Best gear bag for air travel.

Hey!

I’m looking for a gear bag to carry my gear while flying. Everything together is just under 50 lbs. it’ll have a double rack of cams, 70m rope, a couple pairs of shoes, and plenty of other stuff. Was looking at some of the mountain hardware bags and the north face or Patagonia ones.

What bags do people recommend??

thanks 

I have a MH and Patagonia. They’re both bomber

I have both the MH expedition duffle and a Patagonia black hole and the MH expedition duffle is much nicer and more durable, have a few holes in the Patagonia after moderate use, none so far with the MH.  

I just put mine in a regular roller luggage. I'm intrigued by the travel duffels because I like to buy new gear, but I haven't needed one yet. 

Also check out the MH Redeye. Good capacity but with a better harness for approaches.

Metoulious quarter dome is what I usually use and is typically right around 50 lbs. Not the most convenient if you’re in and out of the bag often, but after ~20 flights it’s held up well and then you can use the bag for climbing stuff too once you land. In all reality I just use it because it’s what I already have and I’m too broke for a suitcase or duffel specific for the airport, but it works.

I have a smaller Patagonia bag that is not a duffel, but is the same material as the large duffel and I’ve put that bag through hell in the desert and Alaska over the past 3 years. It’s held up really well.

I have a Gregory Alpaca 90 that has been my gear/ travel duffle for several years now. It holds a shitload of gear, is waterproof, has been dragged all over the country and airports and still looks brand new. It comes with backpack straps but I lost one immediately after getting it. My only complaint is that the Velcro on the handle doesn't stay together well.

I like the REI Big Haul Rolling Duffel. Excellent roller for the price.

https://www.rei.com/product/177054/rei-co-op-big-haul-recycled-rolling-duffel-34

abandon moderation wrote:

I prefer regular roller luggage, I have a MH duffel but never use it. Roller luggage protects the gear more, is easier to transport (wheels), stacks better in the rental car, etc.

Usually I put my cams and rope in my carry on luggage. Two benefits here:

1. It's the most expensive gear, and the airline can't lose it if I have it

2. It's the heaviest gear, and airlines never weigh your carry on so this leaves your checked bag for bulkier but lighter items.

If I'm flying southwest (2 free checked bags) and am camping my second "bag" is usually my Coleman cooler with full size pillows stuffed inside. It a cheap one that doesn't latch so I just wrap the lid shut with packing tape. Glamping at its finest.

Airlines let you put cams in carry on? I would have thought TSA would lose it if they saw those in carry on.

My husband and I both have Deuter Traveler packs. Have had them for ~8 years, and really happy so far.

The thing that makes it a great travel pack is that there’s a fabric panel, normally tucked into a little pocket at the base of the pack, that unrolls and zips on to protect all the straps and buckles, if you have to check the bag in. There’s a side handle that allows you to carry the bag like a duffel, when all the backpack straps are covered by the protective cover. 

It also comes with a little zip- off 10L daypack that’ you can remove and carry on its own if you are just waking around town at some point,  but I don’t particularly care for it, I have brought it along on time trips, but mostly leave it at home.

They aren’t the lightest packs out there, bc of all the additional features, and they are bigger than some people want for a cragging pack, but they carry so comfortably that I don’t mind the extra weight.

We have flown all over with these packs, US, Europe, Asia, etc. My pack (60L) is technically small enough for a carry-on, if I don’t fully fill it up, and cinch the compression straps, but when full it’s too big. My husband’s pack (70L) is definitely too big, though we had, in the past, carried it as a carry-on, too. 

I think the rules on carryon sizes have been tightened now, compared to 6-8 years ago. we used to carry climbing gear just fine, but one time in Barcelona they were absolutely adamant that nothing metal as heavy as a grigri would be allowed in the carry-on, “because you can hit someone with it”, and we were forced to check in the climbing bags, even though two weeks earlier we flew with the same gear just fine.

