Take This Duffel Bag and Stuff It

This should be an Olympic sport … stuff your favorite duffel bag with as much as humanly possible. Leather duffels from David King, Le Donne, and Passage 2 let you pack, cram, jam — and organize — all of your clothing and travel accessories. It seems like everything you own would fit in these bags. WARNING — watch the airline baggage regulations and don’t try to pack the kitchen sink. It may just push you over the weight limit. Either way, there is plenty of room and space.

Duffel bags come in various leathers and sizes, and there are even wheeled options to meet the needs of today’s travelers. However, the duffel bag is not new to the luggage scene. It has been around for more than 400 hundred years.

Did you know this?

• The tightly woven canvas that was later used in the duffle bags was first manufactured in the 15th century in Duffle, Antwerp Belgium. It was never intended to be used for luggage.
• In 1611, the cloth was imported to Spain and Portugal for sailors to repair their ship’s sails.
• Sailors fell in love with the durable, seaworthy fabric and began to make their bags from this material. The bags were originally called sea bags or ditty bags.
• During World War I, the term duffle bag was first used.
• The US military first issued the official duffle bag in 1943 and it has remained the military’s favorite bag.
• Duffle is also spelled duffel. Why? No one knows!

The duffel bag users of yesterday would hardly recognize today’s leather duffel bag. David King, Le Donne, and Passage 2 are three of the finest bag manufacturers and are top featured brands at Irv’s Luggage. Their bags have plenty of pockets and compartments for travel items, and even dirty laundry. With the David King Vaquetta Leather Duffel with Bottom Compartment, it is easy to keep your messy, dirty things below and keep your clothes clean and fresh in the compartment above.

Duffel bags are often spotted filled with gear at sporting events or gyms. They make for great carry-on bags, as they are available in a variety of sizes that easily fit in the overhead bin or under the seat. College kids arrive home with the Passage 2 Collection Vaquetta Leather Rolling Duffel oozing with weeks of dirty clothes.

Weekend travelers also love duffels — especially the Le Donne Distressed Leather Getaway Duffel — because they can easily fit all their clothing, shoes and gear needed to go exploring. Each leather duffel from Le Donne is unique in its color tone variations, creases and weathered look. The bag feels like it has been a part of you, like your comfy leather slippers, and the shoulder strap removes if you prefer to carry it by hand.

The Best Luggage for Students Traveling or Studying Abroad

Are you a student heading overseas to travel or study abroad……or an avid traveler taking a much deserved extended vacation? Well I have the perfect combination of luggage for any of these extensive, long term type travel plans; the High Sierra Elevate 34” Drop Bottom Wheeled Duffel and the High Sierra Export 22” Travel Pack.

The High Sierra Elevate 34” Drop Bottom Wheeled Duffel is a large piece of luggage that   will fit just about everything you need for a longer trip (with 6715 cubic inches of packing space) without weighing you down.  The 34″ Elevate weighs-in at a mere 8.8 pounds.

With a large main compartment with a U-shaped opening and a large drop bottom compartment with straps, you will have a great deal of packing options for the larger variety of “necessities” you will need. (The bag also contains a zippered divider panel between the upper and lower compartments that can be rolled up and secured to create one large compartment.)

When taking a larger piece of luggage, maneuverability is key and the Elevate 34” Drop Bottom Duffel will not disappoint.  With inline skate-style wheels inserted into protective corner-mounted housings and a recessed, telescoping lightweight aluminum handle system with locking mechanism, the Elevate Duffel will get you there with ease and with your arms and lower back intact!

Other great features of this duffel include: custom ID holder in a hide-away front pocket; protective feet to keep the bag cleaner and protected from rough surfaces; durable webbing handles with padded wrap and padded grab handle on the end; zippered front accessory pocket and two top-loading end compartments; and finally adjustable exterior compression straps to help secure your precious belongings from the rough hands of baggage handlers scattered throughout the world.

The High Sierra Export 22” Travel Pack is a smaller wheeled carry-on that converts to a  backpack and is the perfect bag to complement the larger 34” High Sierra Elevate Drop Bottom Duffel.

When you are traveling with the larger duffel, this High Sierra 22” Export Travel Pack can be worn as a backpack to free-up your hands. This pack is extremely comfortable with adjustable Vapel Mesh Airflow padded straps.  When you are without your larger piece of luggage, the Elevate 22” Travel Pack can also be wheeled from place to place on planes, trains or automobiles for shorter day or weekend type excursions. Once again, it can also be used as a backpack while traveling on foot, animal or bicycle……really a very versatile piece of luggage, perfect for any journey you encounter.

Some other great features of this High Sierra carry-on luggage include: a front load main compartment with clothing hold-down straps; deluxe telescoping handle and corner mounted inline skate- style wheels (for ease of maneuverability just like the larger Elevate 34” Duffel); a deluxe organizer with cell phone pocket, pen pockets and removable key fob and a zippered pocket with headphone port; reflective accent piping for safely and a Mesh 1000ml water bottle pocket to help keep you hydrated, an immensely important part of any successful travel.

So there you have it, the perfect luggage combination for longer extensive travels……happy trails from Irv’s Luggage!!!