Namely, it’s the benefits outweigh the negatives, and it’s a holdall with functionality and features much appreciated for the active traveller. A bag with separation compartments? Tick. A bright snazzy colour that means no one will mistake your bag. Tick. Popper handles to make lifting in and out of transport. Tick.  Options to stow back straps away. Tick.  Chunky wheels that can cope with rough terrain? Tick.

The only thing that makes the Eagle Creek cargo hauler a bit of a pain is the rather crucial lack of a pull-out handle – which changes the balance of weight as its only got one, albeit very short, grab handle for pulling along a shiny airport floor.  An additional red zip up storage bag that makes stashing the main holdall a neat Marie-Kondo esque dream, thanks to the soft material of the bag which easily wraps around the holdall’s wheels and folds into a labelled pouch. No need to cram an awkward stiff bag into the wardrobe and worry about it bursting out!  Best of all, it was no bigger than a 2l bottle of pop so made for easy storage in the ‘outdoor gear’ part of the wardrobe.

Fizzing with promise, the first trip the Eagle creek made its’ wheelie debut was ceremoniously up the uphill tarmac streets of the rather grey high street of ski resort Pas de la Casa in Andorra. 

Packed and ready to go, the Eagle Creek fitted all the ski clothes and accessories such as ski poles, helmet, goggles, and bulky jackets. The zippers are wide and easy enough to be handled with gloves on, which is a nice touch. Yet when it came to carrying the bag up the slightly snowed pavements of Andorra, the bag struggled as it was very difficult to pull the bag fully loaded. Once it got to the safe territory of the shiny hotel apartments, getting it up flights of stairs was possible, thanks to shifting it from a roller holdall to a backpack, or using the rugged grab handles to lift it in and out of lockers. Its shiny promise started to wear off when dragging the bag down steps and the snow build up in the wheels was noticeable. 

Arriving in mid-January, the snow was still yet to arrive, so the bag needed to be water resistant to the weather as well as ample size to carry all the necessary kit for a ski trip. This stood up to the test thanks to the shiny TPU material and a built in storm flap that prevented snow and water ingress didn’t happen, making it a great go to for winter sports trips.  

On the second thorough test of the Eagle Creek cargo hauler, the challenges faced would be slightly more testing, this time on a climbing trip to the Lake District using public transport. The journey started from Sheffield – Manchester Piccadilly to Oxenholme, with many obstacles on the way, specifically up and down escalators, travelators, lifts and trying to manoeuvre speedily up and down a flight of before being stowed away in a van trip to Wasdale, Lake District. It also provided an opportunity to see what it was like to have the Eagle Creek Hauler as the go to ‘live out of a bag’ holdall for a van life trip. Heavily laden with climbing kit, the bag coped with most of the transitions involved with juggling public transport across the North of England - only really struggling with the rather high train compartment steps on Platform 13 at Manchester Piccadilly – and its rather neat shape fit easily into the storage space of my friend’s VW Transporter.  Having the two-part storage makes it easy to chuck ‘dirty’ kit like wet swim wear, or running shoes in the smaller compartment, whilst the main compartment easily fits two lots of 50m ropes, helmet, and trad rack. Similarly, on a sport climbing trip to Costa Blanca in Spain the bag fully packed neatly fit within th 20kg baggage limit thanks to a neat weight of just under 2kg, meaning I had a generous 18kg of extra weight to pack to.

Finally, testing the Eagle creek holdall on a work trip working as a guide on Alfred Wainwright’s coast to coast.  – again, multiple days navigating hotels of varying accessibility, with difficulties often resulting in no option but to carry the bag in narrow cramped buildings as a rucksack.  We were fortunate with stable, sunny weather in September, so the kit was protected from the worst of unpredictable British weather . Yet this time, it was checking the kit’s resistant to stains and visible signs of wear – no need thanks to the uber tough 1000D Helix™ Poly /600D Poly TPU material – which was perfect  at resisting the daily luggage rituals when loading and unloading the holdall on a daily basis. I also made use of a mesh compartment – which formed the ‘top’ pouch – to put need to grab items such as chargers and usb cables, and store snacks and teabags for a brew at a moment’s notice. Gear organization is surprisingly one of the annoying bugbears of back-to-back travel, so it was great to pack my kit into a holdall where the bag had rigidity for me to stack layers above footwear and extra layers without the items all ‘sliding' around. Finally, four compression straps meant I could compress the bag down and make sure the bag was as neat as possible and a heavy duty daisy chain meant I could also attach additional bits via karabiners, or have the option to fix the bag onto a roof rack.

Functionality

Great bag  with practical features such as chunky wheels, U shaped top lid with finger loop zippers that can be used with gloves to get into main compartment, strong webbing handles and  backpack straps all well thought out. Not that practical when  trying to drag it by the small grab handle, as this is fairly awkward 7/10

Waterproofness

Pretty waterproof and resistant at snow and light showers. 10/10

Ease of use

Easy to pack and unpack into stash bag, and no need for further instuctions. 10/10

Fitting stuff in

Could fit most of my outdoor kit, and surprisingly still able to pick the bag up when full. 10/10

Practicality

The Eagle Creek cargo hauler wheeled duffel 110L is a practical bag for the traveller that isn’t defined by one activity, the only criticism is that it could do with a document pouch on the outside.  9/10

From the slopes of Andorra, to a van trip in the Lake District, to Coast to Coast and finally a sport climbing trip in Costa Blanca, the Eagle Creek Cargo hauler wheeled duffel 110L has followed me around on a number of occasions in 2023.  It’s a great go to bag – thanks to its capacity, well thought out colourway and features – all bar one tiny little snag – a rather short handle that stops it from being uber functional. I’d recommend a long pull out handle and the option for a wider clearance near the wheels for rough muddy terrain as this would add to the bags technical spec.

FEATURES

• Oversized treaded wheels for easy rolling over dirt and or stone
• U-shaped top lid with reflective finger loop zipper pulls provide access to main compartment while wearing gloves
• Heavy duty daisy chain lash points for attaching bag to roof rack
• Compression straps compact contents and provide gear attachment
• Haul handles and backpack straps for versatile carry
• Pull handle constructed of strong oversized webbing
• Wheel housing provides protection for wheels
• Covered by Eagle Creek’s No Matter What™ Warranty
• Versatile carry includes backpack carry, top handle and side grab handles
• Zip-away backpack straps stow in front zip pocket, providing protection during baggage check in
• Secure lock through #10 lockable zippers and Central Lock Point
• Storm flap on main and end compartments shield zipper from rain
• TPU fabric provides maximum abrasion and water-resistance
• Interior zippered mesh pocket in end compartment
• Zippered end compartments for gear organization

BENEFITS

ABRASION RESISTANT MATERIAL

Product features highly abrasion resistant materials to keep you going for miles to come.

WATER REPELLENT

Be ready for anything from rain, sleet and snow. This will keep your products dry and you happy.

CONVERTS TO A BACKPACK

For maximum versatility on any adventure use backpack straps to travel hands-free, and tuck them away when not in use

SPECIFICATIONS

DIMENSIONS

30.25 x 13.5 x 15 in / 77 x 34 x 38 cm

CAPACITY

108 L / 6590 cu in

WEIGHT

4 lbs 4 oz / 1930 g

MATERIAL

1000D Helix™ Poly /600D Poly TPU