The Best Gym Bags for Schlepping Your Sweaty Gear in Style

The best gym bags are built for more than just the gym. Sure, they come with the product specs you’d expect from a bag designed to store your sweaty workout gear—water-resistant fabrics, adjustable shoulder straps, ample shoe compartments—but these aren’t bags made exclusively for exercising.

Even the most technical gym bag can double as a slick weekender on a last-minute summer getaway or a lightweight carry-on for your first airplane trip in months—provided, of course, you invest in a style with the right accoutrement. Durability is a must, as is an easy-access side pocket to store your water bottle. A few carefully placed external pockets to hold all your small items never hurt, either. So even if you’re an expert gym-goer getting reacquainted with the day-to-day grind, it’s worth reminding yourself what a game-changer a high quality gym duffle can be, and then tracking down the best one for your routine.

The Best Gym Bags That Every Gym Goer Needs

• Best Gym Bag, Overall: Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 40L, $159
• Best Gym Bag With Shoe Compartment: Tracksmith Weekend Duffel, $190
• Best Gym Bag on Amazon: Peak Design Travel Duffel, $140
• Best Gym Backpack: Aer Fit Pack 3, $149
• Best Waterproof Gym Bag: Rains Trail Gym Bag, $125
• Best Lightweight Gym Bag: Bellroy Lite Duffel, $139
• Best Budget Gym Bag: Nike Brasilia Training Duffle Bag, $48 $45
• The C-Suite Gym Bag: Bennett Winch Weekender Holdall, $1,400
• Best Gym Bag for Traveling: Matador Freefly Packable Duffel Bag, $85

Best Gym Bag, Overall: Patagonia Black Hole

Is there anything Patagonia’s legendary Black Hole bags can’t handle? In tote or dopp form, the waterproof 14-ounce 900 Denier nylon fabric works like an impenetrable forcefield, repelling whatever the world throws at it (and looks way better for the wear, though you can always hose it down for a makeshift factory reset). Its duffel, though, remains a standout, thanks to features like daisy chains for you to hook on an extra pair of climbing shoes or a portable speaker for your bike commute to and from the gym. The cavernous 40-liter main compartment is enough to house a weekend’s worth of outfits, and features a separate mesh pocket that’s great for keeping your sweaty gear far away from your crisp 9-to-5 standbys. Plus, its handles and straps mean you can carry it however you prefer—no more straining your biceps with extra work after a gnarly arms day.

Best Gym Bag With a Shoe Compartment: Tracksmith Weekend Duffel

Boston’s Tracksmith needs no introduction by this point—they’ve been crafting some of the best heritage-inspired performance running gear for a decade now, not to mention whipping up dope collaborations with brands like District Vision and Brendon Babenzien’s new-look J.Crew. The Tracksmith Weekend Duffel is a mainstay in our rotation, even if we’re not headed out of town for race weekend. The bag is extremely well made and is built to last, much like the vintage pieces it draws inspiration from. It’s outfitted with a roomy shoe compartment for your stinky kicks or gym clothes, plus comes with a super handy nylon blanket to spread out on race day or in the park on a weeknight.

Best Gym Bag on Amazon: Peak Design Travel Duffel

Sure, we already featured some other bags that you can buy on Amazon, but few are as high quality as the Peak Design Travel Duffel. Like all of the brand’s gear, it’s centered around photography and travel, but we absolutely love the 35-liter model for the gym. It has an extra long zipper that makes it easy to rummage around in, is made from heavy duty nylon that can stand up to a beating, and, maybe most importantly, is guaranteed for life against manufacturing defects and any failure that renders the bag unusable. It’s not hard to trust a product that is backed with that kind of confidence.

Best Budget Gym Back: Nike Brasilia

This one’s a no-brainer. The Brasilia is one of the most popular gym bags in Nike’s arsenal, and if you can’t trust the Swoosh to provide a spacious, heavily-zippered duffle to store all your swoosh-emblazoned gear, who can you turn to? It’s got easy-access exterior pockets for small valuables like your phone and earbuds as well as ventilated mesh side pockets to keep your sweaty clothes and dirty shoes from stinking up the main compartment. And with a durable coated bottom, you won’t have to worry about scuffs and tears.

Best Waterproof Gym Bag: Rains Trail Gym Bag

Rains is famous for outerwear that laughs in the face of inclement weather. Its Trail Gym Bag harnesses the brand’s trademark PU waterproof tech to protect your workout gear from the worst of the elements, whether it’s raining cats and dogs or you’re the bedraggled owner of a pet insistent on slobbering all over your gym shoes. Beyond weatherproofing, this bag has a front zippered pocket and side mesh pocket, plus a removable shoulder strap.

