If you’re a first-class flyer, the last thing you want is to lug a janky duffel through the terminal. No, you’ll want one of the best leather duffel bags, a clear indicator of your status in life (even if you are sitting in coach). Compared to their non-leather counterparts, leather duffel bags signal that you care about how the world views you, as someone who wears real pants through TSA and not dingy old sweats.
A great duffel bag should still carry your clothes, kicks, chargers, toiletries, and everything else in the most space-efficient, easy-to-find way possible. A great duffel should outlast your passport—or better yet, you—despite years of being stuffed in an overhead bin and thrown in the trunk of your car. A great duffel should make everyone else in the TSA line jealous. We’ve toted dozens of leather duffel bags over years of travel, and none hauled our stuff as well as these.
The Best Leather Duffel Bags, According to GQ
In This Guide
Best Leather Duffel Bag Overall: Ghurka Cavalier II No. 97
If you’re looking for a leather duffel bag, the Ghurka Cavalier is everything you’d want. This is the type of bag you’d see ‘90s-era Denzel lugging though the automatic doors of LAX because of its A-list status. It’s quite literally the best damn leather duffel bag we’ve ever had the blessing of putting our grails into. With its beautifully supple vegetable tanned leather exterior, we can only imagine that this thing will get softer and more gorgeous with each toss into the overhead bin. Brass accents around the bag increase its durability, and we especially like the brass legs on the bottom to avoid premature wear. The interior plaid lining is a nice touch, and we found that because of its light color, it’s easier to see inside the duffel—helpful for rummaging through your bag for your charger during your red eye flight.
Best Vegan Leather Duffel Bag: Monos Metro Carry-All Duffel
Not all faux leather is vegan leather, so don’t assume that all vegan leather is just a cheap way to get a leather-looking bag. It’s actually quite hard to make vegan leather, especially something that looks and feels like the real deal (and contains zero traces of animal byproducts). That’s all to say that Monos makes one of the best vegan leather duffel bags we’ve tried, which has held up well compared to its real-deal leather brethren. The bag is especially well-designed, featuring a laptop sleeve that can accommodate laptops up to 14 inches, a water bottle sleeve, and a roomy zippered pocket. Either end of the bag also has a magnetic closure pouch, but we found that it’s best for slimmer profile items like your passport or phone.
Best Rigid Leather Duffel Bag: Carl Friedrik Palissy Weekend
Too often leather bags are just flimsy and lose their shape if they don’t have anything in there. Sure, that’s great for some reasons, like if you need to cram an empty bag somewhere for storage. But, we’re big fans of this Carl Frederik bag because it retains its shape and feels more like a hard-case suitcase than an insubstantial bag. Its main compartment is large enough to house two packing cubes’ worth of clothes, as well as a pair of shoes and laptop (up to 15 inches). An assortment of pockets, both inside and out, just make it that much easier to pack and be able to find your things. Plus, the little metal feet protect the base of the bag from damage.
Best Carry-On Leather Duffel Bag: Away Transit Leather Duffle
You’ll see Away’s beloved suitcases occupying 90% of the space at baggage claim, but its duffels? Those deserve some love too. The Transit leather duffle carries on the brand’s ethos of well-designed, under-the-radar travel goods that’ll get you where you need to be—with all of your stuff in one piece (as long as the TSA doesn’t lose your stuff). A plethora of pockets keep things neat and tidy, but we’re especially big fans of the main compartment because the zipper goes all the way around so it’s easier to access your items without blindly feeling for it. And because it’s designed by a luggage brand, there’s a pass-through loop so you can safely and securely connect it to your suitcase’s handle.
Best Grail-Worthy Leather Duffel Bag: Bottega Veneta Cabin Duffle
Bottega Veneta’s signature “Intrecciato” woven leather design was first introduced in the 1970s as a way to break away from the box-shaped, rigid bags of the era. Using glove leather that was lighter and more pliable than cow skins traditionally used at the time, the brand’s craftspeople wove strips together to create a criss-cross pattern that achieved a lighter weight, more supple bag—that also stood out from the smooth-skin crowd. The artisanal infrastructure also means this bag holds its shape, whether it’s stuffed with gear in the overhead bin or barely packed for a quick overnight trip. And if you really want to stand out from every other passenger in the airport, opt for this guy in an uncommon color like this brick red.
More Leather Duffel Bags We Love
What to Look for in a Leather Duffel Bag
Type of Leather: There are varying degrees of leather quality that all have to do with what layer your leather’s been cut from. Full-grain leather is the best of the best, but you’ll pay a pretty penny, though it does feel the most luxurious and will last the longest. If price is stopping you from buying a leather duffle bag, try to look for something made from top-grain or split-grain leather, which aren’t as high quality as full-grain leather but still durable and fairly premium. Vegan leather is also a great option for those who want the look and feel of a leather duffel bag but don’t want to use anything made from animal byproducts. Do know this: Vegan leather doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be cheaper than legit leather, so take that into consideration before your purchase.
Price: Price will almost always directly correlate with the type of leather the duffel bag you’re eyeing is made from. Full-grain leather duffel bags will be the most expensive, while lower-tier leather will help keep the cost down, though you’d be compromising on durability and overall feel as you opt for cheaper materials.
Leather Duffel Bag FAQ
What is the best leather duffel bag?
In our testing, we found the Ghurka Cavalier II No. 97 to be the best leather bag. It’s on the pricier side, but its construction and overall quality justified its price tag.
What’s the best type of leather for a duffel bag?
The most premium leather for a duffel bag is full-grain leather, which is made from the entire animal hide. Other types of leather are built from various layers of the hide, which compromises their structure.
How We Tested
We narrowed down the competition to the best leather duffel bags that our network of testers and trusted luggage nerds recommended. Whether it’s because they enjoyed the construction or design, the leather bags we tested all came through our hands so we could evaluate their feel and structure. We packed, slung, and tossed as many as we could to figure out how much of a beating they could take—and that’s how we narrowed down countless leather duffel bags into the top nine.