Wheelie Cargo
Ollie around the world with Burton’s redesigned roller bag
Having fallen in love with the way Burton’s Wheelie Cargo spins 360 degrees on its skateboard wheels, I was eager to check out the recently redesigned version after years of abuse left mine with busted zippers. A two-week trek around Europe presented the perfect opportunity for a real road test—rolling it over cobblestone streets, squeezing it into tiny elevators and shoving it onto planes, trains and automobiles—and the small tweaks resulted in big improvements.
Even before hitting the road, the bag’s re-imagined zipper placement added extra packing functionality. While the earlier model also boasted two main compartments that zip together, a new straight zipper down the top section’s middle replaces the old, more traditional zipper design. The reconfiguration makes a wide opening for easy stacking and packing, and another zipper below gives quick access to bottom layers. When you’re ready to close it up, clasps clip the extra material down flat, minimizing the bag’s size.
Other features preserve elements of the original, like the bottom compartment’s stretchy fabric lining. It’s perfect for cramming in bulky items like shoes or oddly shaped souvenirs, which an ultra-durable EVA/TPU plastic backing keeps safe. With easily accessible side pockets and internal mesh pockets for laundry, the Wheelie Cargo is like a home away from home.
Still set on Ixion skate wheels, the bag maneuvers the trickiest of streets and lends to easy wheel replacement. While the bag itself supports overpacking (an attribute I can personally attest to), if it’s filled to the max, the Wheelie does have a tendency to wobble over as you pull it off a curb onto the road.
The bag sells online or from Burton shops worldwide for $260, and is available in Grunge Plaid (pictured here), as well as Black and other colorful patterns.
