Travel Tips
Travel Tuesday: Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle Bag Review
As someone who not only travels with some frequency but also enjoys reviewing products, I’m always on the lookout for interesting travel accessories and the like. That’s why I was excited when I found the clever Halfday garment duffle a few months ago. Well, after seeing that review, the people at Moderne Gentleman reached out to show me their travel duffle — which includes some similar features but also has some unique aspects.
So, what does the Moderne Gentleman travel duffle offer? Let’s take a closer look at the bag, inside and out.
Note: this bag was given to me by Moderne Gentleman for review. However, no other compensation was provided and the opinions offered are entirely my own.
Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle
Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle: A Clever and Compact Carry-On Solution
4
Pricing
$160 retail, currently $120
Available Colors
Black or Grey
Save 10%
Enter Coupon Code: Fioney
The Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle combines a garment bag (able to fit a suit or other formal wear) with a duffle — all in a carry-on-sized form factor. What’s more, the bag features several pockets and storage spaces, including a dedicated shoe compartment. As far as downsides, the design of the bag leaves a small gap on either side of the bag between the sides and the main section. Additionally, even on sale, this bag comes in at $20 more than the comparable Halfday Garment Duffle. Still, the Travel Duffle has a lot to offer and could be a great option for travelers.
Pros
- Can hold a full-sized suit as well as days of clothes and other items
- Features a dedicated shoe compartment
- Additional pockets and storage included on interior and exterior
- Trolley sleeve included
Cons
- Price is significantly more than Halfday bag
- Sides of the bag do not fully close (a small gap exists even with zippers locked)
- Only 2 colors currently available
A Look at the Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle
Price
Before we get into the pros and cons of the Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle, let’s talk about pricing. While the MG site has the list price for the bag at $160, at the time of this writing, it’s $120. You can also get a 10% discount with the coupon code Fioney. That will bring the price down to $108.
By the way, the MG site currently has two color option available: Black and Grey. Personally, I opted for the Grey, but Black is apparently their best seller.
How it works
The Travel Duffle is part garment bag and part duffle bag. As a result, you fit a full suit in the garment bag (which doubles as the bottom side of the bag) while also carrying your additional clothes and other travel essentials. There’s also a shoe compartment, perfect for keeping your dress shoes or extra sneakers).
To construct the bag from its flat position, you’ll first zip up the two sides. On each side, you’ll find one regular zipper and one with a hook clip. Presumably, this is so you can clip the two zippers together to “lock” them in as neither side truly closes all of the way. Meanwhile, the main section has its own, traditional zipper that goes straight across the top of the bag.
The way the bag is designed, there is still a small gap that occurs between the sides of the bag and the top, even with all are fully zippered. Granted, these holes are large enough for you or anyone else to reach into, but they do exist. Although this is one of my least favorite parts of this bag, having seen alternatives in how you’d get around this issue, I can see why they settled for this solution.
In any case, if you are packing a suit or other formalwear, you’ll want to pack that before constructing the bag. To do this, you’ll unzip the center of the bag’s interior and put your garment’s hanger hook through the loop at the top. Then, you can zip that portion back up and begin the other steps to reform the bag. I should also note that, on top of where the hangar hook pokes through, there’s a zippered flap that’s perfect for holding a necktie or other accessory.
Features, build, and pocket
While that covers the basics of the Travel Duffle bag, there’s more to explore. Starting on the outside, the bag does have a trolley sleeve, which makes it easy to place on top of a roller bag. This sleeve also has a zippered pocket — although I’m not 100% sure what you’d want to pack in there. Perhaps a boarding pass? Or something else flat?
If you said “passport” to that last question, well, I actually have a better suggestion for that item. That’s because the bag has another pocket on the front that I think would work nicely for this purpose (although I’d advise you to keep a close eye on your bag in that case — and, whatever you do, don’t gate-check it without grabbing your passport first!). Other than that, I’m again not really sure what you’d place in this pocket, but it does at least look nice.
On the opposite side of the bag’s shoe compartment, you’ll find another zippered exterior pocket. This section has divided storage options (including a spot for pens) and some nice padding. To me, this seems like a great spot for small electronics, including your headphones. In fact, the pocket is kind of shaped like a headphone case, so maybe that’s a sign.
