I’m a real luggage slut, so I was glad to see that Black Diamond has a new rolling version of their Huey duffel, called Hercules.  It loses the vestigial backpack straps that you could attach to the bomb-proof Huey but adds lockable zippers besides the wheels.  Lockable zippers are essential when travelling to prevent or at least recognize pilfering and the Huey’s odd velcro closures are a deal-breaker in my book.  But the new Hercules doesn’t have a light-colored interior, which I think is essential in a big bag.

To me, the ideal travel duffel bag size is approximately 65 – 70 L.  My 100 L BD Huey is too large, verging on hockey bag big.  It’s useful to bring on car camping trips or for skiing equipment for the family but for international travel it’s just too big.  For comparison purposes, the latest version of my daily carry, the Patagonia MLC is 43 L or 2,610 cu. in., so my ideal duffel is about 1.5x MLC.

The MLC used to have a smaller version, the LBC, that was discontinued years ago but which I would buy in a flash if they re-introduced it.   Likewise with their travel beanie, a hat with an integrated sleep mask.  Genius!

The North Face has some good duffels, including the wheeled “Rolling Thunder” and their standard Base Camp expedition duffel.