After talking about our Eagle Creek suitcase choices, in this blog we’re looking at the reasons for purchasing the duffle bags.
Eagle Creek Duffle Bags
Either the small or the large “No Matter What” duffle gets packed into our suitcase for overflow when packing for the homeward trip. Reasons why:
- I don’t know about you, but it’s always harder to fit everything back into the original bag, even if I haven’t bought anything (and I usually have)
- It’s handy to have a duffle ready for any day trip, especially for swimsuit and towel
- Unpacking for some trips is made easier when you don’t have to find a space for a large suitcase:
- Example: Our cruise to Vietnam and Cambodia
- Example: Train Journeys such as our dream vacation on the
- Example: Internal flights on Safari when we get to go
When the duffle bag saved our lives!
At the end of one trip home to New Zealand I was too distraught at leaving family behind to put much effort into packing efficiently. I had also decided to buy a small woolen rug that needed to fit in the existing space.
On our trip home from Cambodia we stopped off in Shanghai for some shopping. I got a bit carried away with the scarves, and a summer dress. Again the duffle came in handy.
In Peru, all the alpaca wool garments are too irresistible, so we had to expand our luggage yet again.
TIP: Make sure your luggage allowance lets you add another bag for check-in – otherwise you’ll be paying a hefty amount for that extra memory!
Photo: The Remarkables mountain range near Queenstown, New Zealand. Also featuring some sheep where the wool for a lot of souvenirs come from! Close by is Arrowtown where there are several souvenir shops where you can purchase Merino wool products.
What goes into the duffle bag on the way home?
Well, none of the lovely new gifts! It’s usually dirty laundry and shoes. It needs to be balanced well enough to fit onto the top of the suitcase to easily get it to the check-in counter. I don’t envy any luggage handler that has to search that bag! Usually the dirty laundry is in Pack-it cubes so it’s not too gross.
TIP: Make sure to have a TSA padlock ready for use for checking in your duffle bag. We’ve had other luggage padlocks disappear after inspection when the agents needed to check the luggage. Not so good at the beginning of a trip.
What have you used your duffel / overflow bag for?
Photo: Baby Alpaca being hand fed some grass in the Sacred Valley, Peru. Taken in the middle of the day when we stopped for lunch. The restaurant had a shop with Alpaca goods.
