Peak Design Travel Duffelpack 65L: A Monster Gear Hauler
Peak Design’s take on the Travel Duffel
Have you ever tried to fit all your gear into a travel bag, only to find yourself ferociously stuffing it full like a Thanksgiving turkey, hoping nothing gets damaged or jacked up and broken? Yeah, we have been there. For that reason and a few others we wanted to test out the monster gear hauler that is Peak Designs’ Travel Duffelpack 65L and see if we can get away from Thanksgiving flashback nightmares every time we load up and more into a great, simple, and easy to load up and go bag.
Peak Designs’ Travel Dufflepack 65L maximizes carry capacity without compromising comfort or versatility. The ergonomic padded backpack-style shoulder and waist straps support the heaviest of loads, while stow your remaining goods instantly beneath magnetically-sealed back panels. Padded handles from all sides give the fast grab ability to pack up and head out. The Travelduffel is built for all travels- big or small.
Our crew wanted to try out the 65L Duffelpack and see what it’s made of (and from) to see just what Peak Design has done to upgrade today’s Duffelpack game.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
When our crew broke open the box holding the 65L Duffle our first thought honestly was that this had much more room than a turkey and looks way better than any other travel pack we’ve seen! The bag itself (empty) weighs just under 4lbs (3.9lb to be exact) and has a 45L min and 65L max capacity. The exterior color we chose was Sage (Peak offers this 65L Duffel in Sage and Black) and the color was awesome. The feel of the exterior bag was smooth and durable, as one would expect being made from weatherproof 600D nylon canvas. The bottom of the bag is made of 900D ottoman-weave poly and the woven straps with Hypalon and Nubuck leather add a special touch to the bag. Note- the Sage model is the only one with this feature.
What stood out to us in this review (similar to our review of their 35L Travel Duffle) was the attention to detail. The two padded shoulder straps, waist straps, and external carry straps were very well constructed and blended in with the bag beautifully. All straps are stowable making them even more travel friendly. The inside of the bag features silicone-coated mesh internal pockets adding a durability to storage we couldn't get enough of.
Overall initial impression out of the box: Where can we book a trip to so we can start packing this thing up? It is simply dope.
PACK IT UP
Like our other Peak Design review, we had to first ask ourselves just what could we cram inside a 65L duffle bag? No- not like the poor turkey we mentioned before, but more in line with actual travel gear. When we say cram, we also mean nealty (or at least in attempts to stay neat) place in the bag for a possible trip, adventure, or hike.
For those who need more concrete numbers of what could fit inside, here you go:
65L is considered a large-range size for carry. Anything lower you're looking a short week or few day trip. Anything bigger, you might be climbing Everest-twice.
65L is a standard luggage size and can fit in most overhead bins when lightly filled (around the 45L mark). Anything bigger, you may need to check the bag if flying.
It can hold pretty much:
5 Set of clothes
10 Socks
10 Underwear
Laptop (and case)
Ipad/Tablet
3 pairs of shoes
2 Belts
Grooming essentials
Cords/plugs for all your tech
Your EDC gear (knives, belts, wallet, watch, How to Fight off a Bear audio book)
+ maybe a little bit more
Or think of it this way- this Dufflepack can hold between 12-17 gallons of milk. That is A LOT of milk. Still want more dimension info? Have a look:
STANDOUT FEATURES
And away we go- we dove into the 65L monster gear hauler Travel Dufflepack. The Integrated expansion zippers on its exterior offer a massive 20L payload expansion (45L min to 65L max) adding more room and space for loading up gear. The bag features a unique main opening with a burly #10 weatherproof zip and an ultra-long zip path. The increased access and visibility of the bags interior makes for packing up, storing, and viewing what you have added into the bag a breeze. With more access and visibility than traditional duffels, this dufflepack has its grip over the competition. The Internal volume is sized to perfectly fit Peak Designs’ Packing Tools (sold separately) for customizable organization.
The ergonomic function of the padded backpack-style shoulder and waist straps supports the heaviest of loads, while still giving space to stow goods beneath magnetically-sealed back panels. The Padded grab handles on all sides of the bag give quick carrying options and another carry style vs traditional backpacks with only one carry function. The bag is made from 100% recycled 600D nylon canvas and 6 padded grab handles on the sides, ends and top of bag give any carry option one could want.
Inside the bag, the grey interior pops with color for clear visibility and the 2 internal and 2 external pockets provide added storage. We love the waist and shoulder straps storage options as one can store beneath the magnetically sealed flaps. The 2 external carry cinch straps also are easy to use with the bag and the adjustable and stowable sternum strap was an added bonus we didn’t expect.
After loading up the bag full of gear, we took it out for a spin. When carried on our back, the straps supported the load and the comfort level was solid. There were no pressure point issues or lack of movement/ restrictions when moving around, kneeling to grab other gear, or moving up through different terrain levels. When tested as a carry bag using the grab handles, the bulk of the bag did not interfere with movement in any direction. The bag early stored in our trunk (stay focused people), on the front and rear seats of a car, and when carried onto a bus it did not take up so much room that people stared us down like tourists. We felt comfortable carrying the bag and easily found it to be durable for loading, unloading, and tossing in and out of the trunk. Overall the bag held up in both durability but also functionality.
The 65L Travel Dufflepack is perfect for those who have a lot to carry and who plan on going on a week long trip or so. It’s not recommended for light carry, every day carry (to the gym for example) or for small weekend trips. This pack is for the next level adventure or photographer who is heading out for a good haul.
BONUS FEATURES
While we love the standard features of the 65L we did note some bonus features worth highlighting.
The ability to expand from 45L to 65L gives range in a bag that is unlike other travelduffel bags
The Built-in theft-deterrent main and size zipper pull locks add a level of security that is worth the value in peace of mind alone
Dedicated Capture Clip (sold separately) and other add on features make this bag the ultimate in gear compatibility
ID card holder let’s you stow your ID safety for any travels
The Peak Design 65L comes with a vast amount of standard and bonus features making this a solid find.
Peak Design 65L Overall duuude Factor: Your next and only Travel Duffle just arrived!
The Peak Design 35L Duffel is instantly impressive and a must grab for anyone who appreciates beautiful craftsmanship.
Price: $219
PEAK DESIGN INFO
Peak Design is a brand that has a great energy, philosophy, and stance:
“Before we get into it, it’s worth noting that the purpose of Peak Design (why we do it) is to create happy, meaningful lives for the people that work here. That may sound trite, perhaps even selfish. But we believe our mission can only be achieved when 34 (and counting) self-actualizing, highly stoked people enthusiastically step into the Peak Design office every day. Our purpose and our mission go hand-in-hand.”
To learn more about Peak Design’s line of bags and other accessories check them out online and head over to their social media pages for cool updates and posts!
