LLBean Rolling Adventure Duffle XL

[Diver Lori]

Yes, this is blatant product endorsement....BUT, from a very happy satified customer!

I purchased the LLBean Rolling Adventure Duffle (size XL) back in 1998 before I went to Costa Rica. Orange & Black so I can find it quickly in baggage claim.

The airport luggage gorillas broke the bag in half on my return flight. The pressed board in the bottom was splintered and actually broken in half! I sent the duffle back to LLBean and they replaced it with a new flexible, yet firm plastic bottom in the color of solid black (my choice, they called me, didn't make orange anymore). They put my initials on the bag and sent it to me with their blessing.

Okay...I've used this bag several times since....British Columbia, Akumal x 3, & Cayman Brac to name a few. On my last trip to Akumal, the baggage gorillas snapped the plastic runners off the bottom of the bag AND put holes in the top of my matching one size smaller LLBean Adventure duffle for clothes (This happened once before....they put a 3-corner tear in the cordura, LLBean repaired at no charge)

I sent both bags back to LLBean about 2 weeks ago with a request to assess repair costs and advise.

I am now the proud owner of TWO BRAND SPANKING NEW BAGS at no additional cost to me other than what I paid for them in 1998!! No questions asked, I just received the new bags via FEDEX.

Now THAT'S Customer Service!!

I do think my $49 & $99 was well spent over 6 years ago.

The rolling adventure duffle holds all my gear and the next size small shoulder duffle holds all my clothes, etc with room to spare.

And for those of you wanting to know just how much gear fits.....
Gear in the rolling bag: Drysuit (plus underwear) or wetsuit, Sartek cave lighthead & battery canister, fins, 2 masks, Rockboots, 2 Scout lights, 2 foot square chunk of eggcrate foam to protect light & canister, 2 beach towels, hooded wetsuit vest, 2 sets of wings, 1 BP & harness, batteries, mesh duffle bag, dry box, neoprene bootie inserts for the Rockboots, and a few other odds and ends.

 

[lairdb]

Yes, this is blatant product endorsement....BUT, from a very happy satified customer!

I purchased the LLBean Rolling Adventure Duffle (size XL) back in 1998 before I went to Costa Rica. Orange & Black so I can find it quickly in baggage claim.[...]

FWIW, I've had similar top-notch service from LLB on other items. Their roller duffle fits most of my Good Duffle Criteria, though you should note that the XL is officially a few inches larger than the typical airline free check-in limit.

--Laird

(By the way, they're still $99.)

 

[krick]

I've had the same experience with the LLBean "book pack" (or whatever they call it now-a-days).

I got one while in high school. Two years later, I yoinked the zipper too hard and broke a tooth, causing it to jump the tracks.

Called LLBean, they sent me a new bag (taking my credit card number just in case) and told me to send the broken one back in the same packaging.

Then about 5 years after high school, I broke a zipper again and repeated the process.

If you consider what you pay for *crap* backpacks at wal-mart and target, it's totally worth it to spend a little more at LLBean for something that is really designed and contstructed well and guaranteed for life.

 

[Mrs Fic]

I was wondering if you have ever had trouble checking your duffle when flying. I was looking at a couple airline web sites and the maximum for baggage was 62 inches (length + width + height). The XL duffle from LL Bean is 66 inches total. We are going to Bonaire in August and need to find something to transport our scuba gear in and this sounds great but we don't want to pay extra for an oversized bag.

Thanks for any info you can give me

 

[geraldp]

I was wondering if you have ever had trouble checking your duffle when flying. I was looking at a couple airline web sites and the maximum for baggage was 62 inches (length + width + height). The XL duffle from LL Bean is 66 inches total. We are going to Bonaire in August and need to find something to transport our scuba gear in and this sounds great but we don't want to pay extra for an oversized bag.

Thanks for any info you can give me

My DeepOutdoors scuba bag is 66" also. I've flown twice with it (once domestic, once to Mexico) and nobody said anything. I did get charged $25 extra for being overweight on the domestic return trip (>50 lbs). That being said, the rules are 62", not 66", so somebody can eventually call you on it. It depends on the carrier, but United Airlines wants $80 if your bag is oversized. The fact that it's soft-sided might help (you might be able to squeeze it down to size).

Jerry

 

[lairdb]

My DeepOutdoors scuba bag is 66" also. I've flown twice with it (once domestic, once to Mexico) and nobody said anything. I did get charged $25 extra for being overweight on the domestic return trip (>50 lbs). That being said, the rules are 62", not 66", so somebody can eventually call you on it. It depends on the carrier, but United Airlines wants $80 if your bag is oversized. The fact that it's soft-sided might help (you might be able to squeeze it down to size).

Indeed; the mfg measurements are intended to sell max space, so they're with the bag inflated as large as it possibly could be, and squared off as well.

IIRC, Bean's Rolling Adventure Duffle has compression straps and a rounded profile as well, so I'd be curious if it's real-world summed-dimension isn't actually less than 62" even when fully stuffed.

Weight is more of a challenge; dive gear seems to be right at that density where 62" == 50#. Don't forget the couple of pounds of water you'll pick up at the destination; if your bone-dry gear weighs 49.998 pounds, it's going to be more on the return.

 

[ScubaTexas]

We have two of these bags we use for all our gear and cloths. I agree that these LLB bags are incredible. They hold alot are made like extremely well. Interestingly, I ordered one last summer and then ordered another this early spring. They were made quite different. The one purchased in early spring was not nearly as well made (thinner nylon and less strapping, etc) as the previously purchased one. Called LLB, told them my concern, they looked up my old order, told me they had a few more left like I had ordered last summer but they were not listed on the website. They overnighted the "better" oneto me and indicated that they were going to send a note to their purchasing depart regarding the change. Excellent products and excellent customer service!!!!