The North Face Rolling Thunder Duffel Evaluation

Backside Line

For some journeys, a duffel that may haul extra gear than you need to carry in your shoulders is named for. Like when you have got a protracted airport stroll forward of you or greater than a compact carry-on’s value of substances. That’s once you attain for The North Face Rolling Thunder Wheeled Duffel 28”. 

Extra of a soft-sided suitcase than a duffel, it nonetheless has pliable however sturdy duffel-like materials on the entrance and prime, but it surely’s paired with a extra inflexible again and sides for simpler packing. That function, along with exterior compression straps, makes it simple to pack greater than you may in a conventional duffel. For instance, when testing the bag on a current journey to Argentina and Antarctica, we may cram a number of parkas, digicam gear, clothes, and lots extra within the spacious foremost compartment.

Add a slew of inside and exterior pockets, compartments, and dividers, and also you’ve acquired a profitable baggage mixture. It’s one in all our favorites among the many many duffels we examined.

Carry Consolation

There is just one option to carry this rolling duffel-style baggage: roll it. It doesn’t have backpack straps or over-the-shoulder straps, however that’s OK as a result of at this capability, once we packed it full, it was too heavy to take action, anyway. However the rolling motion was easy. Our solely nitpick: the deal with requires pushing a button on the facet of the deal with to increase it as a substitute of the highest. A button on prime is extra widespread and feels extra pure, so this took some getting used to.

It couldn’t be known as a rolling duffel and not using a few seize handles on the edges, and it has a number of. They’re good and squishy and cozy, so even once we had the bag totally loaded throughout a visit to Antarctica, loading it and unloading it from baggage carousels didn’t damage our fingers. As an added bonus, a sherpa strap tucks into the highest pocket so you possibly can strap one other bag or pack onto the highest or entrance of the bag for simpler carry.

Compressibility + Packability

When packing this duffel, there’s little or no to not like. In any case, it’s a behemoth of a bag. It’s tremendous simple to pack, because of a number of pockets and compartments (however extra on that in a minute). As for packing, we crammed it to the brim, and it held loads, together with two parkas on prime of clothes for a virtually two-week journey. And it was all held in place in the primary compartment because of an inside compression panel that you may safe over (or beneath) your clothes.

When not in use, the bag can’t be folded up and packed away like a conventional duffel, although. Alas, the laborious again and partial facet forestall that. However as a result of the entrance is fabricated from extra typical duffel materials, it does collapse a bit, which means it takes up much less area in a closet than a comparable hard-side piece of baggage. The webbing compression straps on the surface of the bag should be uncliped to entry the primary compartment. We didn’t thoughts because it’s not the type of bag you are likely to require common entry to (like a carry-on duffel).

Sturdiness

The recycled cloth the Rolling Thunder is fabricated from is extremely sturdy. Throughout testing, we tossed it onto baggage carousels, loaded it onto planes, rolled it down stairs, and thru the filth. Via all of it, it suffered a number of minor scuffs and picked up some filth, however was simple to scrub.

Naturally, a rolling duffel means there are extra elements to interrupt, however the {hardware} appeared stable and prefer it was all repairable in case one thing did go unsuitable (which it shouldn’t for a superb lengthy whereas). 

A lot of the zippers appear sturdy, particularly the massive and easy foremost compartment zips.

Climate Resistance

Sadly, the duffel’s climate resistance efficiency was a bit beneath common. After we uncovered it to regular rain for an hour, the paper positioned inside was fairly damp, and many of the zippers let in sufficient water to dampen the inside. The principle zipper doesn’t have any storm flaps. However when the bag was simply splashed with water or acquired caught in a fast bathe, it fared high quality.

If you wish to be certain contents are protected, your finest wager shall be to pack any clothes or delicate gear in their very own protecting climate resistant cubes or baggage.

Group

This duffel retains issues organized very properly. A technique is by way of a number of pockets. There are 5 in complete: one fleece-lined pocket within the prime, good for journey paperwork or sun shades, one giant entrance pocket with a side-access zipper, one giant mesh pocket on the underside of the lid that’s extra of a compartment than a pocket, and two mesh zippered pockets on the divider panel.

Those within the divider panel are finest for small gadgets like gloves, hats, and so forth., since they’re flat and don’t increase a lot. The entrance pocket is handy for gadgets you want fast entry to love snacks or journey paperwork. The compartment on the within of the lid is loads spacious for an insulated jacket or two and a few pairs of footwear. All in all, it was simple to seek out locations to stash and safe gadgets, although because the bag is so large, it nonetheless took time to open it up and find every part. Extra so than in a conventional duffel.

Ought to You Purchase The North Face Rolling Thunder Duffel?

In the event you’re available in the market for a sturdy, dependable duffel with loads of organizational alternatives and tons of area for all of your clothes or gear, this bag is a stable alternative. We weren’t anxious about it getting broken when it acquired knocked round and there was a spot for every part, even small gadgets. It’s a wonderful alternative for the type of large journeys and adventures that require greater than a easy change of garments.

It’s not a finances bag, and definitely not the least costly we examined, however these open to creating the funding will seemingly discover a dependable companion for all their adventures for years to return. In the event you favor to journey gentle, need a duffel you possibly can extra simply transport by way of varied carry choices, or favor one thing with simpler entry to contents, you might need to look elsewhere.

What Different [Category] Ought to You Contemplate?

In the event you’re undecided The North Face Rolling Thunder Duffel is best for you in any of the out there sizes, you might need to take into account one of many different stand-out duffels we’ve examined.

Osprey Transporter Duffel Evaluation: Whereas it could not have wheels, this duffel continues to be simple to pack and unpack and will be carried as a backpack on excursions the place rolling baggage is much less appropriate.

The North Face Base Camp Gear Field Evaluation: Searching for extra of a gear hauler than a conventional duffel? Take a look at The North Face Base Camp Gear Field. It is available in a number of sizes and affords a wonderful option to retailer gear at busy base camps or at the back of a car. It folds flat when empty and stacks simply when full.

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler Evaluation: Fabricated from extremely sturdy supplies with good giant pockets for cumbersome gear like boots or helmets, this bag is straightforward to pack, loads spacious, and cozy to hold.