Travelers Club Adventure Travel Duffel Bag - Waterproof Large Capacity Gym Bag for Camping, Hiking & Air Travel - Durable Carry-On Duffel with Shoulder Strap

Before I bought this bag on Amazon I bought one from a Walmart store the same type of bag and size by Protege. This what happened when I bought it, the bottom padding was wrong size and was smaller than the bottom of the bag. I could tell the original 28" pad was removed by another shopper and was switched out. I took it back to another local store and was going to exchange it with the only one left on the shelf and that one bag didn't have any bottom pad at all. So I took a refund instead. I decided right in the store to by this bag on Amazon because you can't at the Amazon competitor site buy it online either because it's only sold in the stores. Amazon shopping experience is better sometimes because you know that a new duffel bag isn't going to be tampered with by other shoppers to have any chance of missing parts from other shoppers. The draw back is the waiting on delivery period. Also unlike the Protege duffel bag that only can be bought in stores is Black. The Duffel bags by Traveler's Club is better because you do have color options. I bought Blue the Black is same color as Protege. I bought a 17" Duffel Bag on Amazon with a brighter blue color they both have a nice color contrast when paired together but are still different. Now on to my main review this bag has a water bottle mesh pocket. It has air holes on each side on both side pockets for breathability and a headphone slot to keep your headphones on and having a electronic device in the front pocket. As for extending durability and sturdiness what you don't want to do is over weight bag all the time and use the shoulder strap every time that you do have the bag filled with a heavy load. The lighter the loads on the shoulder for this duffel bag will prevent the inside straps from ripping from the side pockets like my previous Protege bag did. The more you can carry the heavy bag by the handles rather than the comfortable shoulder strap the less wear and tear and you can keep the duffel bag in a like new condition. My previous Protege bag from Walmart lasted many years by using the shoulder strap but it still ripped apart from both sides on the inside pocket seams so the side pockets were no longer divided from the center pocket at the top.Duffel bags aren't made to carry heavy constant loads on the shoulder strap. My duffel bag usage is to regualarly carry a heavy amount of clothes by the shoulder strap and walking less than a mile to and from the laundry mat. So that is why this June I finally just decided to just spend the money to replace it. Also if you want Traveler's Club to ship faster it's worth paying the extra $12.00 for UPS ground delivery and you will get you bag in a weeks time. From the time my order was placed and delivered was only 1 week. I didn't want to wait 2 weeks for it.Thanks for reading my review and sorry to have write the story about my Walmart experience and the reason why I was forced to buy Traveler's Club 28"bag. I did test this bag heavy for one laundry load and it didn't rip apart on the first day. I do plan to do my laundry loads every 2 weeks to keep my laundry loads lighter to and keep higher stress loads off the shoulder strap there by extending the durability on this duffel bag. My choice on a 28" duffel bag is that they are lighter. Bigger duffel bags with wheels and a handel are just added weight when carrying a bag on a shoulder than having to pull it. I just prefer that the 28" duffel bag is the perfect size for my laundry needs and still really light and mobile enough carry the bag by the shoulder strap.I'll answer any questions that come up.On the road 2 days going & 2 days returning for Thanksgiving. We ordered a Thule hard top-cargo carrier for top of our SUV. My husband ordered Thule duffle bags which were Very expensive & thinly made. We returned them immediately! But I found the Travelers bags to be sturdy and very roomy. It was exactly what we wanted @ half the price! We ordered 2 red, 2 yellow bags. I'll probably order 2 more in the future. My whole family wanted one.I like how bit it was and the many compartments, but the side pocket loner ripped on the first use. Not sturdy.I was prepping for a trip to Montana from Kansas and this bag fit the bill. I loaded it with my clothes all rolled nice and neat with small shoes in the outer ends and upon arrival to Montana I noticed the inner portion that attaches to the outer portion on each end had ripped. Both ends. I guess it just wasn't tough enough for the airline baggage handlers. but I don't know why. It wasn't so packed that I needed help to close it or anything like that. I was surprised to see it damaged. Now it is passed my window for returns so I might try to go the poor quality route. I liked the bag just not the result I was hoping for. My goal is a replacement of same bag. We shall see.The Duffle bag came with a 2-year extended warranty. However, after the first use, the bag broke. I have tried contacting the company several times through their website but have not gotten a response. I ended up throwing the bag away realizing that I would not be able to get a replacement. I was left going to Walmart to get a replacement duffle bag. I suggest you do the same.as describedI have the older version of this bag, which I have used for my gear. Body armor, duty belt, etc. Got a lot of mileage out of that bag. Years of wear & tear finally time to replace it.Researched for equivalent bag. Decided if something works stick with it. This is the new version of same bag. Quality appears to be just as good. Cost effective & practical.I purchased this bag as a replacement for my husbands weekender bag.Since he hasn’t had a chance to use it yet we can’t comment on durability.However, he really liked this bag and it’s functionality. He said it was the perfect size and looks sturdy.