Airline Travel Bag, What do you use?

rootacres

WKR
Joined
Jan 5, 2018
Messages
1,060
So I have a hunt booked this fall that I will be flying into. What bag do you all use to back your gear in. I am looking for something fairly large as I plan to put my gear plus my SG pack in this bag and check it with the airline. I will have a smaller backpack that I will take as my carryon. Then I plan to check my rifle along with one large gear bag. I would prefer this one be fairly weather proof as I plan to go to Kodiak (among other places) in the future.

I have looked at the KUIU Taku 5500. What other options are there?

Thanks
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2016
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902
Location
Broomfield, CO
I have used the Taku 5500 and it worked well. I also have a big old Gander Mt duffel I use and has always worked well and both can fit my big SO pack inside. For my AK trips I'm usually trying to bring as much as possible (prepare a lot of our own food and purchased food selection and price are usually better down here) so the plain duffels are best from a weight perspective. My rifle case is a double gun pelican vault, which is bigger yet lighter than the regular pelican (albeit not as bombproof). I find I can take at least half the foam sheets out of it and can add a hell of a lot of clothing and gear to the gun case and still keep it under 50 lbs.
 
Joined
Feb 12, 2022
Messages
1,724
First Lite Dirtbag Duffel.

Pretty weatherproof, I like the way the pockets are expandable/compressible, and the lid that unzips enough to make a mat.

Flown with it to hunt, fish, and general vacations.
 

Poser

WKR
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
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5,033
Location
Durango CO
I have 2 TNF duffel bags I’ve had since the 90s.
PVC coated exterior with reinforced Cordura bottoms. Backpack straps. They have been around the world. TNF repaired the zippers at some point. I use them for all kinds of travel all of the time.

Side note: I HATE square rollers that virtually everyone uses. You can’t contort, compress or shape them to fit in tight spaces. Wheels don’t work well on cobblestone or uneven sidewalks. You need something you can throw on your back.
 
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
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Patagonia Black Hole Rolling Duffel 100L. I’ve had mine for 7 years and lots of flights, bombproof.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2015
Messages
5,841
I have a TNF duffle and an SKB double bow case (that looks like a small boat). I removed the foam from the bow case and pad it with clothes. As long as I am careful not to go overweight, then can hold a ton of gear.

bouns, in the event of a water landing, the SKB case can be used as a life raft

 

wyosteve

WKR
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
2,095
For my trip in June, I took a Cabelas duffel bag packed inside the bigger Sitka rolling case. That way I could leave my 'street clothes' and gear in the Sitka at the outfitter's base camp and just pack the duffel in the plane. Worked well.
 

uglymud

FNG
Classified Approved
Joined
Aug 30, 2020
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45
Another vote for North Face duffel, mines the XL paired with a pelican case and carry on backpack for optics.

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk
 
Joined
Dec 22, 2017
Messages
341
Location
All over
I pack my hunting pack full then stuff it inside of a large military seabag. The seabag keeps everything protected for a cheap price. I also stuff clothing into my gun/bow case.
 
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