Gift Idea: Duffel Bag with Travel Sleeve

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X-Bag 22-Inch Folding Duffel Bag


Why should women's totes be the only ones to have a travel sleeve? (They are apparently also called a “handle slide” — if you're unfamiliar, I mean the little slit in the back of the bag so you can slide it over the extended handle of a rolling bag — like a sleeve.) I still credit Lo & Sons with being the first bags I ever saw with a travel sleeve, but I don't know if they invented it — but it's the kind of thing where once you have a travel sleeve on one of your bags, you never, ever, ever want to travel with a rolling bag + second bag WITHOUT having a travel sleeve.

This duffel bag from Bric's is highly rated — I like that it's foldable and that it matches the suitcase. Bonus? It's water-resistant and has real leather trim.

The bag is on sale for $105 at Nordstrom; Amazon also has a version in beige for $68, as well as additional colors at $140. X-Bag 22-Inch Folding Duffel Bag

Hunting for lightweight carry-ons with a trolley sleeve for your rolling bag? As of 2024, Tumi, Lo & Sons, Cole Haan, Vera Bradley, and Baggalini are your best bets if you're looking for quality — but here are some other options (including super affordable Amazon ones) below. (Kat has this one and likes it!)

Sales of note for 2/7/25:

  • Nordstrom – Winter Sale, up to 60% off! 7850 new markdowns for women
  • Ann Taylor – Extra 25% off your $175+ purchase — and $30 of full-price pants and denim
  • Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything + extra 15% off
  • Boden – 15% off new season styles
  • Eloquii – 60% off 100s of styles
  • J.Crew – Extra 50% off all sale styles
  • J.Crew Factory – 40% off everything including new arrivals + extra 20% off $125+
  • Rothy's – Final Few: Up to 40% off last-chance styles
  • Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
  • Talbots – 40% off one item + free shipping on $150+

And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!

Some of our latest threadjacks include:

36 Comments

  1. I just finished The Nightingale (recommended here) and loooooved it. Anything similar you’ve read and loved lately?

    1. I read Burnt Shadows and Home Fire and they were both gorgeous. I also just finished Rage Becomes Her which was really thought provoking.

    2. The Invisible Bridge has a lot in common with The Nightingale, but I liked it even more. Other recent favorites that you might like – Marriage of Opposites, Transcription, Warlight.

    3. Try the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. For more of a romance about WWII, the Bronze Horseman.

    4. I really liked Skeletons at the Feast from Chris Bohjalian. Also All the Light We Cannot See from Anthony Doerr.

      Not sure if this is quite the same, but part of the book takes place during WWI – The Girl You Left Behind from JoJo Moyes.

      The Alice Network from Kate Quinn also comes to mind.

    5. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is good. In Farleigh Field and The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen.

  2. Crew bags for airline employees have had those sleeves for at least 20 years, maybe longer. I’ve never thought of them as gendered.

    1. Yeah – Lo&Sons didn’t invent those. I’ve got it on luggage from Lands End. And it Lands End is doing it, it’s not a novel concept :P

  3. Do these actually stay on? I had an older tumi bag w this and it was always slipping off to the front, dangling off the suitcase handle like my useless monkey.

    1. I still have my Tumi bag from college and it has held up fine. Of course, I have not done much international travel since then, as I have been focused on my carreer and on finding a husband locally. Grandma Leyeh wanted me to be introduced to a friend’s grandson, but he comes from France, and I do NOT like French Food, so that would be a non-starter. Beside’s, he would want me to move there and live there. FOOEY! I had enough trouble when I was dateing a guy from Belgum, and he wanted me to be a housewife. DOUBEL FOOEY! Why would I give up my bar membership to do that, there? TRIPEL FOOEY! So, here I am, in the US, making decent money, but have not found a husband, or even a boyfriend. I would buy all new luggage from Tumi if it would guaranty and ensure that I found a decent guy. YAY!!!!

    2. That’s funny – my tumi bags are the only ones where it actually works – but it’s not just a strap, it’s the entire back of the bag

  4. I don’t understand why more bags don’t have this feature. After missing an opportunity to buy these suitcases last year at Costco, they finally went on sale on Samsonite’s website and I just received the Samsonite Stackit Plus – the carry-on suitcase has a sleeve like this that fits on the larger suitcase. Highly recommend it and it’s still on sale on samsonite’s website!

  5. My Vera Bradley (classic black) weekender carry on has one, which they call a trolley sleeve, and it’s so much more convenient.

