Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
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You get a great bag for your money with the Under Armour Signature duffel. It’s durable, lightweight, and comfortable to carry, though lacks adequate toiletry storage. Read More
For the toughest of the tough, go with the King Kong JNR. Just know this means the few available pockets may also be tough to open. Read More
The FocusGear Ultimate Gym Bag opens in a unique way, making it a good option for those who want a better look in their bag and don’t mind sacrificing organization. Read More
The Dalix 20-inch bag is uncomfortable to touch and carry, and doesn’t have small storage pockets or shoe storage. Read More
Whether you prefer to exercise at the gym, take a spin class, or get in a yoga flow at the local studio, you need a way to carry your gear back and forth. Gym bags don’t necessarily need to have fancy features or cost a good chunk of change—but they should be durable, comfortable, and make your trip to the gym or studio easier.
We put some of the most popular gym bags on the market to the test, but in the end, found the Under Armour Undeniable Signature (available at Under Armour) is the best gym bag you can buy for its lightweight fabric, multiple storage pockets, and overall high quality construction.
Editor’s note: We’ll be revisiting this guide soon and will have new reviews to share.
The Under Armour Signature Duffel is a lightweight, durable option.
Tough and durable design
Separate shoe compartment
Minimal organization
Difficult to open and close pockets
Rubbery handles and zipper pulls felt sticky
Lightweight
Huge opening for easy access to your stuff
Minimal organization
Lightweight
Uncomfortable to touch and hold
Not enough small storage
No separate shoe compartment
We put these bags to the test to find the winners.
To find the best gym bags, we rounded up some popular options and tried our best to ruin them. We spilled water on them, scratched them, attempted to rip them—anything we could think of to rule out flimsy, low-quality bags. We also packed them with the typical gear you might bring to the gym or studio to ensure it would fit and be well organized.
I’m Esther Bell, Reviewed’s health and fitness writer. When I’m not testing large fitness equipment like adjustable dumbbells or exercise bikes, I’m toting smaller objects like fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, and resistance bands to and from the office for testing. I spent weeks using these gym bags to find the best ones.
One of the most important qualities we looked for in a gym bag is durability. To test this I spilled water on the bags, scratched them with a set of keys, and carried them around stuffed with weights. Additionally, I tried to rip the handles by pulling on them as hard as I could. (Fortunately, the bags all remained intact.)
We also evaluated the bags’ day-to-day usability, including the softness of the material and overall how comfortable it was to hold and carry. This is where we saw more variability between options, and found a few standouts.
Gym bags come in a variety of sizes, but for consistency’s sake, we only tested bags from 30 to 45 liters, or 1,830 to 2,746 square inches. This means every bag we tested could hold at least two outfits and a pair of shoes. Some had specific compartments for separating dirty gym shoes, clothes, and toiletries, and bonus features like water bottle pockets. Whether you need these depends on how many extras like hand sanitizer, ibuprofen, or headphones you tend to carry with you, and how organized you like to be.
You’ll also want to consider the material and how durable it might be, considering gym bags tend to take a beating. All of the bags we tested were made from nylon or polyester, or a combination thereof, making them all decently water- and scratch-resistant, and easy to clean and deodorize—a necessary feature when you’re stuffing a bag full of sweaty clothes on the daily.
A last consideration is the straps for comfortable carrying. All we tested had at least two ways to carry them, by handheld or adjustable shoulder straps. However, only some shoulder straps were removable and only some bags had a padded handle cover to snap around the handles and hold onto—all features you may find useful.
Esther Bell
Senior Staff Writer, Health and Fitness
Esther is a writer at Reviewed covering all things health and fitness.
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