I have literally never had a wheeled bag last me more than a year without serious holes, much duck taping, and safety pinning of zips. That said, I've never really paid serious money for one. But the constant fear of the bag splitting and my tangerine underwear falling out in front of a flight attendant, or my precious collection of Icelandic sagas getting soaked while wheeling it through Edinburgh on a rainy night on the way to the tram stop is starting to become tiring.
I have one of those ME holdalls, which is tough and keeps everything dry but when it's full, it's only good for carrying from the house to the car, car to airport trolley etc. When you might need to lug it across a city and the cost of taxis is prohibitive, wheels are best.
So I've been thinking, there must be a holdall with the waterproof/durability of the ME kit bag, but also with wheels. The ones that come closest to fitting the bill are the following:
- Osprey Rolling Transporter
- Ortlieb Duffle RS/RG
I've not included the various NF/Patagonia variations on the wheeled duffle as they don't seem to have any increased clearance/protection around bottom of the bag where it might start to fall apart, something that has frequently happened to me.
The Ortlieb RG looks perfect, but I'm slightly concerned that 85L (the biggest version) won't be enough for big trips, and I'm really looking for a bag that I can use in nearly every travel situation. The bigger model, the RS (110L and 140L), also looks really good but it doesn't have a telescoping handle, and this just makes me think that lugging it around is going to still be a bit of a nightmare.
So, has anyone had any experience with either of the Ortlieb bags, or has any input on the applicability of the 90L vs 120L Osprey one? My imminent use will be shoving it full of camping and archaeology equipment and throwing it on boats, dragging it over rough terrain. But I'd also like a bag that just survives for a while.
