This is by far the best piece of luggage I've ever purchased. I'm an avid cyclist and photographer and with this bag I was able to reduce my baggage from 4 to 2 bags for a 2 week cycling vacation. I also brought my bike so I was able to carry this suitcase like a backpack while handling my bike and other traditional suitcase. While on my back, it was very balanced, and easy to put on and take off. When I didn't have my bike with me and needed to move about, the wheels on this Duffel made life very easy (Large and sturdy and roll over minor obstacles easily). The backpack is very sturdy, and it's expandable. This is the best luggage purchase I've ever made. Traveling is great when you have this Duffel with you.
I have had several High Sierra bags and have been very happy with them. Tow of my older bags work just as well now as they did when I bought them, years ago. They have seen daily use in our household. We have two children who have a lot of medical problems and they have "luggage" that travels with them carrying their essential medical equipment with the.
I ordered this for my own personal use. My husband and I take the occasional short trip and we thought this would be just the right size for us to take. I liked the partition for clothes. I packed his items and shoes in the bottom compartment and my lighter weight shirts and socks in the top section. Even the light weight stuff was too much weight for the partition. It started to rip at the seam almost immediately. What a disappointment. The case does not hold it's shape well either. There are plastic sheets rivet into the lining to keep it's shape but they bend easily and don't g back into place.
I was pretty disappointed in the case and returned it when we got home from the trip.
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Note: I own an older version of this bag so my experience may be different from yours. When I set the intention in June of 2010 to go on pilgrimage to India/Nepal, this was the first thing I bought. It took another 18 months to actually go on the trip. This bag mostly survived. There were four "failures":
The wheels began to seize up by the end (the biggest issue).
The compartment divider began to tear.
The duffel strap handle's Velcro became largely useless (as you might expect) so the straps just flopped around (annoying).
The zipper pull for the backpack tore off. I could still use my fingernails to open and close, but switching between backpack and roller is something you tend to want to do quickly/easily. I used the backpack feature less because of that.
The top handle was close to failing. That would have been a disaster if it had happened.
Not too bad given all the plane/train/subway/bus/taxi/walking and over-filling. If I were to improve the bag, I would do the following:
Ditch the duffel straps. No one's going to carry this giant thing as a duffel and the straps just became a nuisance. The only reason to have the straps is for porters to carry it as a backpack...but it IS a backpack!
The expandable feature is pointless. Never used it. Bag's already too big. I suffered overweight fees on a couple occasions. The limitations of a 28" bag would have kept me out of trouble (just buy another bag for all the stuff you purchase).
Design better wheels. This may be unfair to expect given the terrible abuse the wheels took.
Stronger zipper pull for backpack feature.
If you plan to live out of a bag for 6 months traveling developing countries, you could do a lot worse than this one...but you could also do better. I'm considering going back for another extended trip and I'm looking at a Briggs & Riley Expedition 28. Much more expensive, but lighter and extremely well-designed/built with a lifetime warranty.
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Preface: I purchased 3 bags. This one, the 22-inch version and the 26-inch version.
This is a very large bag and I don't know of a commercial airline where it'd fit on board even if it were empty. I check it on particularly long trips (7 or more days) and use it along with the 22-inch as a carry-on. I've never had a trip last so long that I needed all 3 pieces together.
Properly folded and packed, I've successfully traveled with a bagged 3-piece suit and hanger, 2 pairs of shoes and a pair of sandals, and 5 days of regular clothes, toiletries, etc when I used this bag (leaving room for another couple of days worth in my carry-on). I think it'd be very easy to go over 50 pounds worth of stuff in this bag, so use a scale to avoid overage fees.
As far as the series AT-6 luggage in general, some reviewers have knocked it because its not a spinner type (4 independent wheels), and I'm not sure why, its pretty obvious its not. If that's what you're looking for, all I can tell you is that this luggage isn't what you're looking for.
All roll aboard luggage with the retractable handle like this takes up space inside and this bag is also no exception. There is a thin piece of material between the compartment and the telescope path which is flexible, so you could probably cram a few extra pairs of socks in if you plan ahead.
I have taken these bags on numerous trips since purchase and they're holding up very well, checked and as carry-on. I've not had any broken contents (knock on wood) in any case, nor have any parts or straps been torn or broken (knock on wood).
The built-in ID card holder is a really nice feature, protected from the elements and is attached by a piece of elastic so it can't simply fall out and be lost (spreading your personal information all over the airport). I don't use the backpack straps much, but on the smaller bag, they're comfortable. I find the this and the larger one too heavy to wear like that comfortably.
The only way I could suggest High Sierra make this series better (again, I'm not letting it detract from my rating because it is clear it doesn't have this feature) is to add a "daisy-chain" strap for easier towing of more than one piece. This problem is easily corrected with a simple, economical product: Travelon Multi-Bag Stacker
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It has SO many pockets and seems to be ever-expanding. I'm one of those girls who over packs and this withstands a ton! It's been through airports many times and looks just as new. The contoured design is amazing for efficient packing. This duffel beats a regular suitcase by tons!
Edited: After about a dozen times of using this suitcase, the rubber came off of one of the wheels. Not very nice but I still have to give this bag a lot of credit because I stuffed it to the Max many times and thought the zipper would bust open before a wheel but it never did. Also, the rubber wheels can leave skid marks if you drag them across a floor, so be careful with fancy wood floors!
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I was very much satisfied with the quality of the product, its lightness and style. The smallest cube is a good size for toiletries or other small items you would like to take with you when you travel (clothesline, manicure set, sewing kit, etc). The medium size cube would be convenient for underwear and socks or stationery (i.e., a notebook, pens ans pencils). The biggest cube can not sonly accomodate clothes when you travel, it can also be used to keep off seasoned clothes compactly in your wardrobe.
