[Updates at bottom of review]

The Eagle Creek Tarmac ES 22" is the latest generation of wheeled luggage from Eagle Creek. Eagle Creek has been around for many many years now, and I own and have owned, through the years, dozens of their products. This is the third piece of EC wheeled luggage we have in the family. Their quality and customer service has always been and remains very high.

The Tarmac is no exception in terms of quality. The bag is very well made using durable fabrics and materials throughout. Airlines seem to get harder and harder on luggage. I got the Tarmac relatively recently after an airline broke a compression strap on an REI brand wheeled piece. (By the way, this was a great example of why REI is a great store. Walked in with a 3 year old piece of gear--showed them where the strap broke and how, the customer service person didn't blink and simply asked, "Would you like your money back or store credit?" A few extra bucks later, I walked out with the Eagle Creek.)

The Tarmac has patches of tough material at critical points like the top corners and along the two very nicely padded handles (one on top, one the side.) At the bottom corners, bottom front and back, and around the wheel housings there is tough hard plastic. From the scuffs and scrapes the bag has already received it is clear the armor is well-placed. Although not a major consideration for me, the Tarmac is a good-looking bag, one might even say elegant. My last bag was functionally quite nice, but looked a bit more outdoors-y. The Tarmac would look comfortable in any setting including fancier environments. Several people have actually commented on it in the airport.

The bag, according to Eagle Creek, is carry-on size. I think they are a bit optimistic. The claimed statistics are:

Capacity: 2850 cu. in. / 46.7 L

Expanded: 3200 cu. in. / 52.4 L (expanded)

Dimensions: 14 x 22 x 9.5 in / 36 x 56 x 25 cm

Weight: 8 lbs. / 3.80 kg

The weight is right-on and is very light for a bag of this size and quality.

I've carried on once and checked it twice. In terms of carrying it on, it will depend on how full the flight is, how soon you get on, and what kind of mood the attendants are in. Stowing the bag wheels out and up seems to make it fit best in my experience and according to other websites.

The Tarmac ES 22" is definitely for folks who like organization and pockets. The Tarmac opens book-like with a very heavy-duty zipper that goes around three sides. On the left-hand side is a single large compartment with a nicely designed compression device to keep clothes and other items neatly together. This largest compartment seems a bit shallow, but you have to remember that the other side of the book has a good deal of the storage capacity. On the right side of the "book" are two compartments. The top smaller compartment has a waterproof mesh front and seems designed for toiletries or maybe wet items. The lower and larger compartment has a open mesh front. There is another zipper around the bag that allows the expansion of the main compartment by around 15%--enough for a few souvenirs or less careful packing for the return trip.

The exterior of the piece has two more pockets, again an upper smaller one and lower larger one. The upper pocket has an organizer panel with space for pens, change, wallet, cellphone, and other misc. It is a good place for tickets, boarding passes, etc. The lower compartment is fairly large and easily old larger, flatter items--book, magazines, etc. It is deep enough for a sweater for in-flight access.

The book style is nice, but does require a little more room for packing.

My old wheeled piece of a similar size had just one large compartment with no external pockets. The Tarmac is neater, but a bit fussier when it comes to packing. You can't just shove it all in, you have to plan a bit. From previous adventures, I own a number of Eagle Creek's packing aids--various "cubes" and "folders." They fit neatly into the various compartments and make the overall scheme very, very neat. This adds a little to weight and overall fussiness, but also means, at least at the beginning of a trip, that you are very well-organized.

As with most wheeled luggage the handle takes up some room in the main compartment, though Eagle Creek's style isn't as intrusive as some. The main handle itself is comfortable, stops in two positions, and seems sturdy.

But the Tarmac is not without flaws. My primary complaint is that instead of there being some kind of grip on the bottom that you can actually grab, there is just a molded portion that has finger-shaped grooves in it. I think an actual handle or grip here would be far, far more useful. It was annoying enough in the store that I almost didn't buy the bag. It will remain to be seen if this is as annoying in real life as I fear it will be. I will update the review as time goes on.

The other flaw, if it is one, is the semi-rigid construction. The Tarmac has a lot of inherent rigidity. On the one hand, this provides protection for the contents and makes packing a little easier. One the other hand, the semi-rigid style makes cramming the bag into a tight space (like an overhead bin) more difficult. Soft-sided bags can often be shoved in and while the Tarmac has some give, there really isn't much.

I've used this a several shorter trips in the past few months. Overall I've been very pleased. I like the organization of the bag which makes it easy to keep track of stuff. I don't have to just dig around in one large area. The bag will be going on two more short trips (3-5 days) in the next two months and then for a two-week trip to SE Asia. I will update my review especially after the long trip. To me that will be the real test of the bag--how it actually is to live with, moving from place to place, packing and repacking every day or two. For more serious adventure travel, one might want a pack with backpack straps. Eagle Creek makes several of this type. For short trips to reasonably civilized destinations, I think the Tarmac is hard to beat.

Overall I am very pleased with the Tarmac so far. I have no concerns about its durability--and Eagle Creek even says they will repair any damage even if it's done by the airlines. The compartmentalization is a change from my previous piece of this size--time will tell if this helps me be organized or if I find it too fiddly. As I mentioned before, for a bag of this size and quality, it is very light at a little over 8lbs--a fact I very much appreciate. I will, as I've done with other reviews, update this entry as I get more mileage on the bag. Thanks for reading.

The Eagle Creek website has very good pictures of the Tarmac ES at: http://www.eaglecreek.com/bags_luggage/wheeled_luggage/Tarmac-ES-22-20153

You can read a bunch of reviews at the Ebags site
http://www.ebags.com/eagle_creek/exploration_systems_tarmac_es_22_upright/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=43329

The ebags site has more pictures and over a 100 mini reviews.

UPDATE 2/07
Just got back from two weeks in SE Asia with the Tarmac as my main piece of luggage. Overall the bag did very well. It was easy to wheel everywhere from city streets to rougher roads (like most wheeled pieces it bogs down in sandy or deeper, less hard-packed dirt). It was certainly large enough for the trip--and I overpacked a bit (too much in terms of medicine and misc gear and way too many books. Granted this trip was to a very warm climate, but I think with careful packing, using good travel clothing and gear, I could live out of this bag for weeks, even for cooler environs. The organizational features that I was worried might be a bit fussy turned out to be quite useful for imposing a bit of order on my natural tendency to chaos. The mesh flaps that buckles over stuff in the main area are the first of their kind I have found actually useful. I even used the waterbottle holder on several occasion even though I had been sure that would never happen. The bag stays upright and stable even with a fairly heavy bag slid over the handle. The bag looks none the worse for wear despite extensive travels in average to moderately rough conditions. The grip on the bottom still doesn't thrill me, but works well enough. The book style opening does mean you need a bit of room to open this bag up, though the zipped compartments in the top also allows that section to be lifted without anything falling out.

Overall, I continue to be very impressed with the Tarmac ES22 and very happy with my choice to buy it.

Update 12/07
The Tarmac continues to be my most commonly used piece of luggage for weekend or multiple week trips. Eagle Creek has come out with other product lines, but none so far tempt me away from the excellent Tarmac. It shows no significant signs of wear. Still highly recommended.

Recommended: Yes