Bags of room! (Jansport Super Break Duffel)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Jansport Super Break Duffel
Date:	31/07/08 (170 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absolute Tardis, easy to carry, wide range of colours/patterns

Disadvantages: None!

Last summer I decided that after too much of my baggage going
missing, I was going to buy a big carry-on and be nice and carefree with only one bag. Unfortunately I was also going away for two weeks so I needed quite a lot of clothes as I was going to two different places and doing completely different activities in both.

Browsing online I came across the Jansport Duffel and, ticking all the boxes, I bought it off eBay for what I consider a bargain £24.99. I think postage was about £4.99.

*Appearance and dimensions
As I said before, the bag I chose is 20" but Jansport also make this bag in 24" (£29.99) and 36" (I couldn't find this for sale on an English site at the time of writing to give a price). I find the 20" (10.5" h x 20" w x 12" d) perfect for hand luggage, you can fit a TON in it without it being oversized to fit in overhead bins. The bag itself weighs about 1.5lbs and has a capacity of 39 litres. I am so impressed with the bag in general I am considering buying a larger one for my main luggage.

One of my favourite things about this bag is it's pattern! Never one to blend in with the crowd I chose "Chocolate bubbles" which is a dark brown bag with circles of biege, teal and turquoise and biege straps. If you're familiar with Jansport bags at all, you'll know they do all kinds of crazy colours and patterns. This duffel is no different. I've seen a variety from plain black, to stripes, floral, plaid and camo. It depends where you buy it as most online stores I've seen have usually a couple of plain colours and one or two patterns.

While I love the pattern of mine, if I do buy a larger one too I will definitely get it in the plain chocolate colour as I feel I would look like a bit of a loser carrying two of this pattern, eye-catching or not!

*So it's 39 litres, what's that in English?!
Well, the first time I used this bag I managed to fit in about 4 pairs of jeans, a pair of trainers, flip flops, swimwear, enough undies and socks for 14 days, about 15 tshirts/tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, two hoodies, books...get the idea? Generally these days I use it for a carry-on and it easily fits my computer, 2/3 pairs of trousers in case my case goes astray, 2 hoodies, the gazillion books I'm always reading, etc with PLENTY of room to spare in case I buy too much when I'm gone! If I do buy another I wont go bigger than the 24" because along with this there's really no point considering how much I can cram in, heck I could probably fit in the 24"!

*Straps and carrying
There are several ways to carry this bag: with the long removable shoulder strap (which is padded at the shoulder), over your shoulder or by hand with one or both of the shorter straps, or, as I always do, by using the shorter straps to convert the bag into a backpack. It is very comfortable to carry this way although after a long time of carrying it you might get a bit uncomfortable in one of your shoulders depending on how the straps are adjusted/how full it is because there is only padding on one of the straps (which is used to wrap the two straps together if you want to carry it by hand). The padding on straps is the same pattern as the bag.
I found the straps easy to adjust and comfortable. In regular use (eg carrying around an airport, to hotel rooms, etc not climbing a mountain or hiking!) I didn't encounter any problems or discomfort.

*Other features
- The bag has an outer zip pocket for little things you need to access more easily. It is deceptively-sized because while the opening seems small, there is quite a bit of space as it runs the entire length of the bag, so if you manoevre things carefully you can fit a lot in! I generally use it for my passport, tickets, phone, wallet, etc and there is bags of extra space (pardon the pun)!
- Mine came with a fair-sized washbag in the same pattern. I'm not sure if they all come with one, when I saw it listed on Amazon there was a picture of the washbag but no mention in the text. Well, if you did buy it and get one it is a good bonus because it fits full-sized shampoo bottles, etc, is easily wiped down and has a hanging loop on top.
- The sides of the bags have straps which you can use to cinch it in if you're tight on space. It's generally pretty squashable so I've never had any troubles even on a tiny plane with small overhead bins when it was full to the brim.
- I'm not sure how waterproof it is having never exposed it to the elements, but it does have rainwelts.
- It can be wiped down pretty easily because of the material it is although there are no washing instructions on the label, it just says it has been made from new materials only!

*Practicality and general impression
I've taken this on five transatlantic flights now and I honestly don't know what I did without it. It fits so much and is really hard-wearing so I can't see it giving out any time soon. It's so easy to carry and I feel was great value because luggage is so expensive these days, but this I feel will last and sometimes means I don't have to bring a second bag and risk getting them lost as seems to be my luck!

*Where to get it
Like I said, I bought mine on eBay where more than one seller were at the time selling it. Just Googling Jansport Duffel brought up a lot of retailers so if you're interested in buying one I'd advise you to check out one or two for yourself just because of the sheer number of designs and colours and everyone stocking different ones. You can also be directed to stockists from jansport.com by clicking Buy Online.

Summary: A great weekend/carry on bag.