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Cameroon, Yaoundé
1 Level
766 Review
59 Karma

Review on 90L Black SANDHAMN Duffle Bag For Women & Men - Waterproof Material, Backpack Straps, Gym/Travel/Weekender Bags by Chris Bradford

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Excellent bag, room for improvement

I haven't travel-tested this bag yet, but it's better than I expected. It's made from a sturdy vinyl, a lot like a 90L Helly Hansen bag that I love and which has been incredibly durable across a broad range of conditions. I feel the creator of the bag put a lot of thought into it and it even included a hand-written thank you card, which deeply impressed me, so I'm leaving some detailed notes as my own tusen takk.I'm a big traveler and bag guy, so I've already made a few modifications: I added some polyester strings to the zipper pulls (actually an old shoelace I cut up), which makes using them more comfortable and helps visually distinguish the black pulls from the black bag. There are also two compression straps across the top opening that I removed because they seemed unnecessary, and make opening the bag a 3-step process. First you un-velcro the handle connector, then unclip the straps, then unzip. These may have been better placed around the bottom of the bag, if they're needed at all. The handle is also a bit annoying as, unclosed, it interferes with the backpack straps. That's a complaint I have about my HH bag too-- my arm ends up through both of the straps half the time I put it on. Given that you only need either the handle or the straps at any given moment, I feel there's a clever solution to this that someone must have thought of.I have some doubts about the weather-proofing, mostly because of the way the zipper is set beneath the top cover. It forms a slight lip over the zipper, ostensibly to keep water from falling onto it, but if I have the bag on its bottom and it's raining, the natural tendency of the top is to sag in slightly, causing water to channel to the zipper. I will probably buy some vinyl zipper tape to help with this. At $5pyd I feel like it might be a worthwhile addition to the bag.Finally, the top mesh opening has a zipper about 3cm down from the top edge. The pocket is great, but ever so slightly the wrong size for my laptop. It was too much to hope for, but would have been so cool if my laptop could fit there with a thin sleeve on, as it also would provide a rigid support for the back.

Pros
  • Comfortable to wear and won't dig into your skin
Cons
  • The bag may wrinkle or crease during travel