Peak Design BTRD-35-SG-1 sac de voyage 35 L Tissu Vert

Product Information

Long paddling expeditions, snowy winter excursions, or a family fun day at the lake — these are the bags for the job. Though the selection is sparse, some brands have developed entirely waterproof duffels for trips where keeping your gear dry is paramount. Their higher weight, minimal features, and hefty price tag make them a pretty niche bag, so we wouldn’t recommend snagging one for everyday use. Peak Design’s Travel Duffel also has a good deal of modularity and allows you to configure its straps in different ways depending on how you want to carry it throughout your trip. We found the North Face Voyager Roller to be one of our favorite rolling duffels for a diversity of environments and surfaces. Its sturdy wheels and chassis instill confidence over bumpy cobblestone or broken-up sidewalks, and the burly materials and lash points make it somewhat adventure-ready. Volume Selection The volume of the duffel bag you choose depends on the different demands and length of your trip; (photo/Honey McNaughton) From a branding perspective, there are several Peak Design and “PD” logos found on the duffel, and we think they’re all quite tasteful—nothing too loud. Peak Design Travel Duffel Logos

Another unique feature of this bag are the internal grab handles that allow you to easily move the duffel around without zipping it up. We can’t say we’ve seen this on any other duffel and found ourselves using it way more than we thought we would. Internal straps help keep things organized and compact while on the road. This means clothes stay folded, shoes stay together, and you won’t find a tossed salad of gear when you zip open your bag at the end of the day. Flying With Duffel Bags Charging through the Chattanooga airport baggage claim loaded down with bulging duffels; (photo/Honey McNaughton) We also like that the shoulder strap offers a nice amount of padding and that the padding goes pretty far across the strap. This is a clear improvement over what we’ve seen in some other shoulder straps in the past. Peak Design Travel Duffel Side Folded When our 120L model is fully loaded, however, we definitely wish for wider shoulder straps with more foam. You don’t want to be carrying it for too long. Magnets in the straps snap together and hold them in the hand grip position, though we wish they were a bit stronger, as they come apart easily.The duffel bags in our lineup span across a variety of types and are available in many different sizes. During testing, we directly compared feature-to-feature for each bag to avoid biases that might arise from testing different types and sizes of bags. Remember, the best duffel for you is the one that meets your needs the best. These premium features and protection come at a hefty price point and a high weight for a dry bag. The Panga tips the scales at 5.2 pounds. It is also one of the more expensive duffel dry bags that we tested, but for peace of mind, sometimes that price is worth it. These downsides are probably tolerable if you're looking to protect valuable electronics and equipment in a wet environment, or if you need the versatility of one bag to meet any potential needs. The Watershed Colorado Duffel is another 100% waterproof dry bag we love to use, with a slightly more flexible design and a lower price tag, though it is a little more involved to seal against the elements. The 600-denier TPU-coated polyester shell with a reinforced base provides great weather resistance and durability, but is a bit thinner than other battle-ready duffels on our list, and showed more signs of wear after similar tests. This does help cut down on weight though, particularly with the massive 120L version.

While the Allpa looks great around bustling towns or quaint remote villages, it’s built like a workhorse and won’t shy away from an adventure. Hefty TPU-coated 1,000- and 840-denier polyester and ballistic nylon protect your gear, and can hold up to some serious abuse on outdoor missions. Reinforced horizontal daisy chains round out its rugged aesthetic. Regardless, this incredibly durable, reliable bag delivers expedition-ready quality at a surprisingly affordable price point. Its tough shell fabric, thoughtful features, and top-shelf carrying comfort make it a phenomenal choice for any adventure you could cook up. While you’re in either sling or shoulder carry mode, you can easily take the other straps off and stow them away. It did take us some time to get the hang of this, but the more we used the duffel, the easier it became.

We’ve been putting this duffel to the test over the past two weeks, so let’s jump right in and see if it truly is the duffel of the future. Materials & Aesthetic While we like several elements of this update, we wish they had retained some key features of previous models — namely the lid and daisy chain setup. The large U-shaped opening of old has been replaced with a single center zipper. This shaves some weight and simplifies the opening, but we just can’t get over the ease of accessing tons of gear at once that the old lid offered. We didn’t expect our lightest duffel to also be one of our most waterproof, but aside from YETI’s Panga, this thwarted moisture more than most. Fully taped seams, sealed YKK zippers, and PU-coated 70-denier ripstop nylon combine forces to form an essentially waterproof vessel (though it’s not intended for submersion). However, if you’ll be keeping to controlled environments with a lot of pavement and nice walkways, these can alleviate a lot of stress on your body. Many brands also offer rolling duffels that hover around 40 L, making them suitable as carry-ons.

It takes a good deal of prolonged rain to breach the beefy TPU-coated fabric of Gregory’s Alpaca or Osprey’s Transporter. For most of what you’ll encounter on your travels, this will suffice.Sometimes adventure takes us into truly adverse weather conditions, and for those times, water resistance isn't enough. If you're looking for a fully waterproof dry bag and duffel bag hybrid, the Yeti Panga 50 fits the bill. Its durable laminated high-density nylon is completely waterproof, and the opening seals shut with a HydroLok zipper. With RF welded seams, this duffel keeps the water out and the air in, even when fully submerged. For this reason, it is our go-to bag for protecting sensitive electronic equipment in wet conditions. This Yeti has a healthy amount of webbing and attachment points, plus shoulder straps, so you can just as easily carry it through the airport as lash it to an inflatable raft. Additionally, while previous Camp 4s had nice horizontal daisy chains running the entire length of the bag, this update eliminates lash loops entirely, leaving only the haul handles and shoulder straps as tie-down options for transport. Internal compression straps are a huge bonus though, and help keep everything cinched up tight.

If you’re scoping out a bag for shorter trips, lugging around the gym, or flights home for Christmas, these are the duffels you want. While not as stalwart as their battle-ready cousins above, these often still boast excellent storage, weather resistance, and carrying capabilities. Travel and casual duffels focus on comfort and useability over rugged durability. For most of your travel needs, a bomb-proof, fully submersible, waterproof travel duffel isn’t on the shortlist. But some adventures — like snowy winter expeditions, multi-day rafting trips, or tours through wet climates — may require such a burly bag.

Versatile Borg Duffel

This wouldn’t be suited for the same level of abuse as other bags like the StoneHauler though, and is better used on more casual adventures where keeping weight down is of chief importance.