Four Months Free!
Get four extra months of online security when you sign up for a 2-year plan with NordVPN! Check it out →
As we said earlier, we firmly believe there is no such thing as the Perfect Travel Duffle. However, there are a few key considerations you should keep in mind to find the perfect travel duffle for you, which we discuss below. We’ll keep coming back to these considerations throughout the guide, so pay attention! (There may or may not be a quiz.)
Obviously, your use case will have a massive impact on what duffle you should choose. Ask yourself why you want a duffle bag and what you plan to do with it before looking at any other factors. All of the other considerations play into this one.
Examples of common use cases:
Duffles tend to get thrown around a lot. Airline workers have time restrictions, so you can be sure they’re tossed around in the bottoms of planes and—be honest with yourself—you’re probably not so gentle with them either. So make sure you purchase something that’ll last.
Likewise, you will need a more durable duffle if you’re an outdoorsy/adventurous person. Durability is not as big of a concern if you just plan to take your duffle on weekend excursions to the city a few hours driving distance away.
To choose a duffle bag that can handle whatever you plan on throwing at it, consider the following features and how they come together.
When looking at fabrics, you’ll often see a number followed by the letter D (50D, 250D, 1000D, etc). The D stands for denier, which measures the thickness and weight of fabric (okay, truth be told it’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the gist of what you need to know).
The higher the denier within the same fabric family, usually the more durable, but also the heavier the fabric. Note that denier won’t help you much when comparing two different types of fabrics, which all have inherent strengths (nylon is stronger than polyester, for example). But it works well as a benchmark.
Nylon
Nylon is one of the most common synthetic fabrics—and for good reason. It manages to be soft, durable, and lightweight. These days, nylon is almost an umbrella term. Various weaves, sewing patterns, and deniers play into nylon’s overall strength, weight, abrasion-resistance, and weather-resistance.
Within the nylon family, you’ll commonly see Ballistic Nylon and Ripstop Nylon. Ballistic Nylon is basically the Superman of the fabric world (The Fabric of Steel, coming soon to a theater near you). Originally developed for military body armor, it’s durable and resistant to pilling and water. But it is heavier, which is not ideal for a duffle bag since they tend to get uncomfortable at lower weights than backpacks. The tradeoff may be worth it if you have an adventurous travel style or want your duffle to last long enough to pass down to the next generation.
Ripstop Nylon, on the other hand, is also a great fabric that prevents punctures from spreading into full-on tears—something exceptionally handy to have for a duffle bag. Duffles are often tossed around, jammed into random nooks and crannies, and/or dragged across floors, meaning there’s a good chance of them getting ripped. Having a fabric that prevents those punctures from ruining your bag is key. Plus, Ripstop Nylon is lightweight.
That said, it’s not always as robust as higher denier fabrics like 1680D Ballistic Nylon. If it’s a lower denier, it may develop holes more quickly. If so, the ripstop will save those holes from spreading and ruining the duffle, but the fabric will still have holes in it. Also, it’s usually swishy, which may or may not be a deal-breaker for you.
Polyester
Another popular synthetic fabric, polyester, tends to be a little less durable, a little bit heavier, and a little bit cheaper than its cousin nylon. All that to say, you’ll usually find polyester on budget duffle bags. It’s not a bad fabric, but it’s not our favorite for duffles, especially if your travels involve asking a lot of your bag.
CORDURA® Grade Fabrics (Nylon & Polyester)
CORDURA® is a brand, not a fabric, but it’s worth discussing since you’ll probably see it a few times. Plus, casually mentioning CORDURA® fabrics at a party will let everyone know just how cool you are (it’s worked for us!).
Essentially, the CORDURA® label is a stamp of quality assurance that says that the nylon or polyester has come from a CORDURA®-approved mill and production line. Anything CORDURA® will have excellent abrasion resistance and strength-to-weight ratio.
Canvas
Historically canvas is made from cotton, linen, or hemp and then coated in wax for waterproofing. You can currently also find nylon and polyester canvas, too. These days, canvas isn’t super common because it tends to be heavy and susceptible to aesthetic wear and tear (like scuffing).
That said, there’s something so classic about a canvas duffle. If you’re into that heritage, historical vibe, it may be worth sacrificing some comfort.
Leather
And that brings us to leather—another fabric that evokes a sense of nostalgia and sophistication. You don’t often see pure leather duffles for obvious reasons (weight, sensitivity to the elements, maintenance required), but several duffle bags have leather accents— think zipper pulls, straps, and logo tags.
Leather tends to go hand-in-hand with canvas and may be your fabric of choice if you love that heritage look. If you try to avoid animal products, you can also find duffle bags made with vegan leather to mimic that same bespoke feel.
Duffel Fabric
Okay, you’re not going to find duffel duffle bags pretty much anywhere, but we wanted to mention it because this coarse woolen fabric is the OG duffle bag fabric. Duffel fabric originated in Duffel, Belgium, giving the duffel (which we now commonly spell duffle) its name. Mind-blowing, right?
You may also run into Tarpaulin or TPE Fabric Laminate, which are swishy fabrics that tend to be coated in a layer of Polyurethane. While both can have a crinkly, plasticy feel, they’re also very weather-resistant and durable. Water resistance is really nice to have on duffles since you tend to set them down on the ground more than backpacks, and the ground could be wet. For that reason, we’re usually big fans of duffle bags made with these fabrics.
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all of the fabrics you’ll run into while searching for The One (by which we mean your perfect duffle, obviously), but a majority of duffle bags will be made with one or multiple of the materials mentioned above.
