Travelpacks with wheels?

I realize that there's lots of terrain in the 3rd world that make wheels
useless. But I'm wondering if there are certain designs that work a lot
better than others? Bigger or softer wheels for use on rougher but
manageable surfaces? If you've got a long way to walk, and your bag is
heavy, wheels are great if they can be utilized. Ideally they should be
removable for airline travel.

> >I realize that there's lots of terrain in the 3rd world that make wheels
> > useless. But I'm wondering if there are certain designs that work a lot
> > better than others? Bigger or softer wheels for use on rougher but
> > manageable surfaces? If you've got a long way to walk, and your bag is
> > heavy, wheels are great if they can be utilized. Ideally they should be
> > removable for airline travel.
>
> Get wide spaced wheels, at the far outside of the bag, and get the one with
> the wheels from Roller Blade skates. Other than some remote place with
> sand, or dirt roads, wheels are a necessity.

You mean sticking out of the pack or do you mean not the type where part
of the wheel is buried in the bag? I can't picture this. If you know
of a product name or URL, please let me know. Inline skates have larger
and larger wheels - but they are expensive. However scooters use cheap
125 mm wheels. This might be a good angle. And they're on the soft
side too I think which would be good.

And yes - wheels have few drawbacks. They don't weigh much so its a no
brainer. As long as you can remove them for airline travel. Otherwise
they might get in the way.

> >> >I realize that there's lots of terrain in the 3rd world that make wheels
> >> > useless. But I'm wondering if there are certain designs that work a
> >> > lot better than others? Bigger or softer wheels for use on rougher but
> >> > manageable surfaces? If you've got a long way to walk, and your bag is
> >> > heavy, wheels are great if they can be utilized. Ideally they should
> >> > be removable for airline travel.
> >>
> >> Get wide spaced wheels, at the far outside of the bag, and get the one
> >> with the wheels from Roller Blade skates. Other than some remote place
> >> with sand, or dirt roads, wheels are a necessity.
> >
> > You mean sticking out of the pack or do you mean not the type where part
> > of the wheel is buried in the bag? I can't picture this. If you know
> > of a product name or URL, please let me know. Inline skates have larger
> > and larger wheels - but they are expensive. However scooters use cheap
> > 125 mm wheels. This might be a good angle. And they're on the soft
> > side too I think which would be good.
> >
> > And yes - wheels have few drawbacks. They don't weigh much so its a no
> > brainer. As long as you can remove them for airline travel. Otherwise
> > they might get in the way.
>
> The wheels are in a small pocket at the outside edge of the bag. If the
> wheels are 2" or so from the edge, the bag wants to turn and not go straight
> when pulling over uneven surface. The wheels from Roller blades are the
> correct size, and roll easily. The bags come with them. Lots of brands
> have them this way. I have a couple of reasonable priced bags from Costco
> store that are this way. From a 22" carry on to a 32" wardrobe.

I would think the bigger the wheel the better. Rollerblade wheels
currently are anywhere from about 50 mm to 110 mm. Most are 72mm to 80
mm. I presume that's what you mean. Scooter wheels that I was thinking
of are 125 mm I think. And scooter wheels should be very cheap as they
are not as high quality as the inline skate (rollerblade) wheels, nor
should high quality be necessary.

I bought a Jansport duffle with roller-blade-type wheels that fits the
description of what others have written about. It has a hard bottom
and I use it for my dive gear as it looks pretty anonymous (logo'd dive
bags beg to be pilfered). It has plowed up and down curbs and
cobblestones, through mud and sand and puddles, all with a minimum of
hassle. The wheels have always stayed put; after the first couple of
airline flights, though, the rivets that hold the hard bottom and rails
on had popped off, but a luggage store fixed them better than new. I
bought it several years ago at Sierra Trading Post, which has deep
discounts on brand-name items.

Maggie

TT wrote:
> I realize that there's lots of terrain in the 3rd world that make wheels
> useless. But I'm wondering if there are certain designs that work a lot
> better than others? Bigger or softer wheels for use on rougher but
> manageable surfaces? If you've got a long way to walk, and your bag is
> heavy, wheels are great if they can be utilized. Ideally they should be
> removable for airline travel.