Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 55L Review

This soft 55-liter pack is 27 x 16 x 12.5 inches when stuffed and weighs less than three pounds. It is great for longer trips and durable enough to last a lifetime. Read on to see how the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel held up to our testing regime.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Patagonia is known for checking all the boxes, but it is difficult to make a truly comfortable duffel-style pack without a proper harness system, especially at 55 liters. The 55-liter Black Hole Duffel is big, soft, and stuffable, which means it can get heavy very quickly. The shoulder straps are somewhat thin but surprisingly comfortable as the foam is dense. The comfort of this bag highly depends on what you're packing and how you pack it. Since it is essentially structureless, packing things like hard shoes by the back panel doesn't feel good. It's best to put heavy items, like boots, down at the bottoms and softer, lighter items close to your back and at the top of the pack. Packing cubes are also very helpful here, and having a fully stuffed backpack helps keep everything in place.

At the end of the day, not having a hip belt on a 55-liter backpack is somewhat of an oversight, but the Black Hole is meant to be a duffel that can be carried like a backpack and not the other way around. When considering that, we understand why the design doesn't prioritize backpack-style comfort.

Features

The Black Hole Duffel offers two different carry modes: a snap-secured set of handles that carry like a duffel and a backpack-style with over-the-shoulder straps that are attached and detached via D-rings and Duraflex buckles. The D-rings are super incognito without the backpack straps attached, and they work very well, despite what our testers expected when first inspecting the design. The buckles at the bottom of the bag don't have a garage to tuck into, so they flop around a little, but they still remain mostly out of the way.

There are daisy chains on each side, great for clipping water bottles, climbing shoes, or any irregularly shaped items that might make the inside feel too bulky. The two hauler handles on each side of the bag, made of folded nylon webbing, are great for moving the duffel around while it's open or pulling it out of an overhead bin. The main compartment zipper is covered with a storm flap for weather resistance. That, paired with hefty YKK zippers, truly helps keep moisture out, even in heavy rain.

The strap adjusters pull up rather than down to tighten, which is unique to some Patagonia bags. We are unsure of how we feel about it. Some testers prefer the feeling of pulling the straps up to tighten, while others prefer pulling down and back. The one thing we all agreed upon is that pulling them forward means that they flop around in front of you, which can be a little annoying when on the go.

Speaking of annoying, the duffel straps share the same side as the backpack straps and have nowhere to go when you have the Black Hole Duffel in backpack mode. This makes it easy to get your arms stuck in the duffel-carry straps when putting it on as a backpack, and if the straps are clipped together, they tend to dig into your back.

Packing and Accessibility

The Black Hole Duffel is modeled after a true duffel bag and is therefore very simple without the need for excessive organizational pockets. It has a small quick-grab zipper pocket that is accessible from both the exterior and interior. This pocket also comes with a minimal key clip.

The main compartment has tons of room with little organization, as you'd expect from a duffel. Like many travel bags with large main compartments, we suggest using packing cubes for optimal organization. There is also a shallow zippered mesh compartment on the main flap, which is great for anything you'd like to keep separate from the larger bucket-style compartment. The mesh makes finding smaller items easy, although it would be nice to have a few smaller mesh pockets for organization sprinkled throughout this pack.

Volume to Weight Ratio

The Black Hole Duffel is available in sizes as small as 40 liters and as big as 100 liters. The 55-liter pack, which we tested, only weighs 2.57 pounds. This is insanely lightweight for its carrying capacity making this bag a top contender in this category.

Durability

The TPU-coated, 900D ripstop polyester is an absolute dream. Duffels like this are meant to be placed on the ground, tossed up into overhead cabinets, and brought along on treacherous expeditions, so durability is paramount. The nylon webbing daisy chain and grab handles are all made of 100% polyester and are Bluesign-approved recycled material. The number 10 durable YKK zippers and Duraflex hardware ensure longevity in all the moving parts, and the bottom of the bag is also slightly more padded for protection.

Should You Buy the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel?

To answer this question, you'll need to consider what you're looking for in your travel bag. Are you looking for a lightweight duffel-style pack with a high volume capacity and durability to match? If that is so, then this bag is pretty close to perfect. But if you're looking for comfort and optimal organization, then you may want to check out some other options in our review.

What Other Travel Backpacks Should You Consider?

If you want to stay in the Patagonia family but require additional organization and comfort, the Black Hole MLC is the option for you. This pack is perfect for anyone who wants to get the most out of their one carry-on item, but be careful because it can end up being a little too big if you over-stuff it. Another higher volume pack that offers higher quality comfort is the Osprey Fairview 55. It is far heavier than the Black Hole Duffel but comes with useful features like a removable daypack and internal compression straps. The Peak Design Travel Backpack is another favorite, but it is geared mostly toward the traveling photographer. Finally, if you're looking for more of a personal item than a carry-on, the Mammut Seon Cargo 35L is a very versatile pack, although it is not big enough to be your only luggage if you plan to leave for more than a day or two.