Also depends on where you are flying. Bigger planes are more likely to let me carry my pack as a carry-on, but smaller planes you’d have to check it in. Flying US-Athens two weeks ago was no problem, but Athens to Kos and back carry-on over 8kg wasn’t allowed, no matter how small.

It really feels like you are at the mercy of the airline/agent with these things. Two weeks ago, they made us check in both of our carry-ons, charged for one bag, but not for the other, because one bag they said they had to charge for was a smidge heavier than 8kg, so couldn’t be counted as a carry-on. Today they said I could carry the bag, if I wanted to, but they would also happily check it in, and they didn’t charge for the same carry-on we decided to check in, even though it was also (still) over 8kg. 

I’m flying today with pretty much the same luggage; I have a MH scrambler, grivel falesia (metolius ropemaster would be better honestly, buyers remorse), and clothes stuffed in a big jacket

I have had good luck flying with the Patagonia cragsmith. A rope and a double rack occupy a little over half of the pack - plenty of space for shoes and guidebooks and other stuff. It fits in the overhead bins better than most hard cases. BD and others make basically identical packs that I'm sure perform just as well. 

If you want to go checked bag, I agree with others who have said to go rolling duffel. 

abandon moderation wrote:

I prefer regular roller luggage, I have a MH duffel but never use it. Roller luggage protects the gear more, is easier to transport (wheels), stacks better in the rental car, etc.

Usually I put my cams and rope in my carry on luggage. Two benefits here:

1. It's the most expensive gear, and the airline can't lose it if I have it

2. It's the heaviest gear, and airlines never weigh your carry on so this leaves your checked bag for bulkier but lighter items.

If I'm flying southwest (2 free checked bags) and am camping my second "bag" is usually my Coleman cooler with full size pillows stuffed inside. It a cheap one that doesn't latch so I just wrap the lid shut with packing tape. Glamping at its finest.

This is true of US carriers, but they will absolutely look at carry-on bay weight for many EU and Asian carriers (frequently 10-12kg limit).

Have a patagonia blackhole roller duffel flown with on climbing trips, really solid bag!

Sky F wrote:

Airlines let you put cams in carry on? I would have thought TSA would lose it if they saw those in carry on.

In the US its not problem for sure...but man I had to fight when leaving Libreville, Gabon because they were worried about slings in particular. Kept gesturing that I could basically tie someone up with them..... And they had MANY security people inspect all the cams etc.
Eventually I argued my checked bag back to put it in which took a solid hour to accomplish through terrible miming and broken french.

Also always have kept my rack in my carryon. Never had an issue with cams/nuts in my carryon. Usually leave the nut tool in my checked bag. 

Just got done with a climbing trip in Washington state. I used the Mountain Hardwear Redeye and it worked great, I fit my 60m rope, a single rack, a rack of draws, my shoes, harness, chalk bag, helmet and had room to spare! The harness system was comfortable and the bag fit perfectly in the overhead compartment. My only complaint is that the side pockets can’t fit much if the bag is fully loaded. 

My only tip is to avoid black on the interior if possible. So many little things get “lost”

I ended up using a big suitcase because it fit in the car better! Worked great thanks everyone 

Fly with an airline that accepts your regular climbing backpack and the gear packed inside as a carry on.

Nut tool, #6, Big Bros, and stick clip in checked bag... along with clothing. Best not bring #6, Big Bros. If they confiscate nut tool, they are cheap to replace.

Remember, people "lose" checked bags allllll the time at airports, to an absolutely criminal degree. So try to minimize what you are set out to lose. It would be ridiculously unlikely to lose a carry on bag.

abandon moderation wrote:

I prefer regular roller luggage, I have a MH duffel but never use it. Roller luggage protects the gear more, is easier to transport (wheels), stacks better in the rental car, etc.

The biggest advantage of rugged soft duffels is they stack and fit much better everywhere since they are shapeable and conform to the space.