REI Co-Op Big Haul Review: The Best

There are two methods to rig up the carry deal with. You can join it to the slender ends of the bag, which makes accessing the storage compartment simpler, or in an X form throughout the broader sides of the bag for elevated stability whereas carrying. There are not any buckles, carabiners, or D-rings for the deal with. Instead, there are nylon cloth loops, with vaguely fish-hook-shaped plastic items on the ends of the deal with that slip into the loops. It’s one thing I’ve by no means seen earlier than. The backpack straps use the identical hook-and-loop system after they’re not stowed behind the padded panel.

They work a lot better than I assumed they might. I by no means had one slip unfastened, but it wasn’t tough to safe or take away the plastic hooks. The solely buckles on the bag are 4 compression straps that you just fasten after the whole lot is zipped up so that you could cinch down the bag into its most compact type. There are fastened seize handles on all 4 sides of the duffel too.

On the draw back, there is no shoulder strap as on the Red Oxx. Given the selection between the 2, I’d a lot quite have the backpack straps, however generally it is handy to simply throw a bag on my shoulder for a second to release my fingers. But I get it. Too many straps would muddle up the bag.

The hook-and-loop system works securely, nevertheless it’s not the quickest means so as to add and take away straps. At the airport baggage drop counter, I really feel like I’m in a rush to get all of them unfastened so I can stow the deal with with out holding up the entire line. In distinction, with luggage that use carabiners or buckles it takes about as a lot time to take away them because it does to learn this sentence.

A Material World

The materials simply feels very nice too. It’s supple but powerful. The mesh beneath the lid, the place two zippered inside pockets reside, is mushy sufficient to make underwear out of. The pockets—one small, one massive—are useful and be part of a single exterior pocket for any little gadgets you wish to preserve separated from the primary inside storage compartment.

The backside and sides of the duffel are manufactured from 1,680-denier recycled nylon. That’s thick, powerful stuff to withstand put on and tear from being picked up, put down, and slid round. The remainder of the outside is water resistant, although not waterproof. (Remember, there are nonetheless zippers.) But I carried each luggage via damp, drizzly Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and the skies splashed each luggage repeatedly and not using a drop soaking via.

Most baggage is black or navy blue. It’s basic, however boring, boring, boring. The Big Haul is on the market in all-black, for traditionalists, nevertheless it additionally is available in a couple of eye-catching colorways that pair a predominant coloration with a well-chosen secondary coloration on zipper pulls and strap loops. There’s Mountain Moss, which is extra of a mustard coloration than any moss I’ve ever seen; Twilight Purple, which is accented with electrical pink; and my favourite, the teal Stone Blue that is accented with uninteresting orange. Only Patagonia’s Black Hole duffel luggage provide such a Skittles-like selection of colours.

I’ve come to anticipate rather a lot from REI Co-Op gear over the previous few years. Even so, I used to be shocked at how effectively the Big Haul hit the mark. There are a couple of quibbles right here and there with the dearth of a shoulder strap and the time it takes to make use of the hook-and-loop attachments, however the Big Haul will serve you effectively on each city treks and outside adventurers.