Patagonia Lightweight Black Hole Duffel 45L

For a bag that weighs just over a pound, the Black Hole impressed us with its sturdiness. “After five months of filling every cubic inch of its 45 liters and flinging it onto rocks everywhere from Turkey to Oregon, the material still looks like new,” our tester says. She credits the featherweight, laminated ripstop nylon for preserving the Black Hole’s form even when it was overstuffed and suffering rough treatment. “The haul straps have reinforced bar tack stitching, and neither they nor the fabric showed any signs of strain even when I crammed it with 40 pounds of equipment,” she says. When not in use, the Black Hole packs down to about the size of a small cantaloupe. Note: Even though you can carry it like a backpack, our tester still wished that the Black Hole came equipped with a longer shoulder strap to provide more versatility.