Few things are more exciting than a long weekend, especially if there’s a cheeky little trip involved. Good weekender bags—no, the best weekender bags—can make sure you spend less time stressing about packing and hauling ass and more time actually enjoying those 48, 72, or however many hours you’re about to spend somewhere other than your cramped apartment.
Whatever weekender bag you choose to be your travel companion has to meet a few criteria that, honestly, all travel bags need to hit: It has to have a decent amount of storage, it can’t break your back during your commute, and it’s certainly got to stuff all of your goods with ease (even if you’re a chronic overpacker). Still with us? You don’t need to go far to find the best weekender bags because we did all the testing for you to find the best weekender bags around, no matter how long you decide to call off from work.
The Best Weekender Bags, According to GQ
Best Weekender Bag Overall: Peak Design Travel Duffel
It may be classified as a weekender bag, but this travel duffel—small enough to still be considered a carry-on bag—can haul enough gear and clothes for a trip that extends far beyond Saturday and Sunday. While it doesn’t fully unzip, the bag does have an extra-long zipper so that there’s a wider opening for you to fish around for whatever you’re looking for, which in our case has been able to hold two over-stuffed packing cubes and two pairs of shoes, with storage left over. The crossbody strap is comfortable to wear over the shoulders when holding it by the handles is a little too taxing on the forearms, and a bevy of pockets—four external zippered pockets and two internal mesh ones—let you max out your storage because no one has the patience or extra funds to be splurging to check a bag.
Best Affordable Weekender Bag: Béis The Weekender
The Béis weekender looks a little small, but that’s only because it’s not as long as other weekender bags and makes up for storage by the fact that it’s quite tall. It has a generous 49 liters of capacity, which makes it great for short trips or longer trips, just because it just holds so damn much. And for added convenience, a plethora of internal and external pockets means everything you need to bring has its own dedicated home. We especially like the zippered bottom shoe compartment to keep the rest of our clothes clean. All of this for just a little over a hundred smackaroos means you can splurge for the seat with a little extra legroom this time around.
Best Splurge Weekender Bag: Dagne Dover Landon
Dagne Dover’s commuter-friendly, high-quality neoprene bags come in all shapes and sizes, and the best one for your weekend trip will come in the form of the extra-large bad boy here. It’s decked out with features that’ll make it easy to pack, unpack, and do it all over again, vacation after vacation. The generously sized interior can hold enough clothes for maybe five days’ worth of travel if you’re a smart packer, and two interior side pockets keep miscellaneous travel goodies—like chargers, your toiletries (hopefully in your toiletry bag), and the like—from bumping around with your dirty clothes. We like that the brand even included a shoe bag to keep your shit kickers away from pajamas and a mesh pouch with a detachable key leash for even more ways to stay organized.
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