I’ve been using the older version of this duffel bag about twice a month for almost ten years now and it’s served me excellently. It’s come with many on countless flights and road trips and actually doesn’t even have that many scars from the mileage. The 40L interior won’t be big enough for long trips but is ideal if you’re committed to travelling with hand luggage only. Plus, many safari lodges offer laundry facilities so you can afford to take less with you. To give that price some context we then looked at all of the products available from Cotswold Outdoor in the duffel bags category. We found 24 items in total. What’s the price of duffel bags? With its 80-litre capacity the Rab Kitbag will swallow a lot of stuff. I’m pretty sure I could carry double the contents of my wardrobe in this. The 600 denier fabric walls and reinforced base also make it capable of taking a bashing. Selected for the 2021/22 Outdoor 100 – Read our full Bach Dr Duffel 70 review. BUY NOW: BACH-EQUIPMENT.COM

We’re really pleased to have scored Rab Kit Bag II 80L so highly, givimg it 8.2 out of 10, making it well above the average for all duffel bags. 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. There are however some methods that you can use to determine a product’s quality without needing to physically have it. Despite the bag’s soft material, it is one of the most structured bags, particularly due to the plastic high road chassis that holds the wheels. That means it won’t be as flexible or as easy to squeeze into luggage compartments and you may get some disapproving looks from the pilot when loading. But the bag’s manoeuvrability is a worthy trade-off if your airline will allow it.

The downside to buying online is that you can’t actually get hold of the product to try it out first. Though bags with wheels aren’t always recommended, they do make carrying your luggage a whole lot easier! Each end also has compression straps to make the bag a bit neater when it’s not completely full, and on the side are tie-in loops to help in securing the bag to a vehicle. The classic North Face holdall is hard-wearing and durable, while also being made from water-resistant, recycled materials. This makes it a sustainable and practical choice too.

This is another duffel bag that impressed us for its eco credential, so much so that we decided to include it in our prestigious Green Gear Guide this year.If that’s what you’re after, read all about my favourite safari duffel bags right here: Rufiji Canvas Duffel Bag

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. When buying duffel bags, the quality of the product is going to be one of the factors that you really scrutinise before you commit to buying.A traditional canvas holdall, available in two colour ways and holding an impressive 72 litres of stuff.