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The Roller Pro is Peak Design's photography-oriented take on carry-on luggage. Have they nailed it here? | Purchase the Roller Pro @ Peak Design https://peak-design.pxf.io/QYvxMz | B&H Photo https://bhpho.to/4qNrVUQ | Adorama https://prf.hn/l/Vx2Ov0b/ | Amazon https://amzn.to/4diO2wP | Amazon Canada https://link.amazon/B05YNxYea
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Table of Contents:
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0:00 - Intro and Concept
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0:00
[music]
0:06
[music]
0:10
Peak Design Roller Pro has been my
0:12
carry-on/weend
0:14
bag of choice for 2026. I've used it
0:18
around a good part of the world at this
0:20
point. And while there are a lot of
0:22
amazing strengths about this bag that
0:24
I'm going to detail today, there's also
0:26
one serious drawback that we have to
0:28
look at as well. We'll go through all of
0:30
it today as we take a look at the Peak
0:32
Design Roller Pro. So, let's first take
0:35
look at a few of the specifications
0:36
here. This is fairly lightweight, 3.9
0:40
kg, 8.6 lb. It has a capacity of 34 L,
0:46
although it can expand out to 39 L. If
0:50
you just unzip a zipper along the side
0:54
like this, comes all the way around. And
0:56
you can see that that will expand the
0:58
capacity up to a 39 L of volume. It is
1:03
purposely designed inside to fit their
1:06
extra-large camera cube. Though I don't
1:08
have the extra-large camera cube. I've
1:10
got one of the medium cubes here, which
1:12
all of it is designed to fit in there
1:14
perfectly. But if you use the extra
1:15
large, you can actually utilize the
1:17
whole interior space for photography if
1:20
you're looking for that. But it's a nice
1:22
open space that can be configured for a
1:24
lot of different things. The outer shell
1:26
is, they call it a hybrid. It is a Versa
1:29
Shell 550D fabric, so very tough and
1:32
durable, but also there are some layers
1:35
built into here of foam and felt to help
1:37
to give cushioning for certain things,
1:39
including in the outer tech pocket,
1:41
which we'll talk about in just a moment.
1:43
The ability to drop your laptop in there
1:46
and still have lots of protection from
1:48
the outside. By the way, you can fit up
1:50
to a 16in MacBook Pro in terms of the
1:53
volume. And there's other storage in
1:55
this area for other tech things, things
1:58
you want easy access to. And it's one of
2:00
the things that I love about the bag.
2:02
Another part of what I love is the
2:03
actual trolley handle. Unlike most tube
2:06
designs, this is actually a flat carbon
2:09
fiber. It's a 3K carbon fiber weave.
2:11
There are a couple of locking positions,
2:13
but interestingly, there are no joints
2:15
along here. And so, one less point to
2:18
fail as a part of that. It also has the
2:20
advantage inside be in that it opens up
2:23
a flatter loading area, less intrusion
2:26
because those are those are very thin.
2:28
And so, it actually has kind of a finish
2:30
that looks a little bit more like the
2:32
trunk of your car maybe than typically
2:34
just a fabric weave inside. Like all
2:37
Peak Design products, this has a
2:39
lifetime warranty, but you're going to
2:40
pay for it. Price tag here, if you're
2:42
getting full MSRP, is $599.
2:47
So, let's talk about some of the things
2:48
that I think are awesome about the bag.
2:50
First of all, and maybe most important,
2:53
are the amazing wheels on this thing.
2:55
This thing rolls forever. And that was
2:57
really illustrated to me very early on.
2:59
I filmed this clip months ago after
3:01
returning from my first business trip
3:03
taking the bag. Let's take a look. So,
3:05
my review of the Roller Pro is actually
3:08
a few months away. However, I just got
3:10
back from a business trip and something
3:12
happened that I thought was a perfect
3:14
illustration of just how well this uh
3:17
suitcase actually rolls. And so, I was
3:20
taking my stuff out of my truck in the
3:22
garage. And so, I was taking some other
3:24
items out. I had taken the roller pro
3:26
out and set it on the there in my
3:28
garage. I turn around, take some other
3:29
things. I turn around and it's gone.
