

It depends on what sort of abuse you intend inflicting on your luggage.

I have a wheeled Eagle Creek bag.  Can't remember the capacity but it's my 'away for a fortnight' bag.  It's put up with airport mistreatment for over 15 years without complaint or damage beyond the odd mark.

That said, it's not a bag I'd use were I going to the MOFN* or similar; it's more one for planes and cars than fishing boats and donkeys.  But for that, it has served me very well for a decent time.

T.

* Despite what you may believe, this isn't Concordia or Antarctica but an area north-west of Yeovil.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

seems hard to buy decent wheeled duffels atm maybe due to covid shortages etc. I cross-shopped Patagonia, Dakine and Macpac but ended up going with Macpac:

https://www.macpac.com.au/macpac-80l-wheeled-duffel-bag/114199-BLK00-OS.htm...

This worked well for a recent climbing trip to Europe.....easily fit ropes, draws, clothes, multiple shoes etc for a month trip and nice to wheel around airports, barca streets, refuges etc

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Not sure if they’re still available, but I’m very happy with my Berghaus mule after almost 10 yrs.

Durable, light for a non-flexible wheeled bag, and wheels not bad over rough ground. At the time it was cheaper than other well known brands like Patagonia. I’d buy it again. 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Another vote for Eagle Creek. Lifetime guarantee. We have two 4 wheelers. They roll really well, great features. We’ll worth the money,

https://eaglecreek.eu/gb_en/luggage-packs/cargo-hauler-wheeled-duffel-130l....?

In reply to TechnoJim:

I bought a Rolling Thunder in 1995 and used it constantly until last year. It went around the world twice, and as I never stayed in one place more than a few months for all those years, saw heavy, heavy use.

It finally died through my fault: too tired after another journey to fix a jammed wheel, I dragged it three kilometres over cobbles and concrete. The wheel was ground off, it's molded housing ground off, and the end of a carbon-steel sheath knife that I'd packed into the corner of the bag, also ground off. At the time, I was just too tired to care about the noise and too tired to do anything about the wheel. 

For a complete picture: the fabric had started delaminating in the tropics about 15 years in: fixed by glueing old cycle inner tubes in flat layers over the cracks in the laminate. The underlaying mesh fabric stayed solid.

Needless to say, I kept the corpse and now use to store puffy clothes, uncompressed.

I paid £105 in Covent Garden North Face shop - best piece of luggage ever ! 😀

In reply to Morgan Woods:

 ended up going with Macpac:

Edit - I actually got the 120L which doesn't seem to exist anymore. Definitely need the additional 40L for climbing trips.

In reply to gammarus:

I bought an Osprey Transporter and the frame was damaged beyond repair on its first trip by baggage handlers. It wasn't very full which might have made it more vulnerable but even so, I bought it because I thought it would be robust and I was annoyed with previous suitcases failing. The guarantee doesn't help you here either as it is classed as abuse rather than the product failing due to defects.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Ortlieb duffle for me, it's actually 100% waterproof unlike alot of the other models. It's comes in a range of sizes as well.

The duffle RS has wheels as well if your inclined that was as well but still has shoulder straps.

Recommend you check them out 

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I’ve been using a Berghaus 80L Mule for the past seven years which was fine until the retractable handle (made of thin plastic) was broken by luggage handlers and is now useless. I won’t be buying another one.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Osprey are good but not indestructible. There's a bit of a cutout between the wheels usually, which stops the bag nipping at your heels. Also usually available half price on SportsPursuit. Berghaus Mules don't stand up properly and I rarely use mine if I can avoid it.

The best ones I have are an REI bag https://www.rei.com/b/rei-co-op/c/wheeled-luggage?ir=category%3Awheeled-lug... but the GBP/USD exchange isn't great, and an MEC Rolling Continent (which also has a harness) - the CAD/GBP is better but they no longer ship them overseas... but you may know someone going over there who could bring one back?

b

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Also have a couple of big Eagle Creek 110L wheeled duffels. Solid build and very robust, tough wheels - ours have put up with a lot of abuse on climbing trips far and wide for the last three years but apart from a bit of baggage handler scuffs are still perfect.  

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Years ago, Lowe Alpine did a wheeled holdall that actually had rucksack straps hidden behind a zip panel. I didn't have a need for it at the time, but always regret not having bought one anyway - would have been perfect carry-on luggage for my occasional business trips.

Would have been a bit small for your needs, but shame no-one currently does anything similar (that I'm aware of).

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Cotswold are doing Mt Equipment 100L wheeled duffles for £160 just now, down from £230. I just ordered one! 

In reply to LastBoyScout:

The Eagle Creek ones (Migrate Wheeled Duffels) also come with rucsac straps that tuck away - 

https://www.eaglecreek.com/products/copy-of-migrate-wheeled-duffel-110l

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I use the berghaus mule, so far so good, around 6 years use.  As others have said, the drawback is they are heavier than their non wheeled counterparts 

In reply to oscaig:

Ah, ok - Lowe had them on the base, using the wheel frame as the back system.

In reply to oscaig:

Do they carry ok with the straps?

In reply to jethro kiernan:

I was looking at the Alpkit Voyager one yesterday, seem good value and on offer at the moment, (making them half the price of the ME). Anyone used one of these??

In reply to galpinos:

Yeah, the rucsac straps are on the top on the Eagle Creek. Means they're out of the way when you're wheeling it or carrying it with the handles. But if it's not packed well (i.e. quite full) then the rucsac straps aren't that great. And if the bag is full, it's pretty heavy to carry like that - it's a big bag. So they're a useful option (particularly when the ground is too rough to drag the duffel), but you wouldn't want to carry it a long distance in rucsac mode when full.   

In reply to mikenty:

I’ve had some DM feedback that the bag can tear when heavily laden and lifted by the grab handles as opposed to the main handles. Interestingly, this appears to be the same as described by one reviewer on the Alpkit website, so maybe a design weakness?

In reply to jethro kiernan: wheeled holdalls are the worst of both worlds. I got a good quality Samsonite wheeled suitcase for air travel. Built to last and light weight, no having to queue to check in at “special baggage”. I’ve got a standard NF holdall without wheels which is great for other trips, eg Pabbay or ferries, sea kayaking trips etc.

In reply to jethro kiernan:

Someone has already mentioned using a lightweight trolley. As they said the best thing about them is that the weight of the wheels etc on a fixed hold all  is saved as you just take them on as hand luggage. No damage risk and much money saved, both on the cost of a hold all and weight charges each flight. I personally found "pushing" rather than "pulling" luggage with these wheels much more stable. Combined with a hold all that has ruck sack straps, this system gets you around car parks and airports as well as arriving at your accommodation which has 3 flights of narrow stairs.