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Aug 28, 2023

The Best Gym Bags of 2023

After testing the latest version of our backpack pick from Aer, the Aer Duffel Pack 3, we continue to recommend it. Our full review is on the way. After researching hundreds of gym bags and testing

After testing the latest version of our backpack pick from Aer, the Aer Duffel Pack 3, we continue to recommend it. Our full review is on the way.

After researching hundreds of gym bags and testing more than 30, we found that the King Kong Jnr Kong Bag is the best traditional gym bag for anyone who wants to bring fresh clothes to a workout and take sweaty clothes home again, without your gear resembling a fragrant swamp. It’s tough enough to last a lifetime, and its six compartments kept us organized.

Made to withstand a lifetime of abuse, this was the toughest bag we tested. Its many compartments let you keep clean clothing separate from sweaty towels and sneakers. It’s expensive but it comes with a 25-year warranty.

Few gym bags compare to the King Kong Jnr Kong Bag. During testing, the competitive lifters we interviewed all gravitated to this bag, drawn by its durability and strength. Just holding this bag, we felt a noticeable difference in quality compared with every other bag we tested. The 1,000-denier nylon is thicker and more robust than the nylon used in other sport bags: It’s like the difference between a school knapsack and a thick canvas duffle bag. (The term denier refers to the thickness of the fibers in a fabric: the higher the denier number, the stronger the fabric.) In addition to its main compartment, the Jnr Kong Bag, which has an overall capacity of 30 liters, comes with four accessory pockets (one Velcro-sealed for clumsy hands), a mesh catchall, and a shoe compartment. The sturdiness of the bag is evident in the details, from its double-stitched seams to its all-metal fasteners. The Jnr Kong is protected by a 25-year warranty for the original purchaser.

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This midsize bag is for anyone who wants a simple duffle to take to the gym—it’s sturdy enough for the money but has only one main compartment.

If you don’t need the separate compartments or toughness of the Jnr Kong, the Herschel Supply Co. Sutton Duffle Mid-Volume is your gym bag. It has one main compartment, a classic shape and look, and a removable shoulder strap (in addition to its two top handles). It doesn’t have a shoe pocket or clothes divider, though, so that means you may need to pair the Herschel with a dry bag (or even a plastic shopping bag) if you want to contain your dirty gear or wet towel. This bag is well made for its price but not as strong as our other picks. However, all Herschel bags are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

This backpack offers plenty of ways to separate your computer from your clean clothing from your sweaty workout clothes or gym shoes.

Sometimes carrying a separate gym bag and laptop bag to the office isn’t ideal. In that case, we think the Aer Duffel Pack 2 is the best option. Its sleek, minimal look blends into nearly any setting. The bag itself is made of a tough, 1,680-denier Cordura ballistic nylon, similar in strength to the material used in the Jnr Kong Bag but with a finer texture. With a capacity of 24 liters, it holds less than the Jnr Kong, but we still found that it had room for what we needed to transition from work to working out. The Aer Duffel comfortably carries a 15-inch laptop in its back pocket, as well as a full change of clothes within the main compartment and a pair of shoes (up to men’s size 13) in a ventilated compartment at the bottom of the bag.

With three roomy sizes to choose from—including the largest-capacity bag we tested—this bag is perfect for anyone who needs extra space for their sports gear.

Some sports require more gear than others. For the price, we couldn’t find anything better for carrying that gear than the Adidas Team Issue. Made of 600-denier polyester, it comes in three sizes (the smallest is a little larger than a typical gym bag; the largest can carry a change of clothes plus three soccer balls) and 18 colors and it has a vented shoe-and-laundry pocket. It’s equipped with four outside zippered pockets (the smallest version has only three) and an internal small pocket. If you are lugging all that extra gear, the extra-wide and padded shoulder strap should relieve some of the strain.

Made to withstand a lifetime of abuse, this was the toughest bag we tested. Its many compartments let you keep clean clothing separate from sweaty towels and sneakers. It’s expensive but it comes with a 25-year warranty.