3:31
Well, I assumed that my wife, who had
3:33
helped me with a few other things, had
3:34
come and just quietly taken away my
3:36
suitcase. So, I came in, I closed the
3:39
garage, I went about putting things
3:41
away. After bit, I realized I don't have
3:44
my suitcase. And so, I asked my wife,
3:45
said, "Did you bring my suitcase in?"
3:47
She's like, "No." So, I went and I
3:49
looked back in the garage. I said, "I
3:52
must have just left it in the garage."
3:53
Went back and looked, couldn't find it.
3:56
So after looking around the house for a
3:58
while, it's like it's like like where is
4:00
that? And so finally it's like well I
4:04
did close the garage afterward. I know
4:05
that it rolls well. And sure enough,
4:08
there must be just enough slope in my
4:10
garage that it had rolled gently out of
4:12
my garage and was partway down my
4:14
driveway and come up against the wall of
4:16
my house. And so that just tells you how
4:19
well this bad boy actually rolls.
4:22
Another place this is really illustrated
4:23
to me at how just great these wheels
4:26
were is that I had ended up having an
4:28
extended layover in Vancouver. So, my
4:30
wife and I ended up taking the train
4:32
down to the waterfront. We didn't have
4:34
the opportunity to get rid of our
4:35
carry-on type luggage and so we were
4:37
hauling it around all day and so I was
4:39
pulling this with a backpack often on
4:41
top sat on top of it and it was over
4:44
very mixed ground. some fairly smooth
4:46
pavement, but there some like cobbles
4:47
that was terrible to pull on. And yet
4:49
the bag always rolled easily. And as you
4:52
can see, it just rolls on forever if you
4:55
give it a push. The wheels are
4:56
fantastic. I also really love their
5:00
front loing draw bridge style design.
5:03
Rather than the typical clam shell that
5:05
opens up like this, you have kind of a
5:07
front load or top load type design to
5:10
where for one thing, this takes up a
5:11
really small footprint on a bed or a
5:15
stand. And so you have lots of room to
5:17
operate to where you can put things into
5:19
it for loading and unloading. I love
5:21
that you also can adjust the drawbridge
5:24
angle to, you know, to very easily by
5:27
just moving these little things here
5:29
that you can either add more or less
5:31
slack to the angle. and uh very cleverly
5:33
designed on that front. A secondary cool
5:35
feature that emerges about that is that
5:37
Peak Design has loaded in a lot of
5:40
semicar spaces here where you can load
5:43
in small items and there are zips to
5:45
access those. The back of it is a
5:47
stretchy material and so you're going to
5:49
be able to put, you know, fairly decent
5:51
volume item there, but it makes it very
5:53
easy for organization things you might
5:55
want to quickly access either for
5:56
photography or just travel related. And
5:58
so I really like that. I also love the
6:01
fact that there are a lot of hidden
6:03
spaces in this bag. And so, for example,
6:05
if you zip down behind here, there is
6:07
another uh storage space where if you
6:09
wanted, for example, I've actually used
6:11
it to put like a dress shirt that was
6:13
folded and pressed and put into that
6:15
space. And so, that is nice. Down here,
6:18
we also have another a few kind of
6:19
Easter eggs that are in the bag. We zip
6:21
down a little bit further, there is a
6:23
hidden pocket here that is perfectly
6:25
designed for putting an air tag in
6:27
there. And so it's tucked away where
6:29
someone else probably won't see it, but
6:31
you will. Also, if you look up under
6:34
here, there is with a a Velcro
6:36
enclosure. There's a hidden compartment
6:38
that's back up under this, which is a
6:40
great place to store your passport,
6:42
money, things like that. Even the way
6:45
you access it is completely out of view
6:47
of someone. You have to know where to
6:48
look for it. So, all of that is really
6:50
cool. As mentioned already, I love the
6:52
fact that there is a separate tech
6:54
compartment here in the front. And so
6:56
you can put a lot of small items and a
6:58
couple of organization areas. One other
7:00
thoughtful thing in this front section,
7:02
there's actually a little place with a
7:04
carabiner that you can lock onto to put
7:06
your keys. And so you're not getting
7:07
back to park and fly and feeling around
7:09
trying to find where your keys are. And
7:11
then of course you have the ability to
7:12
slip your laptop, as mentioned, into
7:14
this front space. And it is actually
7:16
designed to where it's automatically
7:18
going to hinge forward and it seals back
