Tumi Luggage Alpha Compact Wheeled Duffel Bag

Overview:

I travel a lot for both work and pleasure and while I have a great Rimowa 21 incher that's great for work (Mon-Thurs travel) and a Rimowa 24 incher that's great for longer trips (week long trips or longer), I didn't have a bag that met my needs for weekend travel. I decided that I wanted to get a duffel style bag for short weekend trips.

My criteria were as follows for my bag:

1. Must have wheels

2. Duffel style bag (one main space)

3. iPad case

4. Room for 1-3 days worth of clothes

Compared to:

1. eBags Mother Lode TLS Mini 21" Wheeled Duffel while this was a good bag, I felt like it was more suited for longer trips since it is bigger and more shaped like a traditional rollerboard bag

Pros (what I like about the bag):

1. Build quality is excellent the fabric, telescoping handle, wheels and zippers are great as to be expected with Tumi products

2. Pockets!! You won't find another duffel with as many useful pockets as this bag... the pocket in the front of the bag was designed for an iPad or similar tablet... works great

3. Excellent for 1-3 day weekend trip where you don't need to bring a lot of stuff

4. Perfect size for ebags medium packing cubes () can fit two of them in the bag (without shoes in the bag)

Cons (things that could be better):

1. When the bag's main compartment is open if you have anything in the two shoe pouches, it is very hard to keep the bag open.... this may change as the bag breaks in but I pretty much have to take my shoes out of the pouches first then open the bag

2. Would have been nice to include a shoulder strap for when using it as a wheeled bag is impractical

3. Not a fault of the bag really, but packing the bag with dress or gym shoes (size 9 mens) takes up a lot of space in the bag

4. Bag is a bit heavy

Typical packing for a weekend:

1. One medium ebags packing cube

2. One slim ebags packing cube

3. Shoes (only if using 1 packing cube)

4. Victorinox slimline toiletry kit ()

5. 1 quart toiletry zip lock for liquids

6. iPad and chargers and other small electronic cords

With the above packing scenario, I still have a little room to spare for other little items.

Conclusion:

This bag fit my needs almost perfectly! I can easily fit 1-3 days worth of clothes and still have room to spare in the side and front pockets. The fact that it has wheels makes it easy to get around and get on and off planes/trains/etc. This bag has a lot of different pockets on the exterior of the bag, which makes organizing smaller items very easy. My only complaint would be the shoe pockets in the bag. Had they placed the shoe pockets on the back of the bag rather than the front flap the bag would have much better balance when the bag is open. If they could have found a way to make the flap stay open when the bag is laid down that would have been great too. All in all, this is a great bag for 1-3 day travel.

...ever since my travelpro platnum wheels wore out, i have been looking for a replacement of exceptional quality and durability. This fits the bill; good build, high quality, not overdone on pockets, and works great as a mobile file drawer...

Fits perfectly in overhead, and under seats in the larger planes if not overstuffed.

Great handle extension, tho not as robust as that of my old travelpro. Will see how it holds up.

Great product, highly recommended.

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