This midsize bag is for anyone who wants a simple duffle to take to the gym—it’s sturdy enough for the money but has only one main compartment.

This backpack offers plenty of ways to separate your computer from your clean clothing from your sweaty workout clothes or gym shoes.

With three roomy sizes to choose from—including the largest-capacity bag we tested—this bag is perfect for anyone who needs extra space for their sports gear.

While there are many lists of gym bags, there aren’t many comprehensive gym bag reviews that we found trustworthy. For this article, we spoke with several professional personal trainers, the owner and the clientele of a well-respected bodybuilding gym, and a couple of high school coaches about their experiences with kit bags. In particular, we leaned on the experience and expertise of:

I’ve been working out for nearly 15 years, practicing boxing, savate, muay thai, martial arts, and weightlifting in all manner of gyms around the world, including church basements in Scotland, garages in California, and high-end clubs in New York. I’ve used everything from plastic shopping bags to backpacks to dedicated gym bags to carry my gear around. I also write about many aspects of travel luggage and bag design for Wirecutter.

Gym bags are very similar: They tend to be made from easy-to-wipe-down 600-denier nylon and have one main compartment, a shoulder strap, and a smattering of small pockets or mesh compartments. They’re fine. And though no gym bag can improve your actual workout, the right one can drastically improve your time before and after your workout.

We all have specific ideas of what a gym bag should be, depending on our needs, and there are thousands of bags available that would work. To clarify our search, we conducted a public survey to see what most people wanted from a gym bag. Respondents said their dream bag would be simple and cheap while still able to carry a lot of stuff. If possible, the ideal bag would have a dedicated shoe or laundry pocket and some small pockets for miscellaneous gear.

All of our picks meet these requirements. What separates each from the other are the small details. Our top pick uses long-lasting metal fasteners for the shoulder strap, for instance, whereas most models we tested used plastic clasps.

After interviews with personal trainers, coaches, and gym buffs, we came up with a few other parameters. As with anything that will likely be shoved in and out of a locker, we looked for bags without elements that can easily snag, such as loose mesh pockets.

Other features that we think make small but significant differences when you’re using a gym bag three times a week:

Once we nailed down our criteria, we called in any bag that seemed like a good candidate and weeded out the ones that weren’t so great once we had them in hand. After that, we used them—hard—and noted which ones worked the best. (For a previous round of testing, we put bags through the Roy Glenn test—see the video below.)

Unfortunately, every bag we tested needs to be hand-washed. They have simply too many handles, seams, and easy-to-tear mesh pockets to try to put one of these into a washing machine.

Made to withstand a lifetime of abuse, this was the toughest bag we tested. Its many compartments let you keep clean clothing separate from sweaty towels and sneakers. It’s expensive but it comes with a 25-year warranty.

Most gym bags are made to be somewhat disposable; inevitably, odors, stains, and the weird abuse they sustain wears them out. Before we tested the King Kong Jnr Kong Bag we wouldn’t have considered spending three figures on a gym bag, but it won us over with durable materials, strong construction, and clever organization options.

Its metal fasteners and 1,000-denier Cordura fabric make this the toughest bag we tested. This stronger material, though water resistant, doesn’t wick water as easily as the cheaper nylon bags did during cleaning, but that didn’t stop Larry Pollock, owner of KO Gym, and a few of his clients and trainers from unanimously agreeing that they would pick this bag for their heavy lifting gear.

The bag comes with two large outer pockets (one of which has a smaller inner pocket), two mesh external pockets, and two small outer pockets (one zippered and one Velcro sealed). “I like to have a few small pockets, ideally with Velcro closing them,” said our tester Dan Waldman. “When you’re tired, zippers can be tricky to navigate around small angles and get caught on cheaper linings.” The Jnr Kong also has an isolated shoe or laundry bag.

