The Pacsafe Duffelsafe AT120 is a durable 120 liter duffel bag with wheels, built with the more adventurous traveler in mind. Having done a fair bit of traveling both in the US and overseas, I’ve found that a wheeled duffel bag like this is often the best way to go for those of us that spend more time outdoors than in a hotel’s spa. Of course, Pacsafe steps it up a notch or two with their eXomesh® and ToughZip™, which are meant to be security features, but also add to the already robust nature of this bag.
Pacsafe is all about smart travel gear. That’s their motto. They make durable bags of all shapes, sizes, and uses, with plenty of security features. The 6 pound, 13 ounce Duffelsafe AT120 is not your typical rectangle or round duffel. When looked at from either end, it appears to be almost like a triangle in shape, with the sides coming up to meet the zipper down the middle. Two short straps sewn together on one end make it easy to pull along, while on the opposite end there is a short strap between the wheels. Together, they make it easy to lift. Straps at each end of the zipper allow you to buckle and compress it, plus there are compression straps running across it. This allows you to really cinch it down for travel, and they have the added benefit of loops for lashing the whole thing to the roof of your vintage Land Rover, or tying it down in the back of a twin-engine Cessna. If you want to carry it, rather than roll it, there are dual straps with a padded handle that snaps them together.
Between the inner and outer shell of the Duffelsafe AT120, they’ve hidden their eXomesh, which is kind of like a flexible chain link fence. This is meant to prevent someone from slashing your bag and stealing the contents. A ToughZip zipper with nice big pulls runs the length of this duffel. With more teeth than a pack of piranhas, it is designed to resist forced entry, plus it can be locked. Combined, these two features make for an extra secure duffel. They also provide peace of mind that no matter what you pack inside, your zipper won’t blow out, and if your bag gets cut or caught on something, your gear won’t just spill out. That’s a huge deal for someone traveling with photo gear or other valuables.
As far as construction, all the stitching appears even and secure. After my last trip, I even tried to tear it, with no luck. The buckles are plastic, but they flex rather than just break, if you bend them hard. This is a nice feature, since I have at least one bag with a hard, broken buckle. I’ve got a lot more confidence in the Duffelsafe AT120 than I ever did in a gym bag. We put it to some rough use, loaded it up with more than 50 pounds of gear, and it just rolled on like no one’s business. We’re going to put it into heavy rotation with our contributors, and see how it holds up. If it fails in any way, we’ll report back with all the details. For now, I’m more than happy with it, and would recommend it to anyone needing a big, secure duffel. pacsafe.com
– Brian
I‘d like to thank Pacsafe for providing their Duffelsafe AT120 for this review. Like most people, we have a limit to the funds we can spend on our gear. So to be able to review them, then share that review with our readers, allows us to pay it forward in a way that we hope will benefit everyone.