ProView – Thule RoundTrip 80L Review
The Thule RoundTrip 80L duffel is an organizationally inclined ski gear schlepper’s dream come true. Featuring pockets inside of pockets, a dry place to stand while changing, and enough room to fit a main and backup kit, it makes hauling everything to and from the mountain a breeze.
Thule RoundTrip 80L
Product Name: Thule RoundTrip 80L
Product Description: Pack for a weekend away and easily transport your ski or snowboard gear in this large duffel with thoughtful organization. This 80L ski or snowboard duffel has space for all your winter gear and more The duffel has a dedicated compartment for all the ski or snowboard essentials – helmet, goggles, gloves, and ski pass.
Offer price: MSRP: $169.95
Currency: USD
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Carrying
(4)
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Packing
(4)
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Features
(5)
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Durability
(5)
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Backcountry and Resort Versatility
(2)
Summary
The Thule RoundTrip 80L will get you to and from the mountain with ease and organization, keeping you prepared for several days out in various conditions. The Thule now lives in my truck for unexpected riding days. If you leave your house expecting sun, but show up to storm conditions, this bag can carry enough to throw on some extra warm layers, change into bibs, and swap out lenses. As long as you’re not hoping to store backcountry gear in this bag, the Thule RoundTrip 80L is a great investment for anyone looking to be a little more mobile and organized on the way to the slopes.
Overall
4Pros
- Thoughtful details
- Durable
- Great for organizing
Cons
- Lack of backpack carry
- No backcountry compatibility
One situation in which the bag really shone was on a photoshoot that was a half day indoor, half day skiing shoot, with a quick transition next to a gear van in between. While others unloaded duffels and totes searching for gear, I was able to swap from streetwear to snow wear quickly, knowing where everything was. While they searched for nonexistent clean pavement, I stood on the clean dry changing pad. Despite a cloudy forecast, it ended up sunny, so I swapped in my darker lenses. While others finished changing, I was ready to go and even had my streetwear organized for a quick transition after the shoot.
Carrying
Pros
At the end of the day if a bag doesn’t carry well, what’s the point of using it? While the Thule RoundTrip 80L duffel has a few areas for small improvements, it carries exceptionally well for its size. When I loaded up the bag for its first trip to the mountain, it was as if Thule’s designers had read my mind. I diagonally clipped the adjustable shoulder strap (my preferred carry method to avoid a swinging bag) and then when I went to transition the bag from my shoulder to my truck, the top handles on the side of the main compartment were exactly where I wanted them. These handles are the highlight of carrying this bag. They make removing the bag from your shoulders or lifting it from the ground into the car so easy! I don’t know why more manufacturers don’t put handles in this location. Between the top middle handle, top side handles, and low side handles, wherever I reached there was an easy-to-grab handle waiting for me.
Cons
Despite my adoration for the bag’s handles, there were a few things that just didn’t work for me. If the main compartment isn’t fully closed, the bag will tumble open when you pick it up, leaving you scrambling to keep its contents from pouring out. While the bag can strap onto a rolling ski bag for plane travel, carrying this monstrous 80L bag through bus terminals or airports without any sort of backpack straps would be a nightmare. It really isn’t a great bag for non-car or basecamp based travel.
Packing
Pros
Equally as important to carry-ability is packability. The Thule RoundTrip 80L is far from your standard, single compartment duffel. Every single pocket has at least one other pocket in it. The main pocket holds my boots and a goggle storage case with extra lenses. The left side pocket carried two rolled up jackets, one pair of rolled snow pants, another pair of bibs, and two mid-layers. Then, the stretchy mesh held a long underwear top and bottoms as well as two pairs of socks. Moving to the right side pocket, there is one large compartment with four accessory pockets. In the main compartment I was able to fit two pairs of gloves, two pairs of mittens, the goggles I was using that day, and my helmet. In this larger pocket, at the seams where the zipper opens, there are two unique vertical side-mesh storage pockets. In these, I stored two balaclavas on one side and two portable boot/glove dryers on the other. The last accessory pocket, which is on the inside of the flap, carried my small med kit. Moving away from the side to the two stacked front pockets, the larger one held accessories such as snacks, a snowboard tool, hand warmers, sunscreen, skin wax, and chapstick. The smallest front pocket was left available to store things I wanted to leave behind, like my wallet or keys.
