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Recommendation requested for large rolling duffel

Our daughter will be attending university overseas and we would like to get her some appropriate “moving” luggage. I’m looking for recommendations for large-to-very-large (60-62 linear inch, 80L), lightweight, collapsible, inexpensive rolling duffel bags.

This is for 4 years, and we expect to put a lot of her belongings in summer storage for those summers she comes home. We expect these bags to be used minimally. They do not need to withstand multiple trips per year, and we do not want to spend for “good” luggage - she already has smaller “good” bags that she will bring and use to travel around Europe. But we also don’t want a seam failure en route- this would be devastating for her to lose or have damage to half her belongings.

After we drop her off, DH and I will travel a bit on our own, and I will not want to haul around her empty large luggage. She needs to keep it with her, and it needs to pack small.

The folks here seem to know luggage 😁. I’m open to your suggestions!

Also curious if anyone has advice on how many we may need. Teen girl, fashionista, moving to the UK (cool, wet, will need plenty of layers). We will buy bedding, dishes, school supplies, and boots over there, but of course she’ll want as many of her clothes, shoes, and jackets as we’ll let her bring. Is 2 duffels enough? 3? She’ll have a carryon-size suitcase and a 30L backpack too.

The flight I booked allows each of us one checked bag, and extras will be $100. We also will have 2 carryons for DH and me, plus a violin “carryon”. So D’s carryon-size suitcase will have to be checked. I’m ok with the $100 bag fee if we need a 3rd duffel, just trying to understand how many duffels to buy.

Thanks for any advice!

Posted by
3200 posts

Check out Briggs and Reilly…they are built like trucks. Bought my daughter one duffle for her 7 years overseas. Although my daughter did not have excessive clothes, she did have to manage on her own during the various crossings for her different locations etc.. Her duffel fit checkin guidelines and weight so might be smaller than 80L. We also would just check a bag with her stuff when we went to visit. Looks like I went out of your price range but…

Posted by
23177 posts

Let me offer a completely opposite view. DON'T !!!!! Our son only spent one semester -- six months total abroad in Madrid. But the advice we received from the school, and he would support it, especially for females. Only bring about two weeks of clothing or less. About what you will take when you travel. All of "her clothing" will mark her as a tourist or at least a non-local. She will want to buy local clothing similar to her classmates. When we visited our son at semester break, he requested an empty suitcase to take back most of his "American" clothing. We did. The differences in clothing can be slight to us but to a fashionista teen girl it will be enormous. Save the money on luggage to spent on her new wardrobe once she arrives. If she is going to be there for four years, she will want to built her own local wardrobe.

When our son came home, he had enough to get here but sold or gave away the extra clothing he had purchased while there.

Posted by
1259 posts

Does she not require matched and branded luggage? If not, Costco's lower tier duffles will do the job.

Posted by
11027 posts

Check out 2nd hand stores like St Vinnie, Goodwill, Value Village......

Posted by
2300 posts

We bought several of these duffel bags from Walmart several years ago.

Protege 32" Compactible Rolling Duffel for Travel

I literally packed a week’s worth of clothes for 4 people in one bag. If you stuff it full, you may exceed the size limit, so don’t over stuff it. These bags have survived being checked many times, summer camp trips, etc. They fold down very compact.

I agree not to send her with every piece of clothing she owns. A couple weeks worth of basics, then let her shop for things there as needed. Part of the fun. Plus, she might not have a ton of storage space.

Posted by
22 posts

Thank you! Quite a range of responses! @Frank, you raise an EXCELLENT point, and I will certainly share with her. Hopefully anything she really wants but can't fit into 2 bags, she can take back at the holiday break. And she would love to go clothes shopping with a new friend after arrival! I really like the idea of tempting (bribing) her with the cash we save on a bag and bag fee!

LOL @bogiesan - no, matched sets won't be needed. :-) She likes clothes, but she's also outdoorsy and adventurous and pretty practical when it comes to travel gear.

@Wray, @carol, @psea, @travel4fun - thank you for the suggestions - I will start shopping!

@joe32F, I hadn't thought of Goodwill! I will check that too!

Posted by
4255 posts

travel4fun is right. Dorm rooms do not get good reviews for storage space-our daughter swapped many of her clothes in October and March. I know this is presumptuous, but she needs a local friend whose family has a little room at their house to store her out-of-season clothes.