GOLF GADGET REVIEW! – Club Glove Luggage Review

Simple: If You Travel . . . Then Read This.

Do you ever travel on a plane?  Yes?  Then you need to read this review.

If you know me, you know that I Hate (yes, with a capital “H”) air travel.  I hate arriving hours early, I hate going through security, I hate delays, I hate being crammed into seats that were designed for much smaller humans, I hate the smell of recycled air…I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point.  All that said, I’m actually starting to look forward to air travel (just a little), because it’s a reason to use my Club Glove luggage.  This luggage is so well designed, so well engineered, so well put together, that it’s a joy to use.  After my first trip with my Club Glove Carry On II and Rolling Duffle II, I actually came home and gave away all my other luggage because I know I’ll never use any of it again.   What makes it so great?  Let me tell you:

Construction

The first thing that you notice when you look over a piece of Club Glove luggage is the quality of the construction.  From the Cordura nylon material and the heavy duty YKK zippers to the grommets and the in-line skate wheels, everything about these bags says, “Even if the baggage handler uses me for a kickball, your stuff will be ok and so will I.”

Design

While the quality of construction is definitely the first thing I noticed about the Club Glove luggage, the quality of the design is what really made me fall in love with it.  In the interest of keeping this reasonably brief, I’ll highlight the two best features of the Carry On II:

1) Handles. Think about your average rolling suitcase.  It probably has one real handle, on the top near the pop-up handle.  And that’s fine for some things, but what about putting your suitcase into an overhead compartment?  Now the bag is lying flat and you’re trying to hold it by one end…not a good situation for the person sitting underneath that overhead compartment.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a handle on the other side?  Guess what Club Glove did: put a handle there, and another one on the long side, just for good measure.  Now the person sitting under the overhead compartment won’t need to wear a helmet.

2) Main Compartment Zipper. Again, think about zipping up your average suitcase: you’ve got two kids and the dog sitting on top of it trying to hold the lid down so you can zip it shut.  Club Glove has eliminated this problem by moving the zipper away from the edges.  This doesn’t reduce the capacity at all, but it takes all the strain off of the zipper (and you).  It’s one of those, “Why hasn’t anyone done this before?” kind of changes that separates great stuff from the rest.

Size

Both pieces of Club Glove luggage are nicely sized.  The Carry On II easily fits in the overhead compartment, and the Rolling Duffle II is large without being ridiculous.

If you want specifics, here you go:

:: Carry On II: 22.5” H x 12” W x 9” D, 43.5 linear inches, 9 lbs

:: Rolling Duffle II: 28.5” H x 13.5” W x 11.5” D, 53.5 linear inches, 9 lbs

Now, if that means something to you, awesome.  To me, it means nothing unless I bust out a tape measure, so let me make this more practical:

:: Carry On II: 30 t-shirts

:: Rolling Duffle II: 44 t-shirts

In the interest of being thorough, these are neatly folded, large t-shirts.  I was able to fit that many shirts into the main compartment of each bag without smashing them in the least.  I probably could have fit at least another half dozen into each if I had to.  In short, either bag can store a week’s worth of clothes without breaking a sweat.

Style

Club Glove offers both of these pieces in 17 different colors, from digital camouflage to “champagne pink.”  If you can’t find a color that you like, you’re too damn picky.

“Train Reaction” System

Finally, for the heavy packer, the guy traveling with his clubs, or the parent carrying luggage for a family of four, Club Glove has the “Train Reaction” System.  Click this link HERE to watch the video so I don’t need to spend 1,000 words trying to explain how slick this luggage stacking system is.

In short, Club Glove has created luggage that stacks and rolls together weightlessly and effortlessly.  Traveling with your clubs and a carry on?  Easy.  Hook them together with the J-Hook and they stay connected and upright, even when you let go.  Unless you’ve got some kind of Cirque du Soleil balancing skills, you can’t do this with regular luggage.

I had seen this feature many times on the Club Glove website, but never really thought much of it.  Now that I have used it, I’m not sure why I would travel without it.  With it, I can use one hand and very little effort to move all my stuff.  Without it, I need both hands and I arrive at the ticketing counter looking like I just stepped out of the shower.  Not a hard choice.

Value

Through the Club Glove website, you can purchase the Carry On II for $329 and the Rolling Duffle II for $289.  These are premium prices for premium products: products that are made in the USA and come with lifetime warranties.

Just as I said about the Club Glove Last Bag (review HERE), if you don’t travel that much, buying Club Glove luggage probably doesn’t make sense regardless of how awesome it is.  For those of you that travel frequently, however, the value is an absolute no-brainer.

Conclusion

I think it’s pretty clear by this point that I’m giving both the Carry On II and the Rolling Duffle II a hearty thumbs up.  While I’m still not sure that I like air travel better than a root canal, Club Glove luggage has actually got me looking forward to packing for my trips.  Now if they could do something about the kid behind me kicking my chair…