15 Best Rolling Duffel Bags on the Market

Simplicity and ruggedness make duffel bags a great choice for travel, and things get even more exciting when you add wheels.

A rolling duffel bag is in a league of its own. It’s not quite a suitcase and it’s not quite a duffel bag—it’s somewhere in between, which means you get the best of both worlds. When you need to carry a hefty amount of gear, a rolling duffel bag might just be your best bet.

It’s a bit of a niche product. Most luggage brands don’t make rolling duffels, and most backpack brands don’t, either. There are a few companies out there who are leading the charge, like Eagle Creek, Osprey and Db.

If you just want our top pick for the single best rolling duffel bag on the market, check out the Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler XT. It’s tough and functional, and it comes in a range of sizes. We also were impressed by the Db Hugger, which features an innovative “rib cage” design that adds structure and protection for your gear.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. I’ll guide you through our top 15 duffel bag picks and help you decide which fits your needs.

Why Trust TravelFreak?

Every member of the TravelFreak team is an avid traveler and adventurer. We all love the massive carrying capacity and easy packability of duffel bags, and we’ve stuffed various duffels with clothes for a month abroad, equipment for long-distance treks, and climbing gear for days at the crag.

We’ve tested dozens of duffel bags, and most of the bags in our collection have seen more than their share of abuse. We dragged them over miles of cobblestone and tossed them off bus roofs.

We are serious about finding and recommending the absolute best gear on the market. Because of that, we weren’t satisfied with the surface-level, seat-of-the-pants style of reviewing you see so often on the internet.

So we got our team of gear junkies and former product engineers together to develop the most in-depth and comprehensive test methodology for rating luggage and bags. We now evaluate every product over 29 specific metrics across eight categories to get an objective picture of how the bag performs.

We dug into the nitty gritty details of these duffel bags so you don’t have to. Every bag on this list earned our full vote of confidence for its intended use case.