Patagonia — Black Hole Duffel Review
Convertible backpack-duffel bags have been popular in recent years, and for good reason. They allow you to have the carry capacity of a large duffel, with the convenience of a backpack. Why not just use a large backpack? Sometimes that single-shoulder duffel bag strap or the more robust duffel bag grab handles are just more convenient in their own ways. Or sometimes you have a smaller daypack and want to carry a duffel as your second bag. We’ve reviewed a few backpack-duffel convertible bags here, including the North Face Base Camp Duffel, The Greatest Ultimate Bag 30, and Patagonia’s Black Hole MLC 45.
Now we’re looking at the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel bag, which is very similar to TNF’s Base Camp Duffel and REI’s Big Haul Duffels. All these lines of duffels/backpacks come in a variety of sizes, ranging from weekenders all the way through the absurdly ginormous bag that hauls all your gear for a major expedition. The Patagonia Black Hole Duffels range from 40L all the way up to 100L. This review will focus on the 40L bag, but the other sizes are more or less the same design, just bigger.
Overview
I’ve been using the Black Hole Duffel 40 for nearly a year now and have used it as a check-in luggage on international flights, as a daypack for sports to carry gear, as well as multi-day sports tournaments and events. I can confidently say that this bag can both withstand a beating and haul a ton. Thus, it is often used for travel and adventuring, when your bag might get tossed around a lot and when you need to carry a lot of clothing/gear.
In terms of capacity, 40 L is pretty sizable. I’ve used it for sports tournaments where I just needed to carry a couple sets of clothes, cleats, water bottles, and some snacks. I’ve also used it for overnight trips where I needed to carry a full cycling kit and accessories, extra clothes, cycling shoes, toiletries, snacks, water bottles, helmet, and some additional small pieces of equipment. In fact if you’re wondering exactly how much the bag can hold, I gotcha covered — I can fit 20 t-shirts, 5 pairs of athletic shorts, and 5 light hoodies. I could probably have crammed a few more t-shirts in there too.
The main compartment is accessed with a zipped U-shaped lid. The organization is pretty minimal and aside from the main compartment, it just has a small zipped external pocket and a zipped mesh pocket on the underside of the lid. But despite the lack of organization, it has still come to be one of my top travel companions, particularly when it comes to one-bag travel.
The positives
- Very sturdy and durable
- Versatility of switching between duffel (with handles) and backpack
- Excellent storage capacity because of its rectangular shape
The negatives
- The bag is supposedly packable (i.e., it can be rolled up and stored in its own small external pocket), but it is pretty much impossible to get it back in once you’ve taken it out
- Very minimal organization options and features in general
- No internal compression straps means your gear rolls around, especially if the bag isn’t fully packed
Organization
- Main compartment — Just a simple massive black hole ☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜)… ayyy. The rectangular shape of the bag and compartment are ideal for maximizing capacity. I’ve been able to easily carry luggage for a week on the road. I wish that there were some internal compression straps though. They wouldn’t take up any space or any noticeable weight and would help keep things in place. When you pack the Black Hole Duffel and then wear it like a backpack, your stuff will sink to the bottom of the bag, especially if it is not fully packed out. I had the same complaint about the North Face Base Camp Duffel (and about many backpack/duffel bags in general).
- Zipped mesh pocket — On the underside of the lid is a large zipped mesh pocket. A good place to store smaller items, accessories, or things you want to keep separated. It’s a flat pocket though, so avoid bulky items unless you want them sticking into your back.
- Small external pocket — This pocket has a key leash but also has its own volume. That volume sits entirely within the main compartment so whatever you put in there will take away volume from the main compartment. This pocket can also be accessed from inside the main compartment via a second zipper, and is always where I keep my phone, wallet, and keys when I use this bag. When you first get the Black Hole Duffel, the whole bag is folded into itself and stuffed inside this little compartment. But I have found it impossible to get it back in once I took it out. But that’s okay… I can’t imagine a situation where I would bring a bag this size in its packed form instead of just using it as my carry bag.
Additional Features
- Removable shoulder straps — These are attached by side-release buckles at the bottom and D-rings at the top. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a single-shoulder duffel bag strap. Though theoretically, you could just loosen use one of the backpack shoulder straps and use that instead.
- Duffel handles — This bag has traditional handles as well, unlike the North Face Base Camp Duffel, which forces you to use the shoulder straps as the handles. The Black Hole Duffel’s handles have a piece of padding with snap-fastener buttons so you can secure the two handles together and conveniently grab them at once instead of having to separately grab each one. When the handles are not fastened together, I have accidentally stuck my arm through the duffel handles before when trying to wear the bag as a backpack. But when they are fastened together, you can definitely feel that bulge of the handles against your back. It might be nice if Patagonia added snap-fasteners to the bottom of both sides of the bag so you can keep the handles out of the way when wearing the bag as a backpack.
- Grab handles — On both ends of the bag (on the top and bottom of the bag if looking at it like a backpack) are nylon webbing grab handles. These are super sturdy and made of multiple layers of folded webbing, and are great when you need are hoisting the bag into an overhead compartment or chucking it into your car’s rooftop cargo carrier.
