gail

Posting here because no one ever read "Other topics". 13 year old is going on 12 day trip with group in June - 3 countries and a variety of stuff needed (hiking boots, down vest, summer clothing plus items for colder weather - they are going to Scandinavia). They will be responsible for own luggage much of the time - my daughter weighs 80 pounds, so weight of luggage is a concern. They are not back-packing and are staying in real hotels, so she will need to haul it on/off bus, train, ferry but not carry it all day.

We had thought a wheeled duffel might be more maneuverable than other options. They are allowed one piece of luggage plus one carry-on. Obviously she will pack as light as possible, but pace of trip and age of participants means doing laundry is not likely to occur - even rinsing things in sink. Any suggestions? Thanks

ParrotMom

We found a great bag to fit our needs at..
http://www.ebags.com/index.cfm?sub_s...ponid=57983602

Gretchen

We have had wheeled duffles. The one I really like has a separate zip compartment on the bottom. They are pretty expensive now--I found ours at Sam's years ago for only $20. Haven't seen anything approaching that again. However found another at a Samsonite outlet that was pretty reasonable. The separate compartment makes it possible to keep boots separate or, as we did on one trip, our more dressy clothes that we needed. I think LLBean and Land's End carries them as does Orvis. You might look into the bags that compress size of sweaters, etc. also for compacting some of her things.

Citizenoftheworld

Did you check with Orvis? They have fantastic bags with a lifetime guarantee. They will fix them for free anytime
Their stuff is not cheap but it doesn't look cheap. We use our bags for many years and still look great

Patrick

We traveled around Europe with Orvis rolling duffels for a number of years -- sometimes as long as 5 months at a time, on and off trains, rolling across cobblestones, and you name it.
The wheels came off a number of times, but Orvis replaced them -- however, that doesn't help you when you're in the middle of the Greek Isles without wheels.
We finally wore them out, literally. I was given a gift (granted, a very expensive one) of a Hartman rolling duffel and it is even better, but I'd never pay that kind of price for myself (something over $500).

gail

Thanks - we have seen these at all different prices and LL Bean has some in their catalog. Now we just need to decide how much we want to spend and figure out how large it needs to be.

GoTravel

My dive bag is a rolling duffle and has been abused from flying and wheeling it around for the last 10 years. It is still in great shape.

My best piece of advice to you is to buy the best duffle you can afford. Quality in luggage does matter. I've gotten very good pieces heavily discounted at places like Tuesday Morning and TJMaxx (Hartman accessory bag for $20).

elberko

Two places to check for good prices on name brands:

www.sierratradingpost.com
www.campmor.com

I've ordered from both, and recommend them.

buckeyemom

I have one I ordered from Land's End and it has held up well.

LoisL

I was looking for a good duffel for someone this past weekend, and found a really nice one, with compartments and wheels in a Totes outlet.

TxTravelPro

I travel every week and would not be without my Kipling luggage.
I have 10 or so different pieces and they are incredibly durable. I'll never wear this stuff out, and it's trendy too.
It's distributed in the US by Tumi and the best variety in the world seems to be at Empire Luggage on Broadway in NYC.
It can also be found at many upscale luggage stores all over the world.

ParrotMom

Just thought I'd let you know there is a Tumi outlet that also sells Kipling..

gail

We ended up buying an Eddie Bauer brand bag at Target (about $100). Looked at all the real quality much more expensive ones at luggage places (my husband uses these for his extensive business travel) - but decided we would not be using this piece of luggage often in future. Hope our economy move is not a false one, but piece seems durable - has several zippered compartments including a harder one on bottom of bag.

We will let you know if the wheels fall off in Oslo. Thanks for all your advice.