Gregory Alpaca Review

The Gregory Alpaca is one of our favorite all-around duffels and is well-suited for everything from remote expeditions to daily trips to the gym. The two zippered pockets provide just enough organization for your smaller items, and the durable and weather-resistant materials keep your contents protected from the elements. The comfortable carry options make it ideal for almost any type of travel application, and the daisy chain attachments provide plenty of tie-down points for far-flung travels on a bus, 4x4 vehicle, or pack animal.

Performance Comparison

Storage and Ease of Packing

The Alpaca has an efficient storage design with a large main storage compartment, an internal zippered mesh pocket underneath the top lid, and one external zippered storage pocket that expands into the interior of the bag for dirty gear. We tested the 40-liter version, and it is also available in 60, 80, 100, and 120-liter volumes.

A large D-shaped zippered opening extends nearly the entire perimeter of the bag to reveal the large main storage compartment. The heavy-duty zippers used to close the lid are burly and glide smoothly without getting snagged. The large zipper pulls are easy to grab, even with gloves on or in the dark, thanks to their T-shaped grip. These were especially helpful when we packed the Alpaca to maximum capacity and had to force the zippers closed while compressing the bag.

The Alpaca also sports a single external zippered pocket at one end. This pocket extends into the main compartment and functions as a dirty gear storage area. We are big fans of these style pockets to help keep our clean gear separate from others, especially when dirty or wet. We do wish this pocket was just a little bit larger so that we could more comfortably fit a pair of muddy hiking shoes inside. Still, this is a great feature that is not found on all duffels.

Lastly, the Alpaca 40 has a single zippered pocket on the hood for small items. On larger models, like the 100-liter version, there are two separate pockets on the hood.

Ease of Transport

The Alpaca is convenient to haul around with many of the same carrying features as other top-tier contenders in a well-executed design. It can be carried briefcase style, backpack style, over the shoulder, dragged by its grab handles, or lashed down through its daisy chains.

Its comfortable shoulder straps are well-padded and have a wide range of adjustment. They can be cinched down tightly for a comfortable backpack-style carry or fully lengthened to sling over one shoulder. Most other competitors in our lineup don't provide the same extended adjustment length that allows for a comfortable and balanced shoulder sling option. In addition to their high range of adjustability, the shoulder straps are also completely removable. This is a feature seen across most high-performing bags and is helpful when checking bags for air travel. The shoulder straps attach via a pass-through buckle on the top and traditional side-squeeze buckles on the bottom.

The traditional briefcase-style carry handles are permanently attached to the bag and join together with a comfortable velcro clasp. The velcro clasp has a pleasant rigidity to it that provides superior comfort when the bag is heavily weighted. We did find that these handles are slightly too long, especially for the overall size of the Alpaca 40. Grab handles at each end of the duffel provide an easy target for a quick grab out of the trunk, off a luggage rack, or at the airport baggage claim.

Each side of the duffel includes a set of daisy chain attachment points between the handles. These loops make it far easier to transport and strap down this bag to alternative modes of transportation like sleds, jeeps, snowmobiles, llamas, or various other pack animals. Not only do these daisy chains help facilitate lashing the duffel to a multitude of creatures and vehicles, but they are also easily among the most rugged of any model we tested. The Alpaca uses thick webbing material on the loop and doesn't skimp on the stitching. For those who travel by more traditional means, the webbing can provide a convenient place to clip extra gear like shoes, water bottles, or keys, using a carabiner.

Protection

The Alpaca is among the most weather-resistant duffels that we tested with its 900-denier body material with a waterproof TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) coating. While the fabric itself creates an impenetrable barrier against moisture, the seams and zippers are not completely waterproof and remain vulnerable to water seepage. None of the products in our test group have fully sealed seams or waterproof zippers — if that's what you want, consider one of our favorite duffel-style dry bags.

In both our real-world experiences and our side-by-side high-pressure hose tests, the Alpaca performed well time and time again. The TPU laminate coating does a great job of repelling water from the bag's surface, and the top lid has a generous weather flap that does an excellent job of protecting the main D-shaped zipper from the elements. Water beaded right off the bag when we exposed it to a one-hour rain bath in a tropical storm. During the host test, water did seep in through the seams, but significantly less than in other models. Both of these features help keep your contents dry in most normal travel conditions, aside from extended heavy downpours or full underwater submersion.

The Alpaca also has a padded base, something that we have come to appreciate in duffels. The added structural support is helpful to hold the bag's shape when it is not completely full. It also provides a slight cushion from the bumps, bangs, and drags that your duffel can experience during transport.

Construction Quality

The Gregory Alpaca is an incredibly durable and well-made duffel bag. It is constructed with a 900-denier polyester rip-stop material throughout the main body, made from 40% recycled materials. Only a few products in our lineup use a similar or slightly thicker body material. The rip-stop fabric resists puncture and abrasions, and the additional padding on the bottom layer helps maximize the duffel's durability and overall lifespan.

The Alpaca's overall construction quality, fit, and finish are in line with the best duffels that we have tested. All of the seams are strong and thoughtfully reinforced, and the webbing, buckles, and zippers all match the high quality of the bag. When push comes to shove, the Alpaca is plenty durable for the vast majority of users and should withstand several rugged expeditions or years of general travel. Gregory also stands behind their products with a lifetime warranty on materials and workmanship.

Weight-to-Volume Ratio

The 40-liter version of the Alpaca weighed in at 2.7 pounds when we tested it. With this weight-to-volume ratio, it certainly isn't the lightest model in our lineup. Given the thick material and padded base, it is to be expected that the Alpaca is on the heavier end of the lineup. Still, we think the extra ounces are worth it for the tradeoff in weather protection and durability.

Despite being on the heavier side for its volume, we weren't bothered by the Alpaca's overall weight. This is especially true considering that it has some of the most robust material in our lineup and doesn't skimp on high-quality hardware or thoughtful design features.

In the long run, it provides a great blend of performance, comfort, durability, and weather resistance at a reasonable weight. When loaded up to its maximum capacity, you probably won't notice the weight of the bag itself, but you'll definitely appreciate its quality.

Should You Buy the Gregory Alpaca?

The Alpaca has one of the lower prices of the top contenders, providing excellent value for a high-end duffel bag. The Alpaca performs well across the board with no significant weaknesses, thanks to its durable and weather-resistant material, comfortable carry options, efficient storage design, and an impressive list of thoughtful features. Other models may shine just a little brighter in specific areas, but none combine the all-around performance and reasonable price tag of the Alpaca. If you want a bag that performs right up there with the best but also want to save a few bucks for some other new gear, we highly recommend the Alpaca.

What Other Duffel Bags Should You Consider?

On the other hand, if you're looking for the best of the best duffel bags, the Patagonia Black Hole is one of the best duffel bags we tested and is only slightly more expensive than the Alpaca. The Black Hole features the standard cavernous main compartment. For a little more organization in your duffel, we recommend The North Face Base Camp Voyager Duffel. This bag has a collapsible internal divider as well as two mesh organization pockets to keep your essentials stowed neatly. Like the Black Hole, the Voyager is only slightly more expensive than the Alpaca. For a true value pick, both the HYC00 Travel and REI Co-op Roadtripper will stretch your wallet the furthest. The HYC00 is ideal for weekend trips and offers excellent organizational design pockets for all the little items you need to travel with. The Roadtripper is on the other end of the spectrum and provides unparalleled weight-to-volume ratios and storage capacity with its high-volume and minimalistic designs.