Best Weekender Bags for Women & Men in 2025

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.

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.

The mid-volume size Herschel Novel proves that a duffle bag can be fashionable and functional at the same time.

It has a spacious main pocket and a separate shoe compartment, and it is available in several styles.

Duffel bags are so utilitarian that not many of them look good. Most of them look rugged, which is not really something that catches the eye.

Herschel has signature aesthetics that get added to solid, quality designs. The gym bag segment that converges with the weekender duffle bag is one that the Novel does simply and successfully.

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.

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.

This is a cheap and functional ($30 or so) duffel-style gym bag. It looks and feels somehow more appropriate as an overnight bag, but the shoe compartment makes it suitable for quite a bit more than its inexpensive price tag.

Read about our testing or just accept that our experience demonstrates a functional duffel-style sports bag that is above all else, functional and reasonably priced.

Nike has been making very functional sports duffels and the Brasilia 9.0 is a good example of one of the best gym bags at price that keeps dropping.

There is already an update for this series available, the Brasilia 9.5, but we’ve tested and used this bag for more than a year now without complaint.

The pockets, the shoe compartment and the volume are the reasons why this bag works for multi-sports and functions great as a travel duffel.

As this one is still available, some price drops make it even more attractive. So, great for basketball, the gym, karate, swimming and as an overnight bag.

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.