Group Tests and Best Buys

Best Duffel Bags of 2025 | Fully Field Tested and Reviewed

For far-flung adventures, weekends away and expeditions abroad, duffel bags are gear-hauling heroes. Here’s what to look for and the best options out there.

Duffel bags are useful for anyone who leads an active lifestyle, especially one that involves plenty of travelling. The best duffel bags will be lightweight but durable and able to stand up to the rigours of travel. They’ll be able to support heavy loads and still be comfortable and easy to carry over short to medium-length distances and they also won’t be too rigid and bulky so that they can be kept out of the way when not needed.

Duffel bags come in all shapes, weights and sizes. The ones we have reviewed here all range from 600g to 1670g and from 55 litres to 90. We’ve also only looked at duffel bags that have shoulder straps that mean they can be carried like a backpack, however there are also plenty of models on the market that can only be carried like a briefcase, or that have just one sling strap that’s worn over one shoulder.

The Forclaz Trekking Carry Bag in the back of our reviewer’s car

The best duffel bags will offer full waterproof protection but the majority tend to only be rated as water resistant – this isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you’re unlikely to need the bag for any water-based adventures. One final point: we’ve gone for duffel rather than duffle, for the sake of consistency and also because it seems to be the form that most brands go for. Apparently there’s no set way!

The Best Duffel Bags 2025

Here are the standouts and category winners following our tests over the last couple of seasons.

Best Overall Duffel Bag: Osprey Transporter 40L
Best Value Duffel Bag: Forclaz Trekking Carry Bag 100L
Best Durable Duffel: The North Face Base Camp Duffel
Best Waterproof Duffel: Ortlieb ATrack
Best High-Capacity Duffel: Rab Kitbag Duffel 80L

1. Osprey Transporter Duffel

Best overall duffel bag. This wins our top spot, with this tried and tested duffel ticking all the right boxes for our team.

Our team using the Transporter during our Outdoor 100 test trip.

Price: £125
Weight: 1,410g
Best for: Overseas backpacking, long-term travel
Key attributes: Useful pockets, packability, versatility
Rating: 5/5

This design has been around for almost a decade now and it’s become one of the most popular duffels out there. It’s a super durable and reliable bit of kit. In fact, one of our reviewers has owned one of these for over 5 years now and used it for countless trips and he says it’s still in excellent condition. It’s proved to be tough, water resistant and excellent for organising kit. We love the fact that the shoulder straps can be tucked away quickly and easily to prevent them from snagging in transit. Kudos to Osprey for using recycled materials too. A number of sizes are available. Go for the 40-litre version if you’re looking for an option that you can carry onto a flight with you. There’s also the Transporter Waterproof if you’re looking for one for use while paddleboarding or kayaking.

Available in: 40, 65 & 130L.

Read our full Osprey Transporter Duffel review.

Buy the Osprey Transporter 65: £145 at Alpine-trek.co.uk

2. Forclaz Trekking Carry Bag 100L

Best value duffel bag: With its impressive performance and reasonable price, this was easily the best for your buck duffel bag that we tested this year.

The Forclaz Trekking loaded up in the back of our tester’s car.

Price: £49.99
Weight: 1.16kg
Best for: Adventures that require a lot of kit and equipment
Key attributes: Durable, excellent value
Rating: 4.5/5

This duffel bag has swept into the guide and landed our top spot as best value duffel bag overall. It might not be the most technical duffel in our selection, but following our tests, we’d say this easily provides the best mix of performance and value for money. It’s made from a hardy polyester material with reinforced seams, passing all of our durability tests without a scratch. It’s not fully waterproof but it is highly waterproof. We left it out in the rain during a photoshoot and found that the materials and the stormproof flap kept the contents inside all safe.

It’s 100-litre volume is huge. In fact, in our tests to see how much we could fit inside this, we actually found ourselves scratching around to find extra bits and bobs to chuck inside. It’s worth knowing, however, that this duffel is too big to use as a flight carry-on.

The fact that the shoulder straps aren’t removable is a bit of a downside to us. It’s handy to have the option to remove them or at least tug them away so they don’t snag. Apart from that, this is a great value duffel bag that should perform for a very long time.

Available in 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120-litre versions.

Buy the Quechua Duffel 100: £50 at Decathlon.co.uk

3. Ortlieb ATrack

Best waterproof duffel: This gets our pick as the best duffel for full waterproof protection. It also stood out for its innovative design.