The Jnr Kong Bag has no structural support on its sides but it has a firm base sewn in. While a rigid design, such as that of the Adidas Team Issue, can make for easier packing and unpacking, the Jnr Kong is more malleable and ideal for stuffing into a locker or other tight space.

In our destructive testing, squat world record holder Roy Glenn took one look at this bag, threw up his hands, and said, “No fucking way.” Every corner of this bag is built to last, from the zipper points to the seams, and should stand up to years of abuse. The Kong comes with a 25-year warranty as long as the original purchaser is still in possession of the bag, which should be plenty of coverage for even the most dedicated gym buff. It comes in seven colors, including two camo options.

The price may raise a few eyebrows, but considering the Kong’s durability and quality, we think the bag is worth the investment. And the truth is, after years of testing and comparing bags of all types and prices, we have found many, many cheaper gym bags that are just that: cheap and not worth even their low price. If you want a less expensive option, we suggest the Herschel Duffle below. But you’ll want to pair it with a plastic shopping bag or dry bag to contain your dirty gear or wet towel post-workout.

This midsize bag is for anyone who wants a simple duffle to take to the gym—it’s sturdy enough for the money but has only one main compartment.

If a simple duffle is all you need, the Herschel Supply Co. Sutton Duffle Mid-Volume is the best we’ve found. It has the classic shape, look, and feel of a traditional barrel duffle, and a removable shoulder strap in addition to two top handles. The Sutton is a well-constructed bag, especially for its price. Although it’s not as sturdy as our other picks (the fabric is thinner and the stitching looks a little hurried), Herschel bags are backed by a limited lifetime warranty.

Oddly, Herschel placed six small grommets on the bottom of the bag to, we assume, let out moisture. Unfortunately, the placement also lets plenty of moisture in if you accidentally put the bag down on a wet spot or coffee spill. This, and the lack of any separate pockets or clothes dividers, means you’ll probably want to pair the Herschel with a plastic shopping bag or dry bag to contain your dirty shoes or wet towel, or to protect anything that might be damaged by moisture. One thing to note for anyone who likes internal organization: The Mid-Volume Sutton has no internal pockets, but the larger, just-plain Sutton Duffle has two pockets built along its lid.

This backpack offers plenty of ways to separate your computer from your clean clothing from your sweaty workout clothes or gym shoes.

If you’re going to be going from the gym to the office, the Aer Duffel Pack 2 is the best option for securely toting both gym gear and a laptop. As a gym bag, it swallows a full change of gym clothes or assorted gear, while the expandable water-bottle pocket on the side can fit even a large Nalgene bottle—an elastic strap keeps the bottle from falling out. As a laptop backpack, it’s able to carry a 15-inch laptop along with a few books or slim items.

Aer bags are great for anyone looking for plenty of organization. The waterproof, cavernous main section of the bag is accessible via a convenient duffle-style zipper on the outside. The underside of the bag contains a shoe compartment for separating sweaty clothes or workout shoes from your other gear. However, because the shoe compartment unfurls internally, anything you tuck into it will still take up space in the bag’s main section. The laptop compartment has several small accessory pockets, including a zippered mesh one for small items. A quick-access pocket at the top of the bag can hold sunglasses, a smartphone, and gym and transit passes. And just above the water-bottle holder is a small, zippered pocket for keys and a wallet or other small items.

If you have a smaller torso, you might prefer the Aer Fit Pack 2, which is essentially a smaller version of the Duffel Pack 2. It uses the same overall design, with a rear compartment for your laptop and other gear, a clothes area to the front, and a dedicated shoe compartment on the bottom. But the Fit Pack 2 is several inches shorter and holds about 25 percent less (18.8 liters vs. the Duffel Pack’s 24.6 liters), so it looks and feels quite a bit smaller on your back. Aer’s bags all have a lifetime warranty.

With three roomy sizes to choose from—including the largest-capacity bag we tested—this bag is perfect for anyone who needs extra space for their sports gear.