7:20
up. And so you never have an issue with
7:22
your laptop sliding out and perhaps
7:24
getting damaged because it wasn't
7:26
properly secured. And so all of that is
7:28
really really fantastic. I do appreciate
7:30
that there is foam here on the front
7:31
that is protecting that laptop. Always
7:34
Peak Design does think about
7:36
photographers and as a photographer I
7:38
appreciate that. So, the fact that this
7:40
is all designed around their various
7:42
cubes and so you can either use that for
7:44
camera related. So, it's designed for
7:46
these to fit perfectly in here or they
7:49
have a variety of other packing cubes
7:50
that you can also use to really organize
7:52
that space. Well, they've got a system
7:55
across here that you can hook up to help
7:58
to either hold items in place,
8:00
attachment points for the cubes. So,
8:02
there's lots of little clever designs
8:04
that help you to be able to just store
8:06
things more efficiently and keep them
8:08
where you want it. I also love the fact
8:10
that there is a lifetime warranty. All
8:12
of that is good. So, what about some
8:14
things that are not so great? Peak
8:16
Design explains there's a reason why
8:17
they don't include a TSA lock. And you
8:20
know, while they do have a place where
8:21
you can line these up and anchor them in
8:24
a specific way, I do miss not actually
8:26
having a TSA type lock that is
8:28
integrated into the system. And so, it's
8:30
just one more thing you're going to have
8:31
to buy. Also for you know a tech
8:33
oriented bag I'm kind of surprised there
8:35
isn't any kind of integrated charging
8:37
solution or pass through for cables for
8:39
charging your phone or other devices
8:41
maybe even your camera. Obviously you
8:43
can handle all of that internally but
8:44
there's a lot of bags these days that
8:46
have thought about that. So that's one
8:47
thing that's missing here. But I would
8:49
say that the biggest negative for anyone
8:51
that's considering the Peak Design
8:52
Roller Pro is that the price feels
8:56
exorbitantly expensive. It is retailing
8:59
for right around $600 US. You can
9:01
obviously get it on sale for cheaper
9:03
than that, but at that MSRP, it feels
9:05
like a lot of money for a carry-on bag.
9:08
And yes, it's really, really
9:09
welldesigned. It has a lifetime
9:11
guarantee. It rolls well. Everything
9:14
feels great, but that's a lot of money.
9:17
So, what's my conclusion? I absolutely
9:19
love Peak Design's attention to detail,
9:21
and I will say that practically this bag
9:23
has been nothing but a joy to use. I
9:25
find it very easy to move around with,
9:28
which is really at the end of the day,
9:29
you know, maybe the most important
9:31
thing. I love the great handle on it. I
9:33
love the uh storage design and the fact
9:36
that it's all very convenient to get to.
9:38
I appreciate all the little attention to
9:40
detail that Peak Design is so great
9:41
about thinking about attachment points
9:44
everywhere and handles at all of the
9:46
angles to make sure you can always grab
9:48
onto it. I love the fact that this is
9:50
designed for global carry-on space. And
9:53
so in the non-expanded form, it's
9:55
basically designed to fit into all of
9:58
the requirements for carryons uh for
10:00
different airlines. If you expand it, I
10:03
didn't have any issues with it expanded
10:04
either, but your mileage may vary on
10:06
that depending on the airliner. So, I
10:08
love all of those things. It's great to
10:10
use, but there's no question that there
10:13
is a very high price tag. At the same
10:15
time, however, the fact that these come
10:17
with a lifetime warranty. I mean, my
10:20
experience is is that luggage does wear
10:22
out. Maybe this doesn't, but there's a
10:24
good chance at some point there's going
10:26
to be some damage to something and you
10:27
could end up with either repaired or
10:30
maybe even a new bag out of it. You
10:32
know, Peak Design does stand behind
10:33
their warranty and that does make that
10:35
money seem a little more palatable. At
10:38
the end of the day, however, if we're
10:39
not talking about price and we're just
10:41
talking about function, I think this
10:43
thing is absolutely fantastic. If you
10:46
want more information, feel free to
10:47
check out the linkage that goes to the
10:49
Peak Design uh Peak Design site where
10:51
you can take a little bit further look
10:52
at that. There are some buying links
10:53
there as well. As always, thanks for
10:55
watching. Have a great day and let the
10:57
light in.
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