Will showing the ATrack in use in the Brecon Beacons

Price: £210
Weight: 1560g
Best for: Hiking, active adventures, backpacking
Key attributes: Fully waterproof, excellent as a backpack
Rating: 4/5

Every so often, along comes an item that seemingly makes a considerable slice of products from that same genre redundant overnight. The ISPO Award-winning, and critically-acclaimed, Atrack ST Backpack from Ortlieb is one such bit of kit. What we have here is a duffel bag that works just like a backpack, or a backpack that works just like a duffel. It’s super durable and fully waterproof. Even the main zip, which is located against your back, is 100% watertight. The main opening is huge, so you can access kit easily without having to rummage around or fling items out and there’s loads of well paced padding that makes this comfortable even when you’re carrying around heavy loads. One aspect we really liked during our tests was the amount of adjustment. You can really cinch this in if you’re carrying a light loads, or loosen things up if you’ve got a lot to lug around with you.

Read our full Ortlieb Atrack ST review.

Buy the Ortlieb Atrack: £190 at Wildbounds.com

4. Rab Expedition Kitbag Duffel 80L

Best high-capacity duffel: With its 80-litre capacity (and a 120-litre option available too) this came out on top as our favourite duffel for big and heavy loads.

Price: €130
Weight: 1480g
Best for: Adventures that require a lot of kit and equipment
Key attributes: Large capacity, padded shoulder straps
Rating: 3/5

The biggest duffel reviewed in this group test, the Rab Kitbag is one of those that will be able to swallow everything you need for your next big trip. There’s good amount of padding on the shoulder straps which makes for a comfortable carry, and there are two zipped mesh pockets in the lid – useful for storing things like travel documents and house keys. The material feels quite thin and light for a duffel bag, but that’s not to say it’s flimsy and easy to tear either – quite the opposite in fact. This thing is built to withstand a lot of rough stuff. Granted it’s not the most comfortable carry, but it’s excellent as something that can swallow a whole lot of kit and be slung in and out of the back of a car on any road trips.

Available in: 50, 80 & 120L.

Read our full Rab Kitbag 80L review.

Buy the Rab Expedition Kitbag 80L: €130 at Rab.equipment

5. The North Face Base Camp Duffel Large

Best for durability: We were impressed by the toughness of this duffel during out tests. It’s a long-lasting design.

The Base Camp Duffel by The North Face is genuinely a design classic. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Price: £150
Weight: 1840g
Best for: Weekends away, day-to-day travel
Key attributes: Recycled fabrics, PFC- free water-repellant finish, very tough build
Rating: 4/5

The best thing about this duffel its use of a tough 1000-denier recycled & phthalate-free polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and a PFC-free DWR treatment. The 840 denier recycled nylon at the base is equally great, while the recycled polyester also helps to reduce landfill waste and the use of virgin synthetics.

You can carry it as a backpack or a duffel, and it comes with a mesh stow bag, as well as a removable divider in the main compartment. There’s now an external zipped pocket for your passport and phone, as well as a secure internal zip pocket, padded removable shoulder straps, multiple grab handles, and external webbing loops that can be used as lash points. The zipped D-shaped flap also opens up really wide to make rummaging around inside easy.

Read our full The North Face Base Camp Duffel review.

Buy The North Face Base Camp: £150 at Ellis-brigham.com

Best of the Rest

6. Klättermusen Ydalir 40L

OM editor Will using the Ydalir as a backpack in the Scottish Highlands.

Price: £169
Weight: 820g
Best for: Travel and activities in the rain
Key attributes: Highly water resistant, comfortable straps, high quality
Rating: 4.5/5

We found that the ergonomically shaped straps made this a standout performer in terms of comfort during our tests where we used it on a video shoot in the Scottish Highlands. We also really liked its performance in wet conditions (which we faced a lot of!). It’s the kind of duffel you can leave out in the rain and feel confident that your kit will stay protected.

Klättermusen have a reputation for using quality materials and really drilling down on design details and the Swedish brand hasn’t dropped the ball here. Everything from the main material down to the buckles oozes quality. It’d be improved if it came with a sternum strap, but you do at least have the option to improvise one using the daisy chain loops on the harness. It’s also on the pricey side too.

Also available in 25, 60, 80 and 100-litre capacities.

Read our full Klattermusen Ydalir review.

Buy the Klättermusen Ydalir 40: £169 at Klattermusen.com

7. Bach Dr. Duffel 70L

The Dr Duffel on test by our team in Snowdonia

Price: £190
Weight: 1.69kg
Best for: Travel
Key attributes: Classic design, modern twist, reliable 1000-denier fabric
Rating: 3/5

The Bach Dr. Duffel is a modern take on an old-school doctor’s bag design – one of those things that’s able to swallow more than you’d believe is possible. It has a huge opening, giving you access to all corners of the pack, and it’s chock-a-block full of organisation pockets. It’s also made from a 1000-denier strong Cordura which is ‘air textured’, giving it a more sophisticated and matte textured appearance than your average duffel.

