When I’m traveling, I like to travel light. And that means that I don’t generally have a lot of room left over in my carry-on bag when I hit the airport. That’s why I started researching the best packable duffel bag on the market. There are a lot of companies such as Osprey and REI offering serviceable bags in this category. However, nothing was really small enough for my liking. You see, I wantes a duffel bag that could pack down to a very small size that I could just throw in my carry-on before a trip. That way, If I end up picking up a few gifts, then I can just expand the duffel bag at the end of the trip, throw some clothes in it and open up a tonne of space in my main luggage for gifts or other things I pick up along the way. I would generally then check that main piece of luggage, leaving me with just a light duffel to carry onto the plane on the way home.
That’s when I stumbled upon the Sea to Summit Ultrasil duffle bag. This thing is incredible! Made of a unique ultrasil ripstop fabric, somehow Sea to Summit was able to cram in a full 40L (10.5 gallon) duffel bag into the tiniest package I have ever seen. It is so small that it just folds into a tiny bag that has a key ring on the end. Just a few ounces in weight and you’re good to go. You can literally just stuff this thing anywhere in your bag for the “oops I ran our of room” moment when you’re traveling.
In terms of durability, this thing is amazing as well. Again, the ripstop ultrasil fabric they use is super durable but also very lightweight. They even have included solid YKK zippers on this bag. Not an easy feat for such a lightweight piece of equipment.
Overall this is one of my favorite pieces of traveling gear. We can safely give this our “buy it for life” BIFL recommendation.
If you’re looking for something that is just a tad bigger, but with a shoulder strap and slightly more heavy build o it, we highly recommend the Eagle Creek Packable Duffel. This thing is super durable as long as you can afford a little bit bigger of a pouch when you pack.
Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Lightweight Duffle Bag, 40-Liter, Pacific Blue
Features
- 40-liter capacity ultralight duffle bag weighs only 3.2-ounces and packs down to 2.5 x 4.5-inches
- Ultra-Sil 30D siliconized high-tenacity Cordura Nylon fabric provides exceptional strength to weight ratio
- Bar-tacked and reinforced stitching at key stress points, durable zipper closure
- Includes stuff sack with handy aluminum carabiner
- Ideal for airline carry-on, going to the gym, hauling gear to the ball field or impromptu excursions
