The Duffel Backpack

It's clear that this bag is made well. After a couple of weeks lugging it to the gym and stuffing it in lockers, it travels well, takes the bumps, and still looks good. The ample pockets make packing easy and organized, and the zip out shoe/dirty clothes compartment is genius. It is the perfect size for clothes, towels, toiletry bag, shoes, etc., and there are plenty of places for water bottles, shaker bottles, etc. I'm also looking forward to using this on some international travel and am confident that it will meet all my needs. I went on a deep dive to find my next duffle, and this one from Monarc hits perfectly between functional, beautiful and affordable.

I was looking for a versatile bag to use for weekend trips up to a week that could also be a carry. One feature I wanted was a lap top pocket to eliminate a second bag. I’ve only used once but am very pleased with the purchase. Seems to be well made and thought out. It might be a little small for a week long trip but could work. Overall so far very satisfied.

The Duffel Backpack

Before this bag, I would often carry two bags around with me; one for my gym gear and one for my work/lunch gear. With this duffel backpack, I can stick to just one bag to do everything. I've been using it for about 3 weeks now and I'm very happy with it. I primarily keep it in backpack mode because I find it more convenient for getting around by foot/transit/bike. I use it as a daily commuter bag AND as a weekend trip bag. The build quality is really good, the design is slick, the padding is comfortable, the removable straps are handy (despite my plastic clips not being as easy to use as I heard the old metal ones are), and the zippers have a durable feel and allow me to leave pockets partially but snugly open if I have something sticking out of the bag (like a squash racquet). Overall, this is a fantastic bag that I highly recommend for anyone looking for a bigger bag that is multifunctional.

My Biggest Haul So Far
-laptop and charger
-phone charger
-small external hard-drive
-eReader
-lock
-hair cream
-deodorant
-sweatband
-flip flops
-running shoes
-2 sets of gym clothes
-1.5 sets of everyday clothes
-lunchbag
-1L water bottle
-720mL water bottle
-umbrella

Minor Setbacks
-it can be a little tricky to use the plastic clips for removing the straps if you're interested in switching between the two modes of the bag regularly. This isn't a problem for me since I almost always have it in backpack mode
-in backpack mode, some of the mesh pockets aren't usable. It would be nice if they had zippers or velcro on them to counteract that
-even with lighter loads in the bag, it often sags down slowly while wearing it in backpack mode so I find myself pulling on the adjustable straps to lift it back up almost every time I wear it. Thankfully it doesn't sag down THAT much

i received the duffle and couldn’t believe how little space was inside. the back pack straps and the padding is way to thick and you lose pretty much lose all your space inside the bag..
anyways the bag is amazing as a duffle so i actually never returned it i just got scissors and cut the breathing padding and backpack straps out.
now it’s a real duffle now and i doubled the space inside and can fit all my gym gear and even a full protein tub if i wanted to.
honestly if monarc wants to keep the backpack attachments then the duffle needs to be much larger. trying to make this bag to practical ironically made it less practical
i’ll post the photos of the my bag now with the backpack part removed and with full space inside! cheers love the bag! but if i wanted a backpack i would just buy a backpack i bought this for a gym bag which i’m assuming most people are buying it for. so i’m speaking for the gym community!!

in the photos you can see the slice marks i circled where i cut the backpack straps and padding off and now the bag has a hugeeee amount of space and i love it,

10/10 as a true duffle!!!!!!

3/10 for whatever the backpack thing was taking up all the space inside the bag