Duffle Bag

Duffle bags, sorted by volume and closure

A duffle bag is a soft cylinder that opens along most of its length, which is why it takes bulky, awkward kit that a top-loading pack refuses to swallow. The range runs from a twenty litre grab bag to a ninety litre holdall with stowable shoulder straps, in canvas, coated fabric and leather, kept mainly in khaki, olive and black. Three decisions settle the choice: how many litres, which closure, and how the weight is carried once the bag is full.

What size of holdall suits a trip?

Litres describe the sack, not the journey. Around twenty litres holds a change of clothing and a washkit for one night away or a session at the gym. Fifty to fifty-five litres covers a week, or a full set of outdoor clothing with boots laid on top. Ninety litres is expedition and kit-for-two territory, and it comes with a caution: a sack that large gets filled, and the limit becomes what one shoulder can lift rather than what the fabric can hold. The wider military bags range shows how the same volumes behave in other shapes.

Which closure matters most?

• Zip: the fastest access along the top and the part that gives up first. A coarse-toothed zip under a storm flap outlasts a fine one sewn flush with the panel.
• Roll-top: the mouth is folded several times and clipped, which keeps water out at the price of slower access. This is the closure on the coated models.
• Drawcord and lid: the traditional kitbag mouth, forgiving when the bag is overstuffed, untidy for anything small.
• Carry system: grab handles, a padded sling, or hidden rucksack straps on the larger holdalls.

Kit that has to stay dry inside any of these is safest in a drybag used as a liner, since no outer closure survives being sat on in a puddle.

Is a duffle bag really waterproof?

Two very different things get that label. A coated or welded body with a roll-top closure keeps water out through the cloth and along the seams, and copes with a downpour or a wet boat floor. A canvas body given a water-repellent finish sheds a shower, then wets through; it belongs in a car boot and a dry hut rather than a day of Highland rain. Reading the closure and the seams says more than the fabric description does.

Where does the bag fail first?

At the handle anchorage and at the base corners, long before the cloth wears thin. Handles that wrap right around the body spread the load across the whole panel; handles tacked onto the top panel concentrate it into four small patches of stitching. Packing dense items low and central rather than at one end keeps the seams honest.

Duffle or backpack for the same load?

Anything carried further than a car park is easier on the back. A rucksack puts weight on the hips through a belt, while a holdall hangs it from one shoulder and twists the spine. A military backpack also keeps both hands free on stairs and station platforms. The holdall wins where a pack is clumsy: gear that is wide, gear that must be found quickly, and gear that goes straight into a boot.