Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 22 – The Perfect Carry-on Bag

I was recently chatting with a consultant I work with who travels across the country nearly every weekend. When I informed him that I was in the market for a carry-on suitcase, he didn’t hesitate to recommend a manufacturer named Eagle Creek, as he’s been using their luggage for nearly a decade. During that time, he’s had two bags replaced completely free of charge (they were damaged by airline employees) by the manufacturer – no questions asked, thanks to Eagle Creek’s lifetime warranty. Needless to say, I was intrigued and began my investigation.

After shopping around at a number of popular e-tailers and seeing the ORV Trunk 22 listed at over $275, I became hesitant as I feel that’s simply too expensive for a 22” suitcase. Enter Amazon.com who was listing the suitcase for nearly $100 less! After reading all of the positive reviews, I ordered the bag on a Sunday evening and received it the following Wednesday afternoon.

As for the bag itself, I am extremely impressed. Aesthetics are important to me, and the ORV Trunk 22, in dark green, couldn’t be a better looking piece of luggage. It almost has a utilitarian, military style to it that just reinforces the fact that this bag was meant to withstand any and all abuse you plan to put it through. As “manly” as that might sound, surprisingly, my girlfriend actually commented on its good looks a number of times as well, so ladies, don’t automatically assume that this bag isn’t your cup of tea.

From a functionality standpoint, again, I’m a happy camper. The ORV Trunk 22 is primarily constructed of heavy-duty, ballistic nylon which means it’s practically impossible to make it rip, fray, scratch, etc. It’s an incredibly resilient material that will undoubtedly stand up to many years of travel. The bag’s zippers are labeled as “self-repairing coil zippers” and I’m here to tell you that these things are heavy duty. They have to be used to truly be appreciated.

Once the four exterior straps are unbuckled, the entire front of the bag unzips for easy packing. It also features a small compartment on the bottom of the bag that’s sealed off from the main compartment which is perfect for storing damp or dirty items that you don’t want touching the items in the main compartment. It even has small drainage holes for those really wet items that didn’t have the time to completely dry – awesome attention to detail!

If I had to point out a few shortfalls of the ORV Trunk 22, they would be the following:

First, it’s an expensive suitcase. You’ll have no problem finding cheaper bags out there, however I’m of the mindset that I’d much prefer to purchase one expensive bag that will last me a lifetime than constantly purchase cheap suitcase after cheap suitcase over the years thereby drastically increasing my total cost of ownership.

Secondly, I would have liked to see more ancillary storage space. In addition to the main compartment, there are two smaller compartments, but Eagle Creek could have easily added a few more small zippered compartments to contain and better organize things like keys, my wallet, passport, cell phone, and whatever else I didn’t want to empty out of my pockets when going through airport security.

Lastly, and this is a very minor gripe, the telescoping handle has a habit of pinching my hand when I retract it. For some reason, a small part of skin on my hand gets caught in between the plastic handle and one of the metal rods as the handle goes down, but that’s easily remedied by just being a little more careful with it.

While I admittedly haven’t had the opportunity to travel with it at this point, I do plan to put it to good use on a 4-night trip to Negril, Jamaica next week. Given the ORV Trunk 22’s outstanding construction, good looks, and Eagle Creek’s lifetime warranty, I don’t have the first hesitation about its ability to hold everything I need for a quick jaunt while stylishly protecting my gear for years to come. In summary, I couldn’t give the ORV Trunk 22 a higher recommendation for anyone looking for a piece of top-of-the line, carry-on luggage.

Purchase the Eagle Creek ORV Trunk 22 from Amazon.com