Okay, it’s time for some #ZipperTalk. For being so small, zippers are super important. Imagine throwing your stuff in your duffle minutes before you need to leave for the airport when—suddenly—thunder booms and the main compartment’s zipper breaks. A broken zipper on a duffle bag isn’t as heartbreaking as on a backpack because you can still use a duffle with a broken zipper due to its placement on the top of the bag. That said, it’s still sad and inconvenient.
Look for YKK, SBS, Zoom, and Riri zippers, which are the most common and reputable brands (we’re particularly fond of YKK zippers, which have rarely let us down over years and years of testing). And be wary of unbranded zippers—we’ve had some not-so-great experiences with them.
Also, pay attention to size. Zippers are measured on a scale of one (small) to ten (large). You should be alright with #5 zippers and greater for exterior pockets on smaller duffles, while you probably want something slightly more robust on larger duffles. Smaller sizes are okay for internal pockets or less frequented ones.
For extra weather-protection, there are water-repellent zippers—like YKK AquaGuard® zippers—which repel water due to a polyurethane coating. You don’t need to worry about highly water-resistant zippers unless your use case (#callback) involves traveling to places known for inclement weather, boats, and/or beaches. Note that water-repellent zippers tend to be harder/stickier to zip, so if your travels don’t involve copious amounts of water, we suggest avoiding these zips. (We will discuss weather-resistant duffles in more detail in the Alternate section of this guide.)
Similar to zippers, you’ll be pretty disappointed if any of the hardware on your duffle bag breaks while you’re out of the country.
Again, do your best to avoid unbranded hardware. Duraflex, YKK, Woojin, Nifco, and ITW are all good brands that should treat you well. And, when it comes to metal versus plastic hardware, we’re partial to the former. Particularly from a durability perspective. Although if you’re trying to cut ounces, plastic may be the way to go.
Duffle bags run the gamut of organization. Some have zero organization, while others have a ton of pockets and compartments. Are you planning to use your duffle as more of a gear hauler, throwing your clothes and toiletries in it while organizing everything else in a backpack? Or do you want your duffle to be the only bag you need? Your answers to those questions will tell you how much organization you’ll want.
Traditionally, duffle bags tend to have two modes of carry: briefcase style via top handles and crossbody via a shoulder strap. But some duffles only have handles. If your use case involves any amount of walking—or even standing while carrying your duffle for prolonged periods of time—you’re probably going to want a shoulder strap.
But not all crossbody straps are created equal. While a simple, seatbelt style of strap is okay for smaller duffle bags, padded straps are preferable. Our favorite type of shoulder strap has thick padding that spans the entire length—or at least most of the length—of the strap. Again, how much you’ll walk with your duffle plays a big factor here.
Some duffles have backpack straps. Although these straps tend not to be as comfortable as backpack straps on an actual backpack (go figure, right?). They may be your duffle of choice if you are dead set on owning a duffle but want more versatile carry options. We’ll discuss these duffle backpack hybrids later on in this guide and their potential downsides.
Finally, you have the option of a rolling duffle. Once again, we’ll go into detail about rolling duffles later on. For now, just know they’re a great option if you are unable, or simply don’t want to bear the weight of your luggage on your shoulder(s).
In nearly all of the categories below, you can find duffle bags that span a huge range of sizes from 6L to 150L+. You’re not going to want to take a 6L duffle on a three week trip to Egypt (or anywhere for that matter) unless you’re extremely minimalistic. To put that in perspective, we’ve tested a 6L duffle as a lunchbox. You’re also not going to need a 150L duffle unless you’re looking for a massive, massive, massive gear hauler.
For travel, we tend to use duffle bags between 30L and 45L with the occasional 50L or 55L thrown in there when we need a bag to hold a lot of gear. Just note that around 45L, you start to get out of the carry-on compliance range for domestic flights in the U.S. Of course, your mileage may vary. We’ve heard stories of folks carrying on much larger bags. And, on the flip side, international airlines often have smaller allowances and stricter regulations (for both size and weight).
As far as weight is concerned—we tend to prefer the lightest duffle bag possible that doesn’t sacrifice durability. Duffles get uncomfortable to carry at a lot lower weights than backpacks since they don’t distribute the load between both of your shoulders and hips. (That is unless you have a duffle backpack hybrid, which we’ll get into later).
At the same time, you don’t want them to be flimsy since duffles get thrown around a lot. It can be a tricky thing to balance but don’t panic. We’ll be giving you a ton of duffle bag recommendations throughout this guide that manage to walk that line.
Some questions to ask yourself:
This goes without saying, but you should consider how much money you’re willing to spend. Here at Pack Hacker, we generally believe in the “buy nice or buy twice” motto. In the long run, it may make more financial sense to invest in a duffle that will last you a decade instead of continually needing to replace a cheaper one (if you have the money available, of course).
That said, high cost doesn’t always mean high quality. Sometimes you’re paying for brand name or style. That’s what our reviews are for—to help you know if a duffle is worth the money.
How much you’re planning to use your duffle also comes into play here. If you’re planning to travel with your duffle bag once every other year, you won’t need to spend as much as you would if you’re planning to use your duffle every single day.
Oversized Equipment Bag
Our Ultimate Equipment Carrier with Wheels is perfect for the team on the go. With space for up to 18 pairs of shoes and easy glide wheels for efficient travel.
Experience unparalleled convenience with Sole Premise's Water Proof and Weather Resistant Sports Equipment Bags, meticulously designed with three durable Velcro dividers. These dividers not only ensure superior organization but also create tidy and secure separated compartments for your precious sneakers.
Customize the arrangement to your liking, thanks to the adjustable or removable velcro feature. Say goodbye to shoe jumbles and hello to an elevated storage solution that sets Sole Premise's sneaker duffle bags apart from the rest.