Best Gym Bag with Laptop Compartment: Evergoods Transit Duffel 35L

Alums from Patagonia and GORUCK make up the brains behind Evergoods, a small Montana-based bag brand specializing in gear for urban-outdoor crossover. Unlike other weekender-style duffel bags, the Transit Duffel has stand-up structure provided by foam panels and aluminum stays, elements more commonly found in hiking packs. It makes this bag much easier to pack and unpack and also provides protection should you be carrying more than shoes and sweats. Organizational features like big exterior pockets for a laptop and small essentials, plus more pockets and sleeves on the inside, make it a cinch to do just that.

Best Gym Bag for Exacting Minimalists: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Approach Duffel 30

Nobody needs a bag like the Approach Duffel for hitting the gym, but if need was all it were about then a reusable grocery bag would suffice. The bag is straightforward in design—it’s a standard duffel with a shoulder strap, main compartment, and small interior and exterior zippered pockets—but it’s made of some of the toughest fabric in the world. It’s called Dyneema, and it’s an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene but really all you need to know is that it’s ultralight and ultra-strong (and also waterproof). The bag comes in white or black, so you can choose between showy or stealth.

Best Tote Bag for the Gym: Topo Designs Mountain Utility Tote

We all love a tote, but those flimsy thin canvas merch bags can’t hack it in the gym. Made for hauling climbing gear, the Mountain Utility Tote—which we love—can. It’s built with rugged ripstop fabric and has a base that can take a good dragging. Outside, a detachable shoulder strap offers two ways to carry and daisy chain webbing the chance to show off your carabiner collection. Inside, there’s a big compartment that’ll fit multiple pairs of shoes, water, shorts, and all the rest while a backpack-style cinch-top closure ensures your protein bar won’t pop out on the way.

Best Multi-Sport Gym Tote: Arc’teryx Carrier 45 Gear Tote, $180

At a glance, this open-top tote is a simple oversized gear bag with handles. That’s not wrong, but you already know what we’re going to tell you: there’s more. Inside, fold-away dividers built into the bag’s lining create compartments large enough for separating shoes from clothes, or containing your climbing kit on one side and your lifting duds on the other. If you don’t mind the lack of a zippered top, it’s the ideal setup if your gym’s amenities include more than weight racks and treadmills. The handles are long enough to throw it over your shoulder, so overpacking isn’t an issue. And, lastly, the one easily doubles and triples as a beach bag, camping bag, and more.

Best Lightweight Gym Bag: Bellroy Lite Duffel

You know a bag’s going to be light when the word is right there in the name (without the excess “g” and “h” too). The Lite Duffel weighs in around 21 ounces, but punches above its class when it comes to features. Those include an exterior organizational pocket, a detachable shoulder strap, and a big main compartment that’s extra-accessible from an extended zipper and has additional interior pockets as well (one is designed specifically for an AirTag for keeping track of your tube socks).

Best Gym Backpack: Aer Fit Pack 3

Okay, yes, Aer’s Fit Pack 3 is technically a backpack. But its fan-favorite style comes chock full of the type of product details you’d expect to see in a next-level duffle designed for heavy-duty wear and tear. Its exterior is made out of abrasion-resistant 840D nylon with Cordura side paneling, and a padded interior ensures your laptop stays secure no matter how many dirty socks you’ve wedged in there. Factor in an easy-access water bottle pocket and Duraflex hardware, and you’re looking at a formidable gym bag alternative that might convert even the staunchest duffle devotee.

The C-Suite Gym Bag: Bennett Winch Weekender

If you’re hunting for a gym bag that doesn’t look out of place in a corner office, Bennett Winch’s luxe bag is the solution. It brings the clean lines of a weekender, the functionality of a gym duffel, and craftsmanship of the tailor who makes your bespoke suits. Hand-crafted in England using top-shelf materials (full-grain leather for the handles and reinforcement areas, heavy-duty brass for the zippered pockets, and water-repellent-bonded cotton), Bennett Winch’s Weekender is all about subtle opulence. The roomy main compartment has a padded laptop sleeve and enough space for at least two outfits. Plus, the bag comes with two separate waterproof compartments—one on either end—to keep stanky shoes and sweaty clothes away from your suit and tie.

Best Gym Bag for Traveling: Matador Freefly Packable Duffel Bag

Meet your secret to keeping up your workout even on vacation. The Matador Freefly features all the crucial gym bag amenities like water-resistant materials and dedicated compartments for large and small goods—with a superpower. The duffel rolls up into itself until it’s the size of a hamburger (and not even one of those giant restaurant monstrosities). Toss it into your luggage and you won’t have to juggle your gear on the way to the hotel gym again.

What to Look for in a Gym Bag

How We Tested