I’m a real luggage slut, so I was glad to see that Black Diamond has a new rolling version of their Huey<\/a> duffel, called Hercules<\/a>.\u00a0 It loses the vestigial backpack straps that you could attach to the bomb-proof Huey but adds lockable zippers besides the wheels.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 But the new Hercules doesn’t have a light-colored interior, which I think is essential in a big bag.<\/p>\n To me, the ideal travel duffel bag size is approximately 65 – 70 L.\u00a0 My 100 L BD Huey is too large, verging on hockey bag big.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0\u00a0 Likewise with their travel beanie, a hat with an integrated sleep mask.\u00a0 Genius!<\/p>\n The North Face has some good duffels, including the wheeled “Rolling Thunder” and their standard Base Camp expedition duffel.<\/p>\n
| <\/td>\n | cubic inches<\/td>\n | liters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Overhead Shed<\/td>\n | 2150<\/td>\n | 35<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| WeatherShed Duffel <\/span>Regular<\/span><\/td>\n | 2600<\/td>\n | 43<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shuttle Duffel Regular<\/td>\n | 3700<\/td>\n | 61<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Freightliner\u00ae<\/td>\n | 4000<\/td>\n | 66<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| WeatherShed<\/td>\n | 4100<\/td>\n | 67<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| WeatherShed Duffel Large<\/td>\n | 4100<\/td>\n | 67<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shuttle Duffel Large<\/td>\n | 4800<\/td>\n | 79<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| WeatherShed Max<\/td>\n | 6200<\/td>\n | 102<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Stellar Black Hole Bag <\/span>Regular<\/span><\/td>\n | 6800<\/td>\n | 111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Freightliner\u00ae Max<\/td>\n | 7500<\/td>\n | 123<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Stellar Black Hole Bag <\/span>Large<\/span><\/td>\n | 8505<\/td>\n | 139<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.\u00a0 It loses the vestigial backpack straps that you could attach to the bomb-proof Huey but … Continue reading |