The storage compartments are made from mesh whilst the side and back panel of the bag are padded to protect your valuables and provide carrying comfort. It also comes with two shoulder straps that can be tucked away or completely removed when they’re not required. Other features include a padded laptop sleeve, zips with padlock loops and two compression straps on each side, allowing you to expand/compress storage as required.

This was a contender for our pick of ‘most durable duffel’ as the fabric is super tough, but that accolade went to The North Face in this instance.

Also available in 20, 25, 30, 40 and 110-litre capacities.

Selected for our Outdoor 100 – Read our full Bach Dr Duffel 70 review.

Buy the Bach Dr Duffel 70L: £190 at Bach-equipment.com

8. Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55L

Price: £110
Weight: 1440g
Best for: Expeditions, overseas travel
Key attributes: Recycled materials, durable, water resistant
Rating: 3/5

This isn’t an overly technical duffel bag but it’s durable and water resistant enough for general outdoor use, and it carries very comfortably. The shoulder straps are quick and easy to remove if you want to use this as just a holdall or if you ever want to lash it down to, say, your car roof. It also all folds up into its own pocket down to about the size of a loaf of bread – pretty handy. Best of all, however, is the fact that all of the fabrics used here are made from recycled materials and they’re recyclable as well. Our tester has been using the older version of this duffel bag about twice a month for almost ten years now and they say it’s served them excellently – and has held up remarkably well too.

Available in: 55L, 70L and 100L.

Read our full Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55 Review.

Buy the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55: £140 at Ellis-Brigham.com

9. Jack Wolfskin Traveltopia 45L

The Traveltopia in use during our Green Gear Guide test weekend

Price: £78
Weight: 790g
Best for: travel and casual use
Key attributes: sustainable materials, useful storage options, packable
Rating: 3.5/5

This is another duffel bag that impressed us for its eco credentials, so much so that we decided to include it in our prestigious Green Gear Guide this year. The Traveltopia 45 is made from 100% recycled polyester and is bluesign approved, meaning that harmful substances have been eliminated right from the beginning of the manufacturing process, and all resources involved in its manufacture have been used responsibly. What’s more, it also has Green Button certification. That’s a label awarded by the German federal government designed to help consumers identify socially and environmentally sustainable textiles.

One thing that we really liked about this is its water resistant coating which uses a PFC-free DWR (durable water repellent) treatment that’s solvent-free wax – it’s actually inspired by natural beeswax. When it comes to performance, this is a very practical and functional bag too. The polyester construction is pretty tough and we found it enabled the Traveltopia to stand up to regular everyday use. The detachable multi-way carry straps, large main compartment, five inner pockets, reinforced base and water resistant zips all make it very practical too. Similarly, the 45-litre capacity means this duffle is big enough to take a weekend or more’s worth of clothes and essentials. When you don’t need it, the whole thing stashes neatly into its own pocket to end up as a bundle small enough to stick in another suitcase or away in a cupboard.

Available in: 45 and 65 litre capacities.

Read our full Jack Wolfskin Traveltopia review.

Buy the Jack Wolfskin Traveltopia 45L: £78 at Jack-wolfskin.co.uk

10. Peak Design Travel DuffelPack 65

On trial during our Greener Gear Guide trip in the Lake District

Price: £170
Weight: 1.77kg
Best for: Travelling (including short off-the-beaten-track jaunts too)
Key attributes: Practical, versatile, recycled fabrics
Rating: 3.5/5

Peak Design’s Travel Dufflepack 65 is big enough to work as a travel bag, with a sleek and functional style. However, for the rougher stuff, it’s also fitted with ergonomic padded backpack-style shoulder and waist straps that are stowed beneath magnetically-sealed back panels, yet deploy instantly when you need to haul it around. It’s also made from 100% recycled 600-denier nylon canvas, reinforced with an even burlier 900-denier woven polyester bottom fabric. The woven straps are made from nylon with Hypalon synthetic rubber and inside, the internal storage pockets are made from silicone-coated mesh. The hardware is also all metal – no plastic buckles or cinches, just metal hook and loop closures. That’s a plus for lifetime durability and therefore sustainability. In fact, Peak Designs guarantee their products for life, and refurbish broken items to keep them in use and out of landfills.

Read our full Peak Design Travel DuffelPack review.

Buy the Peak Design Travel Duffelpack 65L: £170 at Amazon.co.uk

11. Cotopaxi Allpa Duffel 70L

Price: £135
Weight: 1280g
Best for: Extended trips, expeditions
Key attributes: Recycled fabrics, packs away small
Rating: 3/5

Cotopaxi are well known for their sustainable approach to outdoor gear and the Allpa Duffel bag definitely follows suit. Featuring 100% recycled nylon in the shell material, 100% recycled ripstop polyester at the lining, all in the lightweight package of 1280g; we were pretty impressed with this one. Cotopaxi also say that the product is made in a factory committed to ‘fair labour and environmentally sound practises’. Not bad, not bad at all.