If you’re toting lots of equipment or carrying gear for a team sport, the Adidas Team Issue offers more space (and more sizing options) than any other bag we tested. It comes in three sizes, ranging from small (24 by 11½ by 12 inches), to medium (26 by 12½ by 13½ inches), to large (32½ by 13½ by 15 inches)—that last size should easily carry your clothes plus three soccer balls. This range of choices makes the bag perfect for anyone who often hits the gym with extra gear. Just don’t expect to fit the large version into your average-sized gym locker.

Like the Jnr Kong, the Team Issue has a shoe or laundry pocket, and the Team Issue’s is even better ventilated. However, the bag does not have metal shoulder-strap fasteners but somewhat thin plastic clasps instead. Surprisingly, despite the thinner material and plastic hardwear, this bag stood up to more abuse than we expected it could.

Roy Glenn, our destructive tester, took several turns trying to find a way to break this bag. While he ripped out the shoe pocket easily enough, the reinforced seams stopped him from breaking down the bag completely, although he was able to bust the zippers from their tracks. We don’t think anyone is likely to put their gym bag through those kinds of stresses.

The Team Issue has outside zippered pockets (four on the large and medium sizes, three on the small) and an internal pocket. It is made of standard 600-denier polyester. If you are lugging a lot of gear, the extra-wide and padded shoulder strap should relieve some strain from carrying all that extra weight. It has a classic look that’s not dominated by its logo—a nice change from some of the designs we saw during our research. It also comes in 18 colors, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a shade you want.

Our previous top pick, the Everest Gym Bag, was not strong enough to stand up to our long-term testing; it is a problem that several readers noticed as well. Originally, we liked its low cost, metal hardware, and decent warranty, but none of that matters if the bag can’t handle normal wear and tear. Who wants to replace their gym bag every few months? Not us!

Walmart Protege: When we tested this bag, we originally made it our budget pick. It was the most affordable gym bag we found that still came with a separate laundry and shoe pocket and it was made from the same 600-denier polyester as the Everest Gym Bag. The bag is no longer available, unfortunately, so we’ve removed it as a pick.

Adidas Squad III: Former Wirecutter senior editor Casey Johnston (writer of the column Ask a Swole Woman), uses this bag and likes it. The color and design aren’t to everyone’s taste, and we were thrown by the (to us) patronizing label on the small inner pocket that said “Little Stuff.” Overall, it’s a very good bag but it was edged out of the competition by more gender-neutral options that had better features, such as metal hardware or cheaper prices.

BAD Bags Duffel #2 SP: This was in the running for our more expensive upgrade pick but it was edged out by the Jnr Kong Bag. However, if you don’t mind the leather accents and blunt construction of the BAD Bags Duffel, it should be worth the money.

Herschel Supply Co. Novel Duffle: While trendy and handsome, this bag is too expensive for what it is. If it were half the price, it would have been a decent contender.

Nike Auralux Tote: This item was discontinued during our testing, but we hope that something like it will come back. Although too expensive by half, the idea of a stylish tote as a gym bag would, we think, be appealing to many people.

The North Face Apex Gym Duffel: This was more duffel than gym bag. It’s a well-made bag for the price, but the lack of a separate shoe compartment knocked it out of consideration.

Under Armour On The Run Tote: We liked the strong construction of this bag, especially the metal shoulder strap attachments. But without any specific interior organization for shoes or gear beyond a few small pockets, this is a glorified (but easy-to-clean) tote. It’s perhaps your best option if you don’t want the usual look of a gym bag. With a few small organizational changes—a dedicated laundry pocket and maybe a laptop sleeve—the On The Run might sneak into our top picks. (It’s also currently sold out.)

This article was edited by Ria Misra and Christine Ryan.

Kit Dillon

Kit Dillon is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter. He was previously an app developer, oil derrick inspector, public-radio archivist, and sandwich shop owner. He has written for Popular Science, The Awl, and the New York Observer, among others. When called on, he can still make a mean sandwich.

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