Best Duffel Bags in 2025 | Tested by Survivalists & Travelers

The North Face Base Camp Duffel is available in sizes ranging from a minimal 31L to a colossal 150L. The 31L is good for both rugged adventures or trips to the gym. The 50L is accepted as a carry-on by most airlines and from there, the larger sizes are great for just about anything you can throw them at.

I’ve got a lot of trust in these bags for some of the most demanding voyages sailing in open vessels and camping in rough terrain. The Base Camp design is also useful for organization–if you have packing cubes.

Its strength lies not in the availability of pockets, but rather in the simplicity. Two side pockets work for smaller items, but there’s no shoe compartment.

The main compartment is easily accessible and flexible, so you can pack your duffel to the brim.

These Gregory Alpaca duffels are made with the same 900D Polyester Ripstop with TPU weather-resistant coating as the Patagonia Black Hole duffels. Although initially seemingly similar, these Gregory Alpacas have a few tricks up their sleeves.

One of these great features is an external pocket that keeps dirty shoes and laundry separate from the main compartment.

The Gregory Alpaca is available in 40L, 60L, 80L, and 100L for overnight trips or something that demands more gear. Their weather and abrasion-resistant padded bottom and reinforced grab handles make them a reliable choice for any urban outing or rugged expedition.

If you’re on the hunt for a sturdy duffel bag that can protect your gear from Mother Nature’s worst, Stahlsac Abyss duffel bags can be quite compelling.

Backpack straps and a durable bottom with a squarish main compartment come in handy with larger gear items. But that will appeal to other travellers too.

Designed with divers in mind, this duffel bag is made with weatherproof ultra-durable TPU nylon that’ll protect your gear from all the elements and any inevitable boating mishaps.

Coming in a cabin-sized convenient 50L, a medium 75L, and a robust 100L, these Stahlsac Abyss duffel bags seem like they can endure any storm that comes their way.

Stubble & Co has been making some interesting bags defined by function and form. The Weekender is the company’s premium travel bag designed to accommodate overnight getaways and weekend-long business trips. Its dimensions make it a carry-on that will fit in the overhead compartment of a plane and its design will appeal to travelers that might want something a little more elegant.

This “Designed in London” duffel will immediately appeal to those traveling with a trolley bag. It has both a laptop sleeve and a trolley sleeve for a complete, carry-on-only setup.

But after getting to know this bag, it seems designed for something a little more too.

Its water-resistant canvas material with a hardened body extends the bag’s area of use as far as glamping. Depending on the gym or country club, it will also do well as a sports bag too.

There are some nice features on this 40-liter weekender bag–typical of the British company’s small, but adroit lineup of bags.

After using this bag for camping, sailing and a weekend trip to the lake, our review measures the success of this travel bags’ intention against our expectations and actual experience.

Peak Design has another product that will excite and please organization-obsessed travelers.

The Travel Duffel has a lot of pockets, specialized pockets for items like SD memory cards, power banks and notebooks. It took our two testers some time before they optimized their packing approach, but PD’s bags are similar to Apple products in that they are great when used the way they were designed.

Additionally, Peak Design packing cubes really take advantage of this bags organization strengths, but add another cost/benefit analysis that might scare casual travelers away.

As part of our duffel bag review guide, this bag passed our gauntlet of tests. So, the Peak Design Travel Duffel is also a capable bag in the face of abuse and rain. It’s just not ideal for any kind of hike.

The waterproof, backpack capable Rains Texel Duffel Bag is as stylish as it is versatile. While the smaller 34L works really well as a gym bag for the yoga studio, the larger option makes for a great weekender, travel duffle. It can stay upright almost anywhere, making it easy to grab and carry with its multiple handles and design.  

It features a reinforced bottom with Rains’ signature soft DWR PU material on the upper. Rains has done a good job of improving the sustainability profile of their production and sourcing too.

The Texel’s main compartment is large and it has several mesh pockets inside and out. It is a good multi-purpose solution at a lower price than one might expect from this company. Not much for organization, but it hits home on style and water protection.

We in continental America live in a bit of a vacuum of influence when it comes to our outdoor equipment. Occasionally, I’ll have the chance to take a look at gear from European manufacturers- in this case it’s Jack Wolfskin’s 65L Expedition Trunk, a sensibly priced alternative to “adventure duffles” employed by travelers and explorers alike.

This heavy-hitting German retailer has one foot in the outdoor sporting world and another in urban “athleisure” wear. A closer look at the trunk reveals it’s firmly rooted in this dichotomy- taking aim somewhere between an overbuilt gear bag and a versatile valise. For a weekend at the cabin or living out of it for weeks at a time, the duffle certainly merits further investigation.

The Osprey Transporter duffel doesn’t have too many features that separate it from other options. The best features of this pack are easily the u-zip opening and the solid quality of the zippers and shoulder straps.

I tested the 65-liter variant on a 14-day sailing and camping voyage, plus other smaller weekend trips. It proved to be a robust bag that protects against some considerable abuse (read review) as well as rain.

It’s a moderately expensive bag that returns substantial returns in experience measured by potential days of use and protection.

A solid and practical duffel backpack is the Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler.

Tested against conditions that get it dirty, sat on and tossed about, the 60 liter Cargo Hauler we used several times did well. With a robust construction using Bi-Tech™ Armor Lite fabric, this duffel is water-resistant and can handle frequent travel.

The bag features versatile carrying options, including padded backpack straps, top handles, and side grab handles for easy maneuverability.

This bag stays true to the Stubble & Co signature phrase ‘go anywhere, do everything.’

The Kit by Stubble & Co comes at 38L and is not a typical gym bag.

Its versatile hybrid character is its top-selling point. It can be carried as a backpack and by removing the shoulder straps, you are left with a sleek, stylish duffel for a weekend escape or a carry-on, all in one.

For an above-average but more than reasonable price, you get multiple pockets, a padded laptop sleeve and a separate shoe compartment protected by Stubble’s durable and sustainable fabrics.