In terms of features, you’ll find some easily stowable carry straps, dual grab handles on both sides, a removable back harness, one large compartment with interior organisation, two exterior pockets, and a handy ‘dirty laundry’ compartment at the bottom. During our tests, we found the stuff sack to be particularly handy as it doubled up as a packing cube for any extra gear we had lying around.

Buy The Cotopaxi Allpa Duffel Bag: £135 at Uk-cotopaxi.com

12. Eagle Creek Migrate

Price: £120
Weight: 1134g
Best for: Adventures in rough terrains
Key attributes: 100% recycled materials, water resistant
Rating: 3.5/5

The 60-litre Eagle Creek Migrate duffel has plenty of qualities to recommend it as a good travel companion. It’s the perfect size to take as carry-on, and slings easily over your shoulder or on your back thanks to the dual haul and pack straps. It’s also tough and durable, utilising a water-repellent 900-denier heavy-duty TPU fabric. This is a better alternative to PVC, which can leak toxins into the environment. The TPU is 100% recycled and made from Bluesign-approved material, while the duffel’s water repellent coating was developed by harvesting windscreen plastics from landfill sites in Asia. Talk about junk in your trunk…

According to our tests, it’s a great option for week-long expeditions. One of our expert gear testers Will said: “What’s impressed me most about this is its durability. We really chucked it about in Norway and I can tell you there isn’t a single scratch to show evidence of that.”

Read our full Eagle Creek Migrate review.

Buy The Eagle Creek Migrate: £120 at Alpine-trek.co.uk

13. Black Diamond Stonehauler 60L

Price: £160
Weight: 1200g
Best for: Heavy loads, climbing trips
Key attributes: Internal compression system, recycled fabrics
Rating: 4/5

With a HaulLoop carry system rated at 2kN (that means it can carry a hell of a lot), the Black Diamond Stonehauler is a bit of a beast. It’s got some neat eco credentials too, featuring 100% recycled body fabrics with Bluesign Approved dying processes.

Built for multi-day adventures, the 60L version features a padded body construction, removable and padded shoulder straps, two interior mesh pockets, a single exterior accessories pocket, and a mesh ID pocket. The Stonehauler also uses Black Diamond’s unique ‘LockOff’ internal compression system which basically helps ensure your stuff stays organised in your bag when you’re on the move. There’s also a 2-year warranty if anything goes awry.

Available in: 45, 60, 90, and 120L.

Buy The Black Diamond Stonehauler 60L Duffel: £160 at Blackdiamondequipment.com

14. Thule Chasm 70L

Price: £135
Weight: 1.75g
Best for: All-rounder
Key attributes: Tough 900D fabric, 100% recycled materials, PFC-free DWR
Rating: 3/5

The Chasm duffel from storage experts Thule is a sturdy bag. It features a tough 900D fabric made from recycled polyester with a phthalate-free laminate. On top of that, you’ll find recycled webbings and mesh throughout, and a PFC-free water-repellent coating for extra protection against the elements.

Much like the other duffels on this list, the Chasm has a 2-in-1 design offering both carrying and backpack options thanks to the packable compression straps. Other features include a large, easy access mouth opening, oversized grab handles, a tough padded base, lockable zip pulls, and both internal and external mesh pockets throughout.

Available in: 40, 70, 90 and 130L.

Buy The Thule Chasm Duffel Bag: £135 at Blacks.co.uk

15. Yeti Panga 75L Waterproof Duffel

Price: £350
Weight: 2.76g
Best for: Epic expeditions in tough terrains
Key attributes: 100% waterproof and airtight
Rating: 4/5

The Yeti Panga has a much higher price point than most of the duffels on this list but packs quite a punch. It looks to be the kind of duffel bag that could last a very long time.

We haven’t tested it for long enough just yet, but it’s claimed to be 100% waterproof and completely airtight. In fact, Yeti says it’s ‘fully submersible’ thanks to a combination of RF-Welded Seams and HyrdroLock watertight zippers. And if the bag stops being airtight, there’s an in-house team that’ll sort it out for you. All Panga Dry Bags actually come with a three-year warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.

The Panga is also puncture-resistant thanks to the ThickSkin Shell made of high-density nylon. You’ll also find a sturdy EVA moulded bottom too, two mesh pockets, some comfy-to-hold DryHaul Straps, reinforced QuickGrab Lash Points, and MetalLoc Hardware. The MetalLoc Hardware is basically what makes the bag tough-as-nails so I wouldn’t be worrying too much about snagging it on branches and rocks when you’re out and about.

Available in: 50, 75 and 100L.

Buy The Yeti Panga Waterproof Duffel: £350 at Uk-yeti.com