Every now and then, I come across products that just make my life so much better. When I travel to Africa to lead one of my safaris, I am very hard on my equipment and so is the environment. So you can image my thrill when I discovered (thanks to a safari traveler that will be joining my January 2009 group), a killer duffel bag that carries a lifetime warranty and is made right here in good ‘ole Seattle. We have to use duffel bags on our safari trips due to the inter-county flight back from the Serengeti to Arusha. For this flight, we use a Cessna 208 with a cargo pod. Hard sided luggage simply will not fit into the cargo hold of the aircraft. OK, back to the bags. After talking to the owner, Malcom, I took a risk and ordered three different sizes of his bags. I don’t know what I was more excited about, receiving my bags or a new camera lens that came at the same time. Funny thing, the bags were opened first. Holy smokes, these are beauts and are made like a tank. The zippers are industrial strength, and the bags are constructed from 1,000-denier CORDURA®, a nylon fabric that despite its brushed-cotton appearance has been generously coated with urethane and DWR (durable water-repellent finish) for abrasion- and water-resistance. Every BAD BAG is double-stitched and seam-taped to resist pressure, both internal (your overstuffed load) or external (beefy baggage handlers). From the zippers to internal compartments to the built in compression straps, these bags rock to the point that I now strongly recommend them to all safari goers, as well as anyone else that is sick of buying bag after bag. These bags come in sizes ranging from 10.5 by 7.5 to 36 by 18 inches and can carry up to 7800 cubic inches of stuff. I’ve stepped up to the Best American Duffel and I can’t wait to hit the Serengeti with them. Contact BAD here.