- Daisy chains — Down each side of the bag are two columns of daisy chains that can be used for various attachments. You can hook a carabiner or even thread some cord / elastic through them like a tie out loop.
Construction and Comfort
The Black Hole Duffel has held up to some beatings (even airport luggage handlers) with no issues. At 21 x 13.7 x 10.6 inches and 40L in volume, the bag comes in at 2.5 lbs, which I think is quite light for a bag this size and this durable. The bag is made of 100% recycled 900D ripstop polyester and has a TPU coating to weatherproof the bag. The zippers are NOT Aquaguard, but the main compartment’s lid does extend over the zipper to help keep water out. The interior lining is a 200D recycled polyester with a PU coating. The hardware is also all durable and sturdy. The zippers for the main opening are YKK #10 RCz. The internal pocket’s zipper and the exterior small pocket’s zipper are #5 and #8 RCz respectively.
Though the shoulder straps are slightly contoured, the Black Hole Duffel is not the most comfortable bag to wear. But this is pretty normal across all bags that convert between duffel and backpack. In fact, I’d actually say it’s a tiny bit more comfortable than some of the other duffel/backpack bags that I’ve tried. How you pack the contents of the main compartment also heavily influences how comfortable it feels against your back. Try to keep things that are relatively flat or soft (e.g., clothing) toward the top so that it rests against your back. Or at the very least, just don’t line the top with a bunch of baseballs.
One other thing to note is that typically, the proper way to pack a bag is with heavier/denser items closer to your back. This is especially true with very heavy loads or when you’ll have your bag on for a long time (e.g., trekking). With duffel backpacks, you have to figure out a balance cause most people pack duffel bags with heavy things at the bottom. But then once you wear it like a backpack you realize that the heavy items are now as far away from your back as possible, which is more stress on your back. It’s just something to keep in mind, but in any case you wouldn’t want to be wearing duffel backpacks for a prolonged period of time since they’re not comfortable.
The base of the bag is slightly padded, but that is more for protection of your cargo since it is the face of the bag that is away from your back. The padding isn’t firm enough to act like a frame sheet or provide structure to the bag. So the Black Hole Duffel can look crumply when it’s not fully packed.
Additional Usage Notes
As mentioned before, the Black Hole Duffel has backpack shoulder straps, traditional duffel bag handles, and side grab handles. But I think it would benefit from a removable single shoulder strap, as some duffel bags have. It wouldn’t work too well being attached to the side release buckle and the D-ring because the strap would then either be skewed to one side of the bag or cross the bag diagonally. Maybe a shoulder strap that could be attached to the grab handles?
One last note — when you wear the Black Hole Duffel as a backpack, the bottom of the duffel bag becomes the front face of the backpack. In all the color schemes available, that face is very plain. So it’s not the most exciting bag to look at from that angle.
Summary
The Patagonia Black Hole is a great bag if you’re looking for something rugged and durable and just need a place to dump a ton of clothes or gear. Like the North Face Base Camp Duffel, it doesn’t have much utility beyond being a dump bag. The 40L is great for short trips and sports. If you’re taking a longer trip or have a ton of gear, look for the larger versions of this bag. If you’re looking for good organization or something that can haul a ton but is also comfortable on your back cause you’ll be walking for a while, then definitely avoid this bag (and all backpack-duffel combo bags).
Features: 3 of 5 — Removable shoulder straps and conversion between duffel and backpack are the main unique features here. Otherwise, relatively standard bag.
Organization: 2 of 5 — Minimal organization. Aside from the main compartment, it’s just a couple smaller zipped pockets.
Construction: 5 of 5 — Excellent weather-resistance and sturdy materials. Even though it’s all recycled fabric, it still stands up to the test.
Aesthetics: 3 of 5 — Though adventurers will immediately recognize the bag at a glance, it still has the boxy shape of a duffel bag. While that helps it pack a ton of gear, it’s not the most beautiful design. Plus, when you wear it as a backpack, the bottom panel faces out, and it is a pretty plain look. I really like the orange color of this bag, but as you may know, availability of different colors changes very frequently for Patagonia bags. It just depends on what recycled fabrics they have available.
Comfort: 2 of 5 — Like all duffel-backpacks, comfort is not the focus of the bag. The shoulder straps are contoured and padded, but there is no support against your back or any other intentional design that seeks to provide comfort.
Life-Integration: 4 of 5 — Nothing that would require a learning curve except how to pack the whole bag back into it’s small pocket. I’ve watched videos but still can’t get it in. If you’ve never worked with removable shoulder straps on D-rings, they’re quite easy after the first try.
X-factor: 5 of 5 — Patagonia commands huge brand name recognition, especially among outdoor adventurers, and this bag does too. They put a huge emphasis on sustainability and ethical sourcing, and this bag is made fully of recycled fabric, which we love. Many people will immediately know what bag you’re carrying.
