Soft Shell Luggage
Soft-sided duffles, a flat-opening weekender and an expandable travel backpack for flexible packing.
Soft luggage gives where a hard case will not, which helps with bulky layers, shoes and odd-shaped gear. The Metro Carry-On Duffle and larger Metro Wheeled Duffle are built from 900D polyester with a PU coating, roll on two inline skate wheels and have tie-down straps inside.
Two options carry instead of roll. The Weekender Travel Bag is a 22L bag for two or three nights that unzips flat, with a padded 15 inch laptop pocket. The Road Warrior Backpack splits tech, clothes and essentials into three lockable zones and expands from 28 to 36 litres.
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Metro Carry-On Duffle
Original price was: $150.00.$105.00Current price is: $105.00.50 x 35 x 24 cm2.8 kg36 L
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is soft or hard luggage better?
Neither is better outright. Hard shells protect rigid or fragile contents and hold their shape under pressure. Soft bags flex into tight spaces, weigh less for the same capacity and cope with awkward loads. If you check fragile items, choose hard. If you are squeezing into lockers, boots and gate sizers, choose soft.
Can a duffle be used as carry-on?
The Metro Carry-On Duffle is sized for the cabin at 50 x 35 x 24cm, though its 24cm depth is 1cm over the 23cm limit Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin publish. Soft-sided bags often compress into a gate sizer where a hard case of the same measurement will not, but that is the gate agent's judgement rather than a rule you can count on.
Which soft bags take a laptop?
The Road Warrior Backpack has a padded compartment for laptops up to 17 inches plus a tablet section. The Weekender Travel Bag has a padded pocket for laptops up to 15 inches. Both open flat, so the laptop comes out at security without unpacking the rest of the bag.
When a soft bag beats a hard case
Give and squeeze
Soft luggage flexes. That matters in three situations: a locker or boot that is slightly too small, an awkwardly shaped item that will not sit flat, and a gate sizer where a centimetre of give decides whether the bag boards with you. It is also usually lighter for the same capacity, because there is no moulded shell to carry.
The range
- Metro Carry-On Duffle, 36L at 2.8kg, 50 x 35 x 24cm: wheeled cabin duffle with tie-down straps inside and zip pullers that take a travel lock.
- Metro Wheeled Duffle, 90L at 3.7kg, 72 x 42 x 30cm: a check-in sized soft bag for loads a rigid case will not take.
- Road Warrior Backpack, 28L expanding to 36L at 1.48kg: opens flat like a suitcase, carries on your back, takes a 17-inch laptop.
- Weekender Travel Bag, 22L at 1.0kg: unzips all the way round and opens flat, with a padded 15-inch laptop pocket.
What you give up
A soft bag offers less protection to anything fragile, and it will not stand up on its own when empty. Zips rather than a moulded lip are the weak point in heavy rain. If you are checking camera gear, bottles or anything rigid, a hard-shell case is the safer choice.
Opening flat is the underrated feature
Both the Road Warrior and the Weekender unzip fully and lie open like a suitcase, so you can see everything at once instead of digging down through a top-loading duffle. Combined with packing cubes, it turns a soft bag into something you can actually live out of.