Disclaimer: this is NOT a paid advertisement. This is a review of something I paid good money for, tested, and then decided to post a review. I’m not against paid advertisements (hint, hint…), but for now, this is my completely unbiased opinion!
I’m a sucker for an Instagram ad, and when the Halfday Duffel (https://halfdaytravel.com) ad popped up, I was instantly intrigued.
This duffel promised so much! Garment bag! Weekender! A place for shoes! I love a good multitasking anything, and with multiple trips coming up that required fancy dresses and suits, I took the plunge and bought one for my husband and one for myself.
First, you unzip the duffle until it is lying flat, then put whatever you want to lay flat in the garment bag portion. I managed to get three (!!) dresses in, the hanger hook holding everything in place, and the bottom clips ensuring the dresses wouldn’t bunch up.
Then I stuffed in my shoes into the shoe pockets. As a size 9, I managed to get two pairs of heels in, while my husband (size 13) could only fit one pair.
Then it was time to zip up to create the duffel.
I found it was easiest to zip halfway up, then start filling with clothes, then zip again and stuff the remaining toiletries in right before you zip it completely up, so as not to waste any space.
I managed to get 4 days worth of outfits plus my formal wear into this duffel. Three pairs of pants, a pair of jeans, several sweaters and a few shirts. Plus all of my toiletries!
Overall, I love this bag. It’s easy to carry, and holds so much stuff! It also fit beautifully into the overhead compartment, even on the smaller Embraer jet I flew recently.
A few of my less than favorite moments:
– You have to half fill, then zip, then fill again, otherwise your belongings spill out and it becomes cumbersome to zip up.
– You have to completely unpack at your destination to get your garment bag items out. This isn’t a huge problem, but as someone who lives out of her bag, it’s a little more of a pain once I hit the ground.
Even with these minor frustrations, I say it’s definitely worth the purchase. I’ll be using mine regularly.
Art. Yoga. Adventure. Life on the Road. 