Duffles (Luggage & Travel Bags)

Soft body, no internal frame, and a long zip running most of the length of the top: that combination is what makes a duffle behave the way it does. Sizes run from about 30 liters for a gym bag up to 100 liters and beyond for cargo versions. The long zip is the defining feature, since it opens the whole top face at once, so you pack into the bag from above rather than filing things into a shell.

Because nothing holds the shape, the fabric and the strap anchors carry everything. Look for webbing straps that wrap all the way around the body and under the base rather than stitching to a side panel, since a wrapped strap spreads the load into the whole bag while a stitched one eventually tears out. Denier, the thread weight of the fabric, is what separates a gym bag from a bag that survives a truck bed. Wheeled duffles add a handle and two wheels along one long edge, which costs two to three pounds and the ability to fold flat, but saves your shoulder on anything over 40 pounds.

A checked case protects its contents and a duffle does not, so cameras, bottles and anything with a screen belong in the hard shell. What a duffle does that no case can is compress and change shape. It wins in a car trunk, on a boat and in a small closet. Travel totes are smaller and open at the top rather than along it. Set beside a backpack of similar volume, a duffle swallows bulky items more easily but loads one shoulder. So many now include stowable backpack straps.

Gym use, weekends away, sports kit and any trip ending at a car rather than a carousel suit it. Pack one folded flat inside a case on a long trip to bring things home in. As your only checked bag it is a poor bet if you fly often, because a soft body with no frame takes the worst of the loading belt. People with a bad shoulder should look at wheeled or backpack versions, since a loaded duffle above 30 pounds is really hard to carry any real distance.

Pack it full and lift it by the handles, then by the shoulder strap. The handles should meet in the middle with a wrap so both can be held in one hand. The shoulder pad should slide along the strap to where you want it. Two zip sliders let you open from either end and lock together, which matters on a bag with no other closure. Empty and dry it fully after gym or beach use, since a bag with no structure traps damp in the folds along the base.