Got new job with Travel required- Need LUGGAGE help!!

[hgill]

A little background.
Male, age 26years

I got a new job earlier this month as an Internal Auditor and the company has about 70 branches across the US and Canada. The job requires me to travel one week out of the month (sometimes two weeks) to go audit those branches. I have always just used some cheap bag that was laying around the house in the past (since i hardly flew) but since I will be doing this every month, I wanted to get something durable.

1. I need something sturdy cause I will be checking it in as I dont want to deal with carrying it on through all the airports and connections. Also cause TSA is a pain in the ass on carrying liquids, razaor blade, etc.

2. I need something of a decent size. I will have steel toe boots to throw in there and maybe a hard hat sometimes, along with clothes for a week, sometimes two.

3. Are Duffel Bags durable. I was debating of getting maybe like a 26" or 27" inch. Not sure what size I really need.

4. I would like to pick something up for under 160, if possible.

5. Any advice on particular brands, style of bag will be helpful.

**FYI in about 3 weeks, will be going on a 2 week audit and will be flying on 11 different planes by the time i get back home so definitely want something durable.

 

[skibama]

I travel quite a bit for my work and have been through many a cheap bag. After 2 or 3 times of having ripped pockets and broken zippers from the airline baggage smashers, I will never get a cheapie again. My personal favorite is Tumi. I think they look great and they are very well built...plus they come with a lifetime warranty. The only problem is that they are very expensive. That being said, if you are a Costco member, they have an awesome deal right now. The have two different Tumi roller boards. One is a carry on size, but the other is a bigger bag that should be great for a 5 day trip. The smaller bag is $169, but the bigger one for some reason is only $129. That is an AWESOME price for a Tumi. I just bought the smaller one and love it.
If you don't want to go that route, Marshalls and TJ Max both carry suitcases. They usually have a variety of brands, but if you can find a Samsonite or Travel Pro, I would stick with that. If you want to get something decent, but a little cheaper, Delsey is okay, but not top of the line. I had a couple older Delsey bags, and they didn't hold up too well, but I think the newer ones are better. I wouldn't recommend a duffel bag, mainly because of how bulky they are to carry.

 

[theizzardking]

big difference between a duffel sack and luggage, that said if your looking into duffle sacks just get one of the heavy truck tarp material ones, they are quite cheap and hold up quite well, i would consider somthing like this

NRS 3.8 Bill's Bag (Heavy Duty) Dry Bag - FREE SHIPPING at Altrec.com


thick pvc material won't tear and is virtually waterproof, i used one of these as my main clothes and such bag for the last 6 months in europe and south east asia and performed great, the up side is no matter if i was in a crazy tropical thailand rain storm or just englands winter drizzle my stuff stayed dry and and easy to pack. the straps come off so when you actually check it in, you pull the shoulder straps off and pack them inside the case so nothing gets caught in the belts on it's journey.

that said there are some drawbacks as using such a thing for work travel, if you need nice clothes they will get wrinkled, if you plan on checking fragile things such as laptops,trinkets,what have you, the only protection your going to get is what you can achieve by packing your clothes around it .



so there's something to be said for proper "luggage" it can take weight off your back ad give you some sort of hard protection against fragile, if you looking at getting one with wheels be very careful to how the wheels are attached and how robust they are, i have gone through more of these type of luggage then anything else, and there's nothing like wandering the streets of Paris trying to find your hotel as your broken luggage is being drug rather loudly across the cobble stone streets at 5:30 am, i will never do that again.... only the best built wheeled suitcases from now on....

as far as brands idgaf, i just look for the best construction ,materials and design for my price range, i've been around the world a few times now and am more of a backpacker type traveler, so tend to go with the dry sack and backpacks more often then not on the longer journeys my company sends me on.