Travel duffle bags

[Dawg2019]

I’m have been using traditional suitcases for my travels, but have recently considered a duffle bag. Do any of you have any specific recommendations for or against a specific brand/bag?

 

[V.Veritas]

Not good for flying anymore.
Airlines will not accept them. Need to have at least one rigid side and nothing hanging to get caught in the conveyor belts.

 

[VertigoBE]

Duffle bags are not accepted in Johannesburg, I have heard

 

[HankBuck]

Not good for flying anymore.
Airlines will not accept them. Need to have at least one rigid side and nothing hanging to get caught in the conveyor belts.

V.V: that “rule” would eliminate All Canvas (soft sided) luggage - they have No ridged sides and barely a “stiff” bottom. Is this airline specific?

 

[Beretta391]

We took our 42” wheeled duffle and added a cardboard bottom inside. No problems in joburg or Windhoek traveling that way, in last 5 trips.

 

[rookhawk]

I’m have been using traditional suitcases for my travels, but have recently considered a duffle bag. Do any of you have any specific recommendations for or against a specific brand/bag?

My Orvis (Gokey) duffle has been my constant companion on all hunting trips for 15 years. Very thick green cotton canvas with bridle leather straps and brass rivets. Most duffles cannot be overloaded or they fall apart, mine has had 70lbs or more in it countless times.

It’s my carry-on bag full of binos and my scopes, my lithium batteries, and high-value items. Because it’s unstructured, they never make me put it in the luggage-size-checker cage. It’s always 4x the max weight allowed and I’m never stopped.

Orvis sold off Gokey about 5 years ago. I recommend a vintage Orvis or a vintage Gokey. You can find them on eBay. MSRP was $300ish, I bought at an outlet for $100. Used they sell around $100.

edit: regardless if it says Orvis or Gokey or JW Hulme on it, you want the olive green one. If it is a bit more forest green colored and says Orvis, those are made in China and they’re junk. Search eBay and you’ll both types, same price, know the difference!

 

[Hunt anything]

V.V: that “rule” would eliminate All Canvas (soft sided) luggage - they have No ridged sides and barely a “stiff” bottom. Is this airline specific?

Johanasburg is the only one I know of. I put a 3/8 piece of plywood in the bottom of my duffel and they said nothing. The thing I’m wondering is about the SCI blue bags.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

I've used a large and medium LL Bean wheeled duffle bag for years.

L.L.Bean: Page Not Available

www.llbean.com

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

We travel on a regular basis in and out of joburg with duffles, but we have them plastic wrapped, no problem,

Lon

 

[WyoBull]

I have used a Cabelas Outfitter duffle bag with wheels for years. Don’t even know if they still make it but it has a handle that pulls out and a bottom compartment that zippers open to put things like boots and such that is separate from the main duffle. It is a great bag and made from heavy duty canvas and leather.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Rtic makes a very nice hard sided duffle

 

[JimP]

If I remember correctly the problem in Joberg was that duffel bag straps were getting stuck in the luggage conveyors and jamming things up. If they were wrapped in plastic then all the straps were contained and you were good to go.

I have been using Cabela's wheeled duffel for years the WyoBull mentioned without any problems. It has the hard bottom and the straps can be contained in keepers that pretty much stay in place until the inspectors start opening and closing your bag and not doing it correctly.

 

[DLSJR]

Get a Pelican Air 1615 case and stop worrying about a duffle bag. I flew with duffle bags for years. Once I got a PelicanAir I’ve never looked back.

Pelican.com. 1615 Air Case

 

[AimSmall]

It depends on the trip. If final travels include a helicopter, bush plane, or boat, a duffle is highly recommended. Water resistance would be important. FWIW we use Eagle Creek cargo hauler.

 

[JES Adventures]

I too have had no troubles traveling through Johannesburg with my duffels.

I switched to Red Oxx a while back and love them. American made, sturdy construction and quality zippers.

JES

 

[Rimbaud]

London Bridge Trading, load out bag.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

London Bridge Trading, load out bag.

Excellent bag. I have a couple of them but find they're bigger than I need for Africa.

 

[HankBuck]

Get a Pelican Air 1615 case and stop worrying about a duffle bag. I flew with duffle bags for years. Once I got a PelicanAir I’ve never looked back.

Pelican.com. 1615 Air Case

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DLSJR: that looks very secure but for traveling with clothing and other “soft” goods I wouldn’t want to be dragging that around

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I too have had no troubles traveling through Johannesburg with my duffels.

I switched to Red Oxx a while back and love them. American made, sturdy construction and quality zippers.

JES

I second Red Oxx. I use their Safari Beanos bag and love it. Between this bag and a SKB or Pelican Case for my rifle/bow I'm fully covered.

I've used the Beanos bag for trips into and out of Johannesburg & Port Elizabeth Airports in South Africa, Windhoek's Airport in Namibia, and both Victoria Falls & Harare's Airports in Zimbabwe. I've also used it in multiple domestic airports with zero issues.

 

[DLSJR]

DLSJR: that looks very secure but for traveling with clothing and other “soft” goods I wouldn’t want to be dragging that around

Hank, it actually works very well for ‘dragging around’. It has a pull out handle and wheels, so is very easy to drag around. To me, one of the biggest advantages besides being nearly indestructible is NO zippers but rather a hinged kid with five latches and TWO steel reinforced locking points. It’s big enough to hold 50+ pounds of clothing & gear but small enough to handle easily. It’s no problem at all on a Cessna Caravan, which is probably the most common bush plane used across Africa. I just got back from taking it to Cameroon and it was easy to travel with.