Matador Freefly Packable Duffel Assessment

Backside Line

CleverHiker presents the Matador Freefly Duffel! Continual overpackers, memento lovers, gymnasium rats, campsite hoppers, and anybody who likes to be ready for any journey eventuality, rejoice! This light-weight, packable, easy, and streamlined duffel is the right companion on your bits ‘n bobs, irrespective of the place you’re headed.

It packs as much as the scale of your hand, 8.5 oz, and is prepared in seconds, so you possibly can pack soiled mountain climbing boots, smelly clothes, that additional layer you had to purchase when temps dropped, or souvenirs. 

We convey it in our backpacks when touring to commerce reveals in anticipation of coming dwelling with a slew of pattern gear and snacks. It additionally will get used after dusty and muddy mountain climbing trails to maintain soiled gear quarantined. It additionally comes with us in our baggage after we go to go to household, figuring out we undoubtedly will likely be despatched dwelling with baked items.

It’s a useful, sturdy piece of bags that’s straightforward to convey on any journey, together with tenting, highway journeys, and air journey, because the small dimension can be utilized as a private merchandise when not packed full.

How We Examined

We examined the Matador Freefly by loading it full of motorbike gear for native rides, behind the automobile to stash soiled sneakers on highway journeys, and for lugging meals and kit to walk-in campsites. We bought it soaked, dragged it round dust parking tons, and tossed it out and in of automobiles to see the way it carried out.

Carry Consolation

For a bag this small, we have been shocked to seek out there are 3 ways to hold the Matador Freefly duffel, greater than many different duffels that made it onto our favourite duffels listing. It has a shoulder strap, duffel handles, and makeshift backpack straps. Not surprisingly for a bag this small and lightweight, most of them aren’t that snug for prolonged carry. 

Prime seize handles are outfitted with a tough sheath to maintain floppy webbing from creating uneven strain throughout your palms. Nonetheless, the handles are skinny, so weight isn’t distributed nicely, which makes them uncomfortable when the bag is filled with heavy gadgets. Granted, you want to be packing bricks to load it down, given its 30-liter capability.

The shoulder strap is webbing, which additionally dug into our shoulders throughout lengthy carries via airports when the bag was overstuffed. Nonetheless, it’s adjustable, so we might select from over-the-shoulder or cross-body carry to combine it up and relieve some strain. There are additionally skinny webbing seize handles on both finish of the bag for straightforward loading and unloading into automobiles or overhead bins. 

And although you technically can rearrange the compression straps to behave as backpack straps in a pinch, they’re simply webbing, in order that they weren’t snug for quite a lot of minutes.

That stated, the bag is designed for light-weight carry, together with brief jaunts to the automobile, gymnasium runs, and carting extras to the campsite, not lugging heavy tools, so consolation might not be as vital an element as with different duffels we’ve examined.

Compressibility & Packability

In the case of packing the Matador Freefly duffel, it’s not the best bag to fill, however that’s the value you pay for a duffel as packable and light-weight as this: there are going to be trade-offs. The bag itself has no construction, so it collapses flat when empty, which makes it harder to toss sneakers or gear into shortly and simply: packing requires deliberate effort.

The highest zipper is only a slit opening, however because it’s good and lengthy, it nonetheless affords full entry to the inside. When it’s full, it holds its form properly and is straightforward sufficient to look via. If it’s not full, nonetheless, it turns into a shapeless blob, and it’s troublesome to find gadgets inside, particularly as a result of the inside is black.

As for compressibility, that’s the place this duffel shines. It packs into an included pouch that matches within the palm of your hand when not in use. It is a superb piece of drugs to convey alongside in one other backpack or duffel if you happen to suppose you could be touring dwelling with greater than you arrived with. 

Exterior compression straps cinch the bag down when the bag isn’t full, so contents don’t shift round as a lot.

Sturdiness

After we took the Matador Freefly Packable Duffle out for testing, we weren’t straightforward on it. We dragged it via dust parking tons, swung it round by the handles, and tossed it out and in of automobiles. By way of all of it, it picked up some dust, however there have been no scuffs or indicators of everlasting injury. That’s probably due partly to the strong UHMWPE-reinforced cloth on the underside of the bag and a light-weight ripstop nylon on the physique. 

The webbing and handles, too, appear sturdy, although to not the identical degree as lots of the different duffels we’ve examined. They’re thinner and lighter for higher packability, however we expect they’re going to put on sooner with common use than some greater manufacturers’ duffels.

The zippers are all waterproof, that are notoriously extra delicate and vulnerable to breakage and malfunction than non-waterproof varieties. So they are going to require extra cleansing and a focus after particularly dusty or sandy outings.

Climate Resistance

Although the Matador Freefly Packable Duffle is PU-coated and marketed as weatherproof, we discovered it doesn’t fairly meet that standards. After a short however heavy rainshower, clothes in the direction of the highest contained in the bag was moist regardless of the waterproof zippers.

The stable exterior pocket did handle to maintain contents dry throughout the identical rain bathe, although. Even so, we wouldn’t belief it to maintain gear and clothes dry in moist environments that exceed a light-weight drizzle.

Group

The Matador Freefly packable duffel bag is designed to be packable and easy. Because of this, there’s little or no group in-built. Along with the principle compartment, there are solely two accent pockets. Each are on the surface (one is a sturdy stretch mesh, the opposite a stable, opaque pocket). Each characteristic waterproof zippers.

They’re a great place to retailer small gadgets we wish easy accessibility to, together with bike gloves, a hat, snacks, or gear like headlamps and cathole shovels. The mesh pocket particularly proved priceless after we forgot to unpack the bag after a moist hike: the soggy socks we caught in there have been in a position to dry as a substitute of getting mildewy.

Ought to You Purchase the Matador Freefly Packable Duffel?

This duffel is designed primarily for portability, not consolation or group. It should attraction to vacationers and outdoorists who want one thing like a reusable grocery bag, however a degree up. It weighs little, packs down as small as a pair of tall mountain climbing socks, and could be deployed immediately. We adore it for grabbing groceries on a highway journey, working gear from the campsite to the automobile, separating soiled gear, or bringing dwelling presents from our travels.

It’s the right bag for “simply in case” and is so gentle and small that there’s little motive to not stash it in your baggage or backseat.

That stated, if you happen to’re searching for a regular-use duffel for journey or one that may maintain quite a lot of pairs of sneakers, will stand as much as baggage declare abuse, and will likely be extra snug to hold on lengthy walks when packed stuffed with heavy gadgets, a extra conventional duffel would most likely swimsuit you higher.

What Different Duffels Ought to You Take into account?

When you’re unsure the Matador Freefly is best for you, you could need to take into account one of many different stand-out duffels we’ve examined.

REI Roadtripper Assessment: Transportable, packable, and accessible in a variety of sizes, the Roadtripper packs down small, however is a extra reasonably priced choice.

The North Face Base Camp Assessment: Nonetheless small, however packs a punch. The North Face Base Camp isn’t as packable, nevertheless it’s extra purposeful for frequent use and options extra organizational choices.

Patagonia Black Gap Assessment:  For a extra conventional duffel, take into account the traditional Patagonia Black Gap. The big single opening, a number of carry choices and better waterproof ranking make it a stable selection for a lot of vacationers.