Cons
Even with all these pros, I still had a few critiques. While the bag felt wildly spacious in some ways, the main compartment was mostly taken up by one pair boots without enough space for a second. Further, despite having lots of organization, I still found myself cramming lots of things on top of each other, which led to lots of digging and unpacking/repacking to access deeper garments. While I loved the idea of the separate waterproof pouch, it just didn’t fit well in the way I wanted to pack the bag. I just ended up shoving it on top of my boots, which again led to more packing and unpacking.
Durability
While a month isn’t enough time to really test durability, I’ve thrown the Thule RoundTrip 80L duffel in and out of a cramped truck bed full of ski edges, poles, and light stands, and it’s showing few marks of wear. As far as waterproofness, I left it on my tailgate for 30 minutes during a sleety storm and it repelled the wet precipitation with no problems. My only real concerns are with the zippers. When I packed the bag full, the zippers didn’t always close easily so I could see them eventually failing, especially because the main top handle puts all the weight of the bag on the zipper. However, I’m not sure if burlier zippers would fix this or just add significant bulk while increasing the closing resistance.
Features
With a focus on organization of winter equipment, Thule’s designers knocked the little details out of the park with the Roundtrip 80L bag. To run you through a few of my favorite features, we’ll start with the outside. The rounded side pockets contour to a helmet so there’s no wasted space in unfilled corners. Then, the main flap, which is slightly padded, also folds backwards to the ground for a dry and comfortable changing platform. This wasn’t obvious to me until I saw a photo of someone doing it on the website, but once I learned about it, this became one of my favorite features. Moving to the inside, the side pockets have a contrasting liner so you can actually see what you packed. In the black colorway it’s a pleasing mustardy gold– bright enough, but not blindingly so. The pockets inside all the pockets are usefully placed with none feeling confusing or oddly sized. And lastly, I appreciated the padded goggle storage. Unlike many bags, not only is the goggle pocket soft lined, but it’s also padded to keep your lenses scratch free. All of these features are what separate a bag from being “good enough” to being enjoyable to use.
Backcountry and Resort Versatility
I was hoping to use this bag for both backcountry and resort based riding, being able to swap out whichever set of equipment I was or wasn’t using. However, I found it to be awkward, if not impossible, to fit and organize my beacon, shovel, probe, skins, and collapsible poles. Other than being able to hold various layers and outerwear, it was a lot better to use on the way to the resort. I would have liked to have seen the middle compartment have storage large enough for these long narrow items. Because it was not specifically designed for this though, I wouldn’t dock its overall functionality.
The Final Word
The Thule RoundTrip 80L will get you to and from the mountain with ease and organization, keeping you prepared for several days out in various conditions. Last season I used a plastic bin for the same purpose and it was both unwieldy to carry, and an organizational nightmare. The Thule now lives in my truck for unexpected riding days. If you leave your house expecting sun, but show up to storm conditions, this bag can carry enough to throw on some extra warm layers, change into bibs, and swap out lenses. While I have some minor complaints about the piling-based organization, main zipper stopping halfway, and having to generally pack and unpack to reach things, maybe the nature of bags is packing and unpacking and at least this bag makes that fairly organized and easy. As long as you’re not hoping to store backcountry gear in this bag, the Thule RoundTrip 80L is a great investment for anyone looking to be a little more mobile and organized on the way to the slopes.
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About the Gear Tester
Will Sardinsky
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Will Sardinsky#molongui-disabled-link
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Will Sardinsky#molongui-disabled-link
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Will Sardinsky#molongui-disabled-link
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Will Sardinsky#molongui-disabled-link
