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For many years, Patagonia’s Black Hole duffels has been ubiquitous on airport luggage carousels. It’s easy to spot the outdoor adventurers on the flight as they reach for that shiny, ripstop fabric, throwing the duffels over their shoulders with a grunt before heading out the door. Lately, however, the Black Hole’s dominance in the duffel space has been challenged by a variety of other brands — newcomers and established competitors alike.
The Black Hole series has acquired such a dedicated core user group because of a pretty simple recipe. The bags are basic, well-made, and incredibly durable. (I have one that’s journeyed more than ten years and six continents before finally being relegated to “non-flight use” after coming back from Africa with several large cuts from luggage handlers — for which I blame the airlines, not the bag.) Looking beyond Patagonia’s cult brand following, it’s just a darn good duffel. The Black Hole bags come in both wheeled and unwheeled versions ranging from 40 liters (2,441 cubic inches) to 100 liters (6,102 cubic inches).
My qualifications for a working duffel are demanding. As a working photographer and fly angler who spends months on the road each year, I’ve winnowed down the features I want: durable, well-padded backpack straps (for those airports without luggage carts), water-resistant fabric (for airports without covered luggage storage, and for long, open boat rides in the rain to lodges), and clamshell full access to the inside (for those half-asleep nights digging in my duffel for that one specific charging cord that’s inevitably lost at the bottom of the bag). Ideally, I’d also like to see decent internal organization, one accessible outside pocket that doesn’t connect to the inside (for security reasons), and a padded base to help cushion when the bag is inevitably thrown around.
The sliced-up Black Hole duffel I just retired has been replaced by the newer version, and I have thoughts. Win: the backpack straps are improved and more ergonomic. Win: the two interior zipper pockets on the lid are a little larger. Peripheral win: Patagonia’s Black Hole Cubes are awesome little organizers durable enough to function as stand-alone bags if needed once on location. Fail: the outer pocket allows access to the inside of the bag and isn’t lockable, so it’s impossible to completely secure the bag. (I realize someone could just take a box opener and slice right in there, but I still keep TSA locks on my bags when I travel as a deterrent.) Overall, it’s still a grand duffel and just worked well on a shoot in rural Lesotho, but my search for features has driven me to look at other bags as well.
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