Marlon is a revolutionary new evolution in carry-on luggage technology. French for ‘little falcon’, the Marlon carry on bag promises travelers to be ‘the last carry-on you'll ever want’. Created in London by a team of avid travelers, the Marlon stuff a huge amount of features, including patented compression technology, into a tiny package that complies with almost every set of carry-on luggage rules in the world.
Boasting a selection of innovating travel-enhancing useful features such as increased packing pace, all-terrain wheels and USB charging, the Marlon is a luggage game changer.
Currently running an active Kickstarter campaign and blowing their original funding goal out by a factor of 10, the Marlon has captured the attention of frustrated travelers worldwide.
In this article we’ll strip down the Marlon and provide an analysis of its key features, construction, design and usability, as well as some details on the origins of the Marlon project and its projected release date.
What the Marlon?
The Marlon is the best-designed purpose build carry on luggage you’ve ever seen. Spacious and lightweight, the Marlon was created to meet the needs of frequent travelers and wanderlusts frustrated with the current state of carry-on technology.
The team behind the Marlon has put a lot of effort into the design of the Marlon, conducting market research that indicated the key features frequent flyers wanted in their carry-on luggage were more packing space, better wheels, lighter weight, USB charging capabilities, user friendly compartments, and a modern, clean design.
The Marlon meets these requirements and more. Over the last few years a wide range of carry on luggage has hit the market with a slew of bells, whistles and tricky gimmicks.
GPS trackers, built in laptop chargers, biometric sensors or in-built electric motors that allow travelers to ride their luggage around the airport like a tiny go-kart, modern luggage seems hell bent on adding to the complexity and price of hand luggage. The team at Marlon are dedicated to taking the art of luggage back to the old school and focusing on the process of making luggage simpler and easier.
Marlon Design & Construction
The Marlon aims to be the best travel case it can be, and the patented packing technology that the Marlon team have incorporated into their travel case definitely helps the Marlon achieve it’s primary purpose with style. The game changing feature of the Marlon carry-on is it’s patented Assisted Compression Technology.
The Marlon is expanded during packing, and once all of your essential items are hastily stuffed inside, the Marlon compresses down to carry-on size. Where other carry-on solutions will have you sitting or kneeling on your bag trying to pull zippers closed (and probably breaking them), the Marlon uses a proprietary gradient lever system and banded grip mechanism to pack your luggage down.
The mechanism is very sturdy and closes with a security zipper to prevent tampering. The Marlon can also convert into checked luggage size with a little bit of extra room by packing the Marlon without using the compression assistance feature.
Another of the key selling points of the Marlon is the ability to charge devices on the go. The Marlon incorporates a removable battery and two USB ports ito it’s streamlined case, offering travelers the ability to charge two devices at once in the airport lounge or on the go.
The battery is a 10400mAh and conforms to airline standards, being easily removed with no internal wires that can ring alarm bells when going through customs. The wheels of the Marlon are also designed to provide a vastly superior user experience, replacing the traditional omni-directional swivel wheels that are the cause of many airport woes.
The wheels of the Marlon are built into the side of the luggage itself, offering an volume increase over the space taken up by swivel wheels and providing greater mobility over rough surfaces. The innovative wheel design of the Marlon also offers greater stability and won’t tip or roll away from users as well as better handling rough terrain and standing up to stronger impacts. The Marlon carry-on is designed in London and is constructed from reliable, high quality materials.
The frame of the Marlon is constructed from industrial grade aluminum, with the bag fabric consisting of molded 1000D weather proofed, triple coated ballistic nylon. The nylon blend that the Marlon is made from is lightweight, water resistant and abrasion resistant, and the ergonomic handle is stylish as well as finished with anti-slip grip.
The interior packing compartment of the Marlon contains a multifunction, large full access compartment with plenty of room for clothing, accessories and electronics. The lid of the packing compartment is complete with two mesh pockets for organising loose items such as toiletries.
The outside of the Marlon has a front gusseted pocket that’s padded to protect items like laptops or tablets, and another quick access sleeve ideal for placing pocket items such as phones and watches that have to be removed for preflight security checks.
On the rear of the Marlon is a discrete pocket that holds the onboard battery and can secure your phone for easy charging. The Marlon is 9” by 14” in diameter, and 22” in height, conforming to almost every airline carry-on regulations in the world. When compressed the volume of the Marlon is 45L and expanded holds 60L. The Marlon is available in two separate color schemes- Classic Copper & Coal, and Jet.
Marlon Pricing & Availability
The Marlon Kickstarter campaign is currently in full swing, and has raised over $299,000 USD, a long way past the original goal of $20,000 USD. First wave backers were able to secure a Marlon carry-on bag for just $215 USD, but as the first wave has sold out, a Marlon is now priced at $275 USD. Shipping within the US is priced at $15, shipping to Canada $50, and the rest of the world $100 USD.
Marlon offers backers the ability to enrol in a lifetime warranty, which leaves your Marlin covered by a comprehensive and unheard of lifetime warranty- It covers every single thing that can happen to luggage from frequent use and aggressive baggage handling, including broken handles, wheels, zippers, and spoiled fabric, except for unexpected loss, which is hopefully covered by your travel insurance.
If you are a frequent traveller and sick of the current market offerings for carry on luggage, Marlin is definitely worth the price. Marlin expects the second wave of orders to ship in April 2017.