    1. I have the Grand Traveler bag and it also has one of these sleeves. Agreed it is very convenient.

  6. I get the cold sweats in the winter and it’s becoming a real problem. I’m on anti-anxiety medication which helps a bit, but I still end up sweaty, cold, and with swollen hands and feet by lunchtime. I’ve tried wearing all natural fibers, I’ve tried wearing a T-shirt, I’ve tried wearing socks with my shoes…nothing is a really good solution. I have hyperhidrosis, so sweating is nothing new but it’s out of control right now and I am SO TIRED of not being able to bend my fingers because they’re swollen and puffy from sweat.

    Any ideas?

    1. Those fingerless gloves that warm the hands but leave the tips of the fingers open. This way the hands are warm. Also I keep a mug of hot tea and warm the wrists around the mug.

    2. This sounds really uncomfortable and I’m sorry you’re dealing with it. I’ve had luck with silk sock liners for sweaty feet. Smartwool athletic socks might help, or any wool socks and base layers made for outdoor winter workouts.

  7. Lately I’ve had a hard time getting up in the mornings. The amount of fatigue I feel is unreal. Maybe it’s the winter blues, but it’s wreaking havoc on my morning workout routine. What gives? I’m going to bed at my normal time and haven’t changed my daily routine at all. Any ideas for getting back on track?

    1. Maybe try to get outside for a few minutes while the sun is out, if you don’t already.

    2. Are you having trouble waking up or trouble sleeping that makes you drowsy? If trouble sleeping, do you have indoor allergies or asthma? My sleep miraculously improved after getting good allergy (Flonase + Zyrtec) and asthma combination. Apparently the frequent waking up was due to lack of oxygen. Also Vitamin D and removing stimulants prior to bedtime (coffee after 2, exercising shortly prior to bed, screen time right before bed) could help.
      A wake up light help me with morning grogginess by slowly and naturally waking the body up. I usually wake up naturally a couple of minutes before the sound alarm due to the wake up light alarm.

    3. Eliminate sugar and eat the last meal well before bedtime (so there is less to digest at night).

    4. When I moved to a different country several 100s kilometres north, I have noticed I was fatigued in winter months as well. Bloodwork revealed I was low on iron and vitamin D. I then supplemented both for a few weeks and it was ok. (Work) stress can be another cause.

  8. Fashion help requested: I’m going to a reception at 6 PM, held in a very fancy private apartment on Central Park in NYC (in one of the tony pre-war buildings). The hosts are on the board of an organization that’s making a big announcement, and I’m representing my workplace which is tangentially involved. Would love thoughts on what I should wear (thinking sheath dress and blazer), but ESPECIALLY what I should wear on my feet. What are the chances I’ll have to take my shoes off? Does this mean I need to wear pantyhose just in case? This event is so weirdly positioned between work (in a tech field) and play (with socialites involved) that I’m not sure what the rules are.

    1. Do you know if your hosts are american? If so I wouldn’t worry about being asked to remove shoes. But if they’re from elsewhere you might. I would probably do the hose just in case… are you really bare-legged in this weather?

      1. Yikes on this response “[d]o you know if your hosts are american.” Because people from other cultures can’t be american.

        Potential solution: wear a jumpsuit and a blazer and wear socks.

      2. Aside from the “who is an American” issue, I’m a white American whose family on both sides has been in this country for 100+ years and we don’t wear shoes in our house and ask guests to take off shoes. Most of my friends do the same, and almost all of us are American born (many of us of European descent). It’s weird to me when people think this practice is only an Asian thing. Your shoes go on public sidewalks, bathroom floors, subway floors, etc. They are FILTHY and I don’t want them walking all over the indoor floors where my baby is crawling.

        1. No. If you’re hosting a professional reception in your apartment you must permit shoes. Then you clean after.

          1. This. I’ve been to many many receptions in private homes, hosted by all kinds of people from all over the place. For small dinner parties, some people ask for no-shoes (and the thoughful hosts provide slippers, esp in winter). For any event that is work related or about 15+ guests, particularly when there is little personal relationship between hosts and guests, shoes absolutely stay on and the host cleans the place afterwards however they see fit.

        2. I’m old enough that I wear shoes with orthotic inserts around the house. I *might* put them in a pair of offered slippers, otherwise I have significant pain while standing and walking.

          I do vacuum more often. Shoes are ok in my house. It has nothing to do with nationality in our house.

  9. I have a black leather tote that was the perfect work bag, except it didn’t have a travel sleeve. At the advice of my tailor, I found a near-matching leather bag at the thrift store for ~$10, and she used that fabric to add a travel sleeve to my leather tote! Best travel investment I’ve made so far.

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