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It actually works quite well, keeping the harness straps in position while allowing chest expansion when breathing hard. The base of the duffel has another zip opening giving access to a separated compartment that is useful for a pair of shoes or similar. This keeps them apart from the contents of the main area, though it does share the space. The best size duffel bag for travel depends on a number of factors. If you’re on a weekend city break, a 20-30-litre duffel is a great choice. But if you’re travelling for longer, say four weeks to multiple months, you’re likely to want a bag around the 40-50-litre range. The duffel bags in our lineup span across a variety of types and are available in many different sizes. During testing, we directly compared feature-to-feature for each bag to avoid biases that might arise from testing different types and sizes of bags. Remember, the best duffel for you is the one that meets your needs the best. If you’re taking specialised kit, or need a huge amount of stuff, consider a gear hauler. These large duffel bags can be up to 200 litres in size – plenty of room for all your important kit!
Straps — As well as the grab handle on one end, Cotopaxi’s Mariveles Duffel features just the main carry handles. There’s no shoulder strap which is a slight disappointment. But for the price and weight, this is still a very good budget-friendly duffel bag for travellers. The metal frame can be removed to save a little weight by unfastening a hook-and-loop strip in the main compartment and sliding the frame out.Now that you have a better understanding of your needs, preferences, and the versatility of these bags, it's time to dig a little deeper into the different design variables to help you select the product that suits you best. Storage Volume As with all travel bags, the materials used in the construction of a travel duffel bag have an impact. Most travellers are looking for a trade-off between durability and weight. Materials like ripstop nylon are an excellent choice because they don’t weigh too much and are very tough. Plus they’re relatively cheap to produce. Our favourite duffel bag for travel is the Boundary Supply Errant Duffel. It’s rugged, versatile and comfortable to carry. For photographers, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better duffel than the Peak Design Travel Duffel. Single zip duffels are the classic choice. They have one long zipper running across the top of the bag. This gives pretty good access to all your stuff but can make it a pain to get things really well organised. It also makes it hard to dig through your gear when the bag is full.
The weight of your duffel bag is more important in smaller models. A 30-50-litre duffel should be relatively lightweight so it doesn’t weigh you down as you move from A to B. However, when it comes to larger duffels made for carrying bulkier items, weight isn’t as important. You’re unlikely to be carrying a 100-litre duffel bag for long anyway! Size — The Settra is on the line for carry-on luggage. It has a 40-litre capacity and is 60 x 33 x 27cm (24”x13”x11”). This officially puts it a little over most international airline carry-on limits but it’s close enough that you can probably get away with it if you don’t draw attention to yourself – not that we’re encouraging you to break airline rules obviously… As far as travel duffel bags go, the Settra is heavy at 2kg.As with any type of product, the first step to finding the right duffel bag begins with assessing your personal needs and how you intend to use it. Whether you need a high-capacity beast to take on a couple of big trips a year, a handy lightweight model for daily trips to the gym, or a more well-rounded model for general travel, there's definitely a product that will meet those demands. Keep in mind that as the design gets more specialized to optimize certain features, there are usually tradeoffs that may make it less well-rounded for other uses. General Travel
The main compartment is accessed by a top opening with an inner drawcord closure and a second outer drawcord. Inside the compartment is a pouch for hydration bladder, with a hook-and-loop hanger. Drink tube exit is to the right shoulder. There is no hipbelt or sternum strap, so all the weight is borne on the shoulders and the straps can slide if you’re moving over anything like technical terrain. There are two movable foam pads on the straps to provide some comfort, but carrying a full load over any long distance without the support of a hipbelt caused some discomfort. The harness straps are quite wide and have ventilated foam padding. The sternum strap’s height can be adjusted using four different daisy chain loops. This involves unhooking each side and repositioning in an alternative loop, which is less convenient than anchors that slide up and down on rails. The hipbelt is a wide webbing strap with elasticated retainer loops for excess length. Capacity was good too, and quality was good. The ripstop nylon, felt robust and resisted scuffing well. Not all travel duffels carry the same. Some have just a couple of grab handles so you can swing them about and carry them by hand. However, it’s more common to find duffels with grab handles and a shoulder strap. This longer strap can be used to sling the bag over your shoulder, leaving your hands free. This isn’t usually the most comfortable way of carrying a bag but it does the job.
The main compartment is uncluttered and contains just the pouch for a hydration reservoir with a hook-and-loop strip hanger. The drink tube exit is central, allowing the tube to be routed down either the left or right harness strap. The hipbelt is broad and has padded foam. Adjustment is from the outside inwards. The padded section can be slid out, leaving just the webbing, if required, to save more weight. Durability — The 500D Kodra fabric used for this duffel is hyper-durable and heavily water resistant. You’d have to submerge the bag for water to get through. It’s abrasion resistant and wears very well. The duffel is also available in an X-Pac material which is lighter and stronger than Kodra but honestly, it’s not really worth the extra expense. A sleek-looking, versatile, and durable duffel that performs highly across the board and is ready for any adventure
The recycled content, PFC-free treatment and expected longevity give the Archeon 45 good marks for green credentials. A durable duffle bag with a C-shaped zip opening so that you can easily get to your wares (less time rummaging for stuff, more time doing stuff). With a 25 year Alpine Bond these are true duffle bags for life.
The Cholatse has a good sized main compartment, accessible from a top opening with conventional drawcord. There’s also a compression strap across the top opening which can be used to secure a rope or other gear. The main compartment contains a hydration bladder pouch with hook-and-loop strip hanger. Drink-tube exit is to the right shoulder. Finally, there are some rolling duffel bags available but these are essentially just soft suitcases. They’re good if you’re carrying a lot of very heavy gear across smooth surfaces but really, their utility ends there. You don’t want to be carrying one of these large duffel bags over your shoulder for too long! Sometimes adventure takes us into truly adverse weather conditions, and for those times, water resistance isn't enough. If you're looking for a fully waterproof dry bag and duffel bag hybrid, the Yeti Panga 50 fits the bill. Its durable laminated high-density nylon is completely waterproof, and the opening seals shut with a HydroLok zipper. With RF welded seams, this duffel keeps the water out and the air in, even when fully submerged. For this reason, it is our go-to bag for protecting sensitive electronic equipment in wet conditions. This Yeti has a healthy amount of webbing and attachment points, plus shoulder straps, so you can just as easily carry it through the airport as lash it to an inflatable raft.
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