Jones Weekender Duffel Bag Review: Best Travel Bag Out There?

I’ve had my eye on the Jones Weekender Djouffel Bag for awhile.

Why?

Well aside from the fact it just looks sick, it’s also super versatile and does a few things that you won’t see many other duffel bags do.

Recently I finally got my hands on one, and used it for my trip down to Pebble Beach for the Lexus Champions for Charity golf event.

I’m not going to lie, when I put it on my bed and started thinking through everything I’d need to bring on this trip, my first response was “there’s no way this is all going to fit in here.”

So did it? Did the bag lived up to my lofty expectations? Does it take the title of best duffel bag on the market for golfers or otherwise?

Read on to find out.

Jones Weekender Duffel Bag First Impressions

My very first impressions when getting my hands on the Weekender were that it looked just as cool in person as it did in the photos.

The heather grey and black motif fits right in with my personal style, and looks awesome regardless of where you’re going. You can just as easily take it to the golf course as you can a camping trip or weekend mountain getaway.

The build quality feels super solid with really thick tarpaulin(?) I’m assuming that’s the waterproof material that you see one the bottom and sides of the bag, but it looks good and I didn’t have any issues with water or anything like that. 

Like I said above when I first opened it up, I was concerned because it doesn’t look like a ton of space. But once you start packing it you’ll be shocked by just how much stuff you can fit in here – it’s much bigger than it looks.

One side simply has a big mesh cover that allows you to pack whatever you want, with a second smaller zipper pouch for socks, underwear, and the like.

Pretty standard.

But on the other side, this is where it gets unique. 

One half of it has a similar pouch that feels reinforced to allow you to put say, hats in there without them getting messed up.

And on the other half is a cinch pouch made out of nylon that allows you to store wet shoes or clothes without ruining the rest of the stuff in the bag.

The whole setup is pretty sweet, and I found really quickly that in comparison to other duffels it makes it much easier to pack and keep your stuff organized.

Jones Weekender Duffel Performance

I’m just going to come right out and say it, I love this bag.

I loved using it, I loved packing it, everything about it just made the bag enjoyable to use. Which feels like kind of a weird thing to say about a duffel bag, but legit, that’s what it was like.

One of the cool things about the bag is its unique clamshell design. The zippers extend all the way around the sides and to the bottom of the bag, and then it opens up like a clamshell. 

This makes it easy to pack, and once it’s completely full it makes it super easy to get it zipped back up as well.

I haven’t seen many bags adopt this style of zipper, and it works really well.

To give you a quick rundown of what I had on this last trip:

• 4 golf polos
• 3 t shirts
• 3 pairs of golf pants
• 1 pair of golf shorts
• 6 pairs of socks
• 5 pairs of underwear
• Flip flops
• 2 pairs of shoes
• Swimsuit
• Thick quarter zip
• Suit
• Down vest
• Dopp Kit
• Tripod

Yes, a tripod. I literally just put it in the center of the bag and it zipped up like a charm.

That’s a ton of stuff to fit in an average sized duffel bag.

I like that there’s no one right way to pack it. Based on your needs you can use the different pockets and areas for different things depending on what you need to pack.

The Jones Weekender: Backpack Straps

This is all great. Cool it’s a duffel bag that fits a lot of stuff, nice. A lot of bags do that.

But there’s one aspect of the bag that is different than nearly all other similar bags you’ll find: the backpack straps.

Hidden away in velcro compartments are a pair of backpack straps. So in 5 seconds, you can pop them out, throw the bag on your back, and away you go.

It’s the ultimate in versatility, and for the average user of this bag, this is a game changer.

My only personal quibble with the bag is also around these straps, and it’s simply due to my personal use case.

No matter where I travel, I bring a ton of camera gear (cameras, lenses, drone etc.). So I have a dedicated camera backpack. 

Because of this, when I’m traveling it would have been nice to have a traditional shoulder strap as an option, since I can’t really utilize the backpack strap.

But this won’t be an issue for most people considering this bag.

And what I did find out in taking this bag down to Pebble was even without that strap, how much more convenient this was than using a rolling suitcase.

You see, I also have a rolling golf club bag. Rolling two bags through the airport? Pain in the ass.

I found it much more convenient to just carry the duffel – so learned a nice lesson there.

Final Thoughts on the Jones Weekender Bag

My previous favorite bag (which I still love) is the Holderness and Bourne Byers Duffel.

I feel like that bag is a bit classier for lack of a better term. It’s more for the country club set, and if you just need to pack a couple days worth of clothes or have a bag to take to the Club with you, their latest bags are absolutely beautiful.

But in terms of a bag that can allow you to comfortably pack everything you need, breaks the mold in terms of what a duffel bag can do, and looks rugged and badass – the Jones is my new top pick.

And it honestly feels like a steal of a deal at $165.

Now I know with my scoring rubric here, I generally lean on the higher side. You’re not seeing many reviews of anything less than a 5.

But I truly mean it when I say this bag is a 10.

It’s a 10 on Performance.

It’s a 10 on Presentation (looks).

It’s a 10 on Price.

And it’s a 10 on Personal Affinity.

I’ll be putting many miles on this bag in the coming years, and now I’m just excited to figure out where I’m going to take it next.

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A fantastic duffle bag for a weekend away

9.3 Excellent

The Weekender Duffle is not only one of the coolest looking duffle bags on the market, it's also one of the most functional as well.

The Good

1. Looks fantastic with great colorways
2. Most recent update adds extra zipper for waterproof shoe compartment
3. Hidden backpack straps add to versatility

The Bad

1. There's no traditional shoulder strap due to clamshell design
2. The way the compartments are laid out may not be best depending on how you like to pack

• Presentation 10
• Performance 9
• Price 9
• Personal Affinity 9