Moving to the inside, beyond the aforementioned tie holder, the back interior of the bag features a variety of storage pockets. This includes both zippered and unzippered pouches in different sizes. To me, if you’re not bringing a dedicated toiletries bag, this could be a suitable substitute as there’s a place to put your 3-1-1 liquids and other items. Alternatively, this could be a good place to simply store smaller items you don’t want getting lost amid your clothes.
Rounding out the interior pockets, on the non-shoe side of the bag is an elastic pouch. I know I said the other section might be a good spot for your 3-1-1 bag… but this is probably even better. Really, it will likely come down to how and what you pack as that will dictate which pocket is more accessible for you.
Another thing I like is that the shoulder strap clips are made of metal. This gives them a great premium feel. Meanwhile, the shoulder strap itself has some good padding on it, which will surely come in handy.
My experience with the bag
To test the bag, I decided to pack it as if I were going on a one-week trip. This includes:
- 7 T-shirts (including one long-sleeved)
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 7 pairs of underwear
- 7 pairs of socks
- 1 hoodie
- 1 full suit
- 1 button-up shirt
- 1 tie
- 1 extra pair of shoes
- 1 Away toiletry bag
Honestly, I was surprised by how well all of this fit — even without packing cubes. I mean that not only in the fact that I was able to pack it all in but also in how nicely the stacks of clothes stood in the bag. I realize that’s a ridiculous sentence, but trust me when I say it was a satisfying experience.
Yet, after packing the main part of the bag it was time for the aspect I was most curious about: the shoe compartment. First the good news: my shoes did indeed manage to fit. However, of course, the bag doesn’t magically just gain space, so you’ll need to account for the shoes before adding them. Otherwise, you’ll be met with a bit of resistance when packing them and you’ll see whatever you have on that side of the bag shift over as you insert the shoes from the outside.
Overall, I thought the size of the bag was great. According to the MG site, it measures 22″ x 12″ x 9″, which is under the TSA’s max carry-on dimensions of 22″ x 14″ x 9″. While it’s still a bit big for a small guy like me, it’s definitely manageable. And, in all reality, it couldn’t be much smaller and still fit a suit.
The bag tag (with NFC)
Finally, I want to talk about the bag tag featured on the front of the MG bag. As the included card might tip you off to, this tag is actually NFC-equipped. When you tap your phone to the tag, you can open a URL… which will then ask you to tap your device again. Doing so unlocked a video and invited me to download the app Berify. The video also mentioned travel rewards or something?
To be honest, while I watched the video and ended up downloading the app, I have yet to go beyond that. Therefore, I can’t really speak to what all of this is about — although the card that came with my bag mentioned rewards, discounts, giveaways, and more.
On the one hand, this is a pretty clever way to have people sign up for whatever service. But, on the other hand, it’s also a bit weird having an NFC tag on my bag. Maybe I’ll check out Berify more in the future but, for now, it’s just a quirk I wanted to mention.
Final Thoughts on the Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle
Overall, there’s a lot that I like about the Moderne Gentleman Travel Duffle. To me, it’s a well-thought-out concept that delivers on its functionality. And while you might assume that the bag would be a carbon copy of the Halfday Garment Duffle, there are actually more differences and, in some cases, upgrades than you might expect.
I also think that, in contrast to some competitors, the MG bag makes a case for being a true carry-on. That’s not only because of its smaller size but also thanks to the additional pockets and storage that make it easier to use for most of your necessities (while relying less on your “personal item” to hold the rest). Additionally, the design allows for access to your items while traveling, which is useful for TSA checkpoints, grabbing items in-flight, and more. But, on the topic of design, I do still take minor issue with the gap that exists on the sides of the bag, as small as they may be.
The only other factor giving me pause is the price. Coming in at $120 retail (on sale), it’s not exactly a drop in the bucket. However, when you compare it to other carry-ons or even some regular garment bags, it’s surprisingly competitive.
Ultimately, while I can’t speak to how well the bag will hold up over time, I’m excited to take the Modern Gentleman Travel Duffle on future trips — especially those that require formal attire.
Per FTC guidelines, this website may be compensated by companies mentioned through advertising, affiliate programs or otherwise. (Note: advertising relationships do not have any influence on editorial content. Advertising compensation allows Money@30 to provide quality content for free. All editorial opinions are those of Kyle Burbank.)
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