The Dakine Valise

This past summer Dakine released a new women's carry-on style wheeled travel bag called the Valise. It's got a classic yet stylish design, and when paired with Dakine's innovative new handle and their unparalleled quality, you get one heck of a travel bag.

While the outside dimensions of the bag aren't too big (21"x11.5"x16"), the bag boasts of incredible space inside, coming in at a whopping 2600 cu. in. of packable volume. It has a retractable handle to make travelling through airports and parking lots easier, and vinyl handles for easy loading, or the option of carrying like a shoulder bag. Another cool feature? Both ends snap to the outsides of the bag to help keep the size within carry-on restrictions for most airlines.

So you can get all this from reading the catalog and putting an easy-to-swallow twist on it like I did...but you want more. More information, more insight, more of my commentary on the superior brand that is Dakine. Okay, you win.

I decided to try this bag out for myself. While planning a family vacation to Florida, I had to keep in mind that my 4-year-old would want to have her own bags, and her Daddy would NOT want to lug them all around town for her. Ergo, we needed a solution that would be user-friendly to a 4-year-old, and packing-friendly to a mom. We opted to try her on the Dakine Valise, and took it on a test run for a weekend getaway this summer. The results? Awesome! There is so much room in this bag for her smaller clothes, and with it being carry-on style she will still have room for other airplane necessities. She did have trouble getting it in and out of elevators, but the mechanics of pushing and pulling luggage are still fairly foreign to a 4-year-old. She loved having a bag that was all her own, and was very proud that she could carry it, or should I say wheel it, all on her own. Don't get me wrong; this bag is NOT strictly a kids bag, nor is it marketed as such. It is a full size legal carry-on with all the amenities a grown-up could ask for, and is listed with all the other women's travel bags. I just thought it would be perfect for a little body, and it was, further demonstrating Dakine's superior quality and verstility (as if that needed further demonstration). To sum it up, Dakine hit the jackpot with this versatile, user-friendly addition to their women's travel collection. My daughter loved hers so much, and I loved the incredible space inside, that I got one for myself. I guess I didn't REALLY need a new carry-on, but I don't have to justify that here, do I? Come on into Doug's today and check it out, or visit our website at www.dougsports.com