this is a sweet durable bag that will carry a ton of gear. Bomber construction, zippers, straps and handles. One improvement that could be made is more compartments to organizes stuff. It becomes a bit of a pit... one giant compartment eats up items that get settled towards the bottom... if your traveling around to a lot of spots without unpacking completely its difficult to "live" out of this bag.

This bag has been many many places with me by plane (yes, train) and automobile, has been beaten to hell and back, and thus far has never had a problem. It will hold just about as much as you would ever like to take with you, and with the super bomber zippers it all makes it there and back. With the size the rollers are priceless as well, especially if you use it like I do, for ski travel, and always have more with you than you can carry at one time.

I bought the smaller 'rolling thunder' bag here from this site over a year ago. Its been on 8 flights, and i used it EVERY weekend for about 5 months when i would drive to the mountains to go skiing. Still... it's in great shape and has passed the test of time. The rollerblade wheels work surprisingly well in snow, grass, turf, ice, after-party scum, and dirt. Even after all the abuse, they still roll silent on concrete. Although i could use a larger bag, and would purchase the 8400 cu in version in a heartbeat... it is 2" too large for most airlines (its linear length is 64" and airlines usually limit to 62"). BUMMER!!! Hey northface R&D- shave 2 inches off so we don't have to pay the 'oversize' baggage fees at the airport! Chances are, with this bag, we'll already be paying for 'overweight' fees.

My last review was posted on July 16, 2008. Not surprisingly, after no less than 20,000 miles of travels, and living out of this piece of luggage for the past 7 months, the rivets that hold the collapsable handle (on the smaller of the 2 models) are busting loose. At least 50 'baggage smashers' at the airport through that many flights finally have got the best of it. Fortunately, backcountry has a lifetime warantee, no questions asked warantee, so i'll be getting a replacement right away. This bag SHOULD last a lifetime, but from the deserts of California to the North Slope of Alaska, i have thoroughly tested its worth. Other than the rivets, the bag is still remarkably bulletproof and nearly water/snow/sand/mud-tight.

I'm going to start this off by saying I really try to stay away from purchasing TNF junk..cause in the end that is usually what is. Made for kids in Boulder that have their parents money to spend but don't know about quality outdoor gear...just a name that fits in their trustifarian wardrobe.. But I used to like TNF gear so about 2 and a half years ago I bought this bomber case. I flew to New Zealand and back with it..flew to London and back.. Now I have flown to Colombia two different times with this bag..BASICALLY IT HAS BEEN AROUND THE WORLD.. I know it has been thrown around, loaded with 70 kg of gear multiple times and cost me a few extra dollars here and there...Has the scratches but NO TEARS to prove it... But I have never had any problems with the dimensions and them being two inches two long?? only that is weighs 14 pounds before you load a single item in it...

I have this bag, and love it. For those that mentioned it is 2" too big to meet the 62 inch airline rules, if you pull out the folding back support struts, the support lays flat in the bottom so the bag sinches down just fine to meet the required 62". When not worried about the airlines, put them back takes only a couple of seconds. Super bag, tough, and versitile.

I just got this (MED SIZE). The build is pretty cool, nice sturdy material and it looks strong -- looks great on the outside. However the zipper is really hard to use. The zipper for the main compartment is really thick, and doesn't seem to zip smoothly. The main compartment door is shaped like a rectangle with rounded corners. When trying to zip around the corner it takes several tugs to get the zipper moving. Even on the straight edge sides it is difficult to zip. What's the point of having a bag if I can't quickly zip it? Maybe this will improve with use?

I've been pretty disappointed with TNF bags (I also bought the small duffle). I'm still debating whether to keep this or not.

I got the ginormous 8400cu in size in this bag to fit all my motocross gear in one place - and it rocks. Everything fits in super easy, the bag itself is very durable and the wheels are designed well so that it looks and acts more like a duffel than a roller but you just tip it up and roll away without having to lug a big heavy bag over your shoulder.

HOWEVER, I just noticed that I got the 2008 model, not realizing that the 2009 model is in stock: http://www.backcountry.com/store/TNF3883/The-North-Face-Rolling-Thunder-Duffel-8400cu-in.html

The only two gripes I have with this bag look like they are fixed on the 2009. The first is that the zippers are really hard to move and have no zipper pulls to help out, and the second is that the wrap-around straps that form the handle are weirdly attached to the very bottom of the bag, so they are awkward to grab. Both of those problems look like they are fixed on the 2009 version.

Bottom line: it's a sick bag when you need something huge that's durable and super easy to haul around.

Awesome bag, recently took it to Spain with me and I was able to even bring the kitchen sink. I have the 8400 cu in bag and it has room for all the gear that you would need to bring.