Eagle Creek Gear Warrior 32 Review

May 20, 2016
Eagle Creek Gear Warrior 32
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IMG_4073
IMG_4074
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Eagle Creek Gear Warrior 32 IMG_4072 IMG_4073 IMG_4074 IMG_4075 IMG_4076
GEAR INSTITUTE RATINGS
89
Durability
8
Weight
9
Maneuverability
7
Features
7
Organization
8

The Good

  • Lightweight
  • Durable
  • Feature rich

The Bad

  • Overstuffing shifts fabric
THE VERDICT

The Eagle Creek Gear Warrior 32 excels in every way a roller bag should and was the best bag we tested. It’s stable while rolling, made of durable materials and is very light. The only gripe was minor: the trolley handle flap zipper is hard to zip when the bag is overstuffed.

FULL REVIEW

Durability
The Gear Warrior exterior is made with 450D Geo Ripstop fabric that looks great and did a fantastic job of warding off superficial markings as well as more aggressive abrasions. All of the hard corners are covered with durable Hypalon as is the durable kickplate. The soft corners and other high abrasion points are covered with the 210D Exo Skeleton strips. The handles are reinforced with thick bar tacks and two wings integrated into the exterior compression straps cover the big #10 zippers to protect them from impact.

Weight
According to our scale, Eagle Creek was very conservative with their weight listing. While they claim a mere 7.6 pounds, we only measured it at 7.2. This puts the Gear Warrior 32 as the lightest and best weight to volume bag in the test (776 sq in per pound).

Maneuverability
Even with a slightly narrower wheelbase than average in this test, at 16.25”, The Gear Warrior is well balanced and stable on the go. It is the longest (tallest) of the bags in the test and the combination of its dimensions are a big part of what makes it so stable even with the narrower wheel base. The other advantage of the narrow wheel base is it’s much more maneuverable to roll in tighter spaces. Large tapered and treaded wheels are exposed enough to keep gunk from jamming in the wheelwell and power through and over even the cruddiest surface conditions. On top of that, this bag is covered in handles. It has one handle on each of three of the sides plus a reinforced handle on the front of the bag. The only knock to this bag was when it was overstuffed, it was a little tricky zipping the trolley handle flap shut.

Features
Eagle Creek really knows how to pack great features into their bags. The durability features have already been mentioned above. Added to those are the numerous tie-down loops scattered over the bag, lockable zippers, reflective highlights, zippered stow flap for the trolley handle, an ID pouch and more. The most unique feature is the elastic equipment keeper cord. This cord is stashed inside a small pouch where the trolley handle is stored. Deploy it to secure a bulky item like a helmet, small bag or even a jacket to the top of the Gear Warrior as you roll it around with you. Conveniently the hook on the cord also works as a bottle opener.

Organization/Packability
The Gear Warrior provides a high level of organization without being overwhelming with a bunch of hidden pockets where smaller items can easily be forgotten. The one easy access small pocket at the top of the bag is great for last minute items (like stashing a pocket knife before you check your bag). The main compartment is large and has internal compression straps. The secondary compartment runs the full length of the bag, has its own volume without being compromised by what’s in the main compartment and includes a large flat mesh zippered compartment.

 


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