For Xmas I received the Brouk rolling duffel in green with contrasting material stripes with brown leather (?) tabs and edge protection. (Note: I can’t find a “material content” tab anywhere on the bag but the tabs are so smooth that they look like pleather, but I don’t know.) The duffel is the right size for what I needed and the trolley’s action (the metal handle extension / retraction) is very smooth and the inline skate wheels roll well over flat pavement. Things I like, good size, nice appearance, decent exterior material (cotton or canvas but it looks quite good), a zip pocket inside, sewn into the lightweight lining material, and a zip pocket outside (sewn into the exterior material). Those are the things I liked, here are my concerns. 1. The handles are affixed to the exterior material via brown tabs that are stitched onto the material. I don’t know how long they will last but there doesn’t appear to be any additional strength like rivets through the side. 2. The bag has to fold down gussets on the narrow ends. These gussets have snap closures and they do not feel very sturdy. If you are carrying the bag by the handles and the snaps open the bag may shift unexpectedly on you. 3. Supports and protection by brown material. I cannot tell if the trim material used is real cow / goat leather or pleather or pu leather or vegan leather. Anything other than real leather will get scuffed up, cut marks and the tabs & trim stitching will pull out fairly easily. 4. While it’s commendable that they have an inside and an outside zip pocket the inside one is made from the lightweight liner material. The outside pocket is better as it is attached to the exterior’s canvas or canvas like material.4. There is no shoulder strap. This seems a big thing to me as airports I’ve been in lately are congested at peak times and a trolley bag can get pushed, kicked, stepped on so I will resort to a shoulder strap to keep my hands free for boarding passes, tickets…
Overall I like the look of the bag either closed and carried by the handles or in the trolley position. The trolley is nice as you can add another small pack or laptop bag with a carry sleeve on to it. Time will tell if this is a 3-5 year bag or a 1-2 times a year seasonal weekend bag.
