Wild Things Mule Duffel Review

Likes
The Wild Things Mule, Burrow, Goat and Carry On are nearly the lightest duffels we tested, only marginally heavier than the Gregory Long Haul Duffel. They are also the only duffel bags we tested that are made in the USA. The large, clear information window pockets helped it stand out while in a pile of bags. At first glance the Wild Things Mule Duffel appears not as tough as some of the others because it uses ballistic nylon material versus the now more common urethane or coated vinyl. But after extensive testing on dozens of trips we found these bags to be extremely durable. We didn't love the fact that there is only one strait-across zipper (we prefer a D-shaped zipper opening). But because of the narrower profiles of these bags, the straight zipper works okay. We do think that the Wild Things models are slightly easier than the similarly zipping Gregory Long Haul duffel. We also like it that volume options for the Wild Things duffels range from 42 to 144L.

Dislikes
The biggest drawback is that there isn't a good way to turn this bag into a backpack for longer distance carries; you can use the handles as shoulder straps but they dig in with heavier loads. The side pocket is a little hard to access when the bag is full, but at least it was accessible without having to break into our commonly over-packed bag. The Wild Things duffels are near the bottom of our review for water resistance. That said, we used them on glacier sleds in the Alaska range where they worked fine because of the cold temps and only having to deal with snow.

Value
Compared with the similarly priced non-shoulder/backpack strapped Gregory Long Haul Duffel, it is only $10-$15 more expensive, size to size. The Wild Things Mule is less expensive than most of the duffels we tested and is one of the toughest. It is a good, no frills duffel that is super tough but still lightweight, all for a good price. If you need a dependable long-lasting duffel but don't want to break the bank and are willing to sacrifice a few luxuries, then the Wild Things duffels are good models to check out.