Gregory Long Haul Duffel Review

Name: Gregory Long Haul Duffel
Brand: Gregory

gregory long haul duffel duffel bag review — Gregory Long Haul Duffel
Credit: Ian Nicholson

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Price: $110 List

Manufacturer: Gregory

By Ian Nicholson ⋅ Review Editor ⋅ Mar 20, 2013

Our Verdict

The Gregory Long Haul Duffel has been discontinued.

REASONS TO BUY

Lightweight

Fairly water resistant

REASONS TO AVOID

Not as many transport options

The Gregory Long Haul Duffels are among the most affordable burly expedition duffel bags on the market. They are also among the more weather-resistant duffels we tested. Long Haul Duffels are simple and don't have many extra features, just one extra pocket and a simple single strait-line zippered opening. This simplicity also gives them the lightest weight in our review. The Long Hauls aren't the most pleasant to carry and lack features that many other duffels in this review offer, but if you are on a budget and need a big sack that won't blow out on you, this is the duffel for you. It is also offered in five sizes, more than any model in the review. The largest size offers the biggest volume we tested.

For this review we only chose duffels we liked and this was the least expensive chosen. In and of itself that's a reason why this duffel should be be considered. Again, we loved the five possible size options offered by Gregory, including the two largest volumes of any duffels in this review. If comfort and ease of packing are higher priorities, then you might want to look somewhere else like The North Face Base Camp Duffel. If you are on a budget and are looking for a good, long-lasting duffel and don't need all the bells and whistles, then the Long Haul along with the Wild Things Mule Duffel are good options. What might set the Gregory apart is a little more water resistance and more and and slightly larger volume options.

Our Analysis and Test Results

Likes

The Gregory Long Haul Duffel is cheaper than any other duffel bag tested except in the largest sizes, where it is priced the same as the Wild Things Mule. One of the biggest advantages of the Gregory Long Haul is the fact that it is the lightest duffel in our review. While it is only four ounces lighter than a Wild Things Burrow, it is one to two pounds lighter than any other. Another thing we like is that fact that it is available in five sizes, more than any other duffel. The Long Haul is also available in the largest volumes, with its two biggest(272L and 180L) being larger than any other duffel tested. We also thought the Gregorys to be among the more weather-resistant models we tested, far more resistant than the similarly-priced Wild Things Duffels, a hair better than the Helly Hansen Duffle and just behind the Mountain Hardwear Expedition and Black Diamond Huey.

Dislikes

The Long Haul only has one little pocket that doesn't hold much on the end of one side, but we did like that you don't have to go digging through the main compartment to access it. We didn't like that it lacks a little window pocket for your information, something all the duffels we reviewed had except for both Gregory models. Its biggest drawback is that along with the Wild Things models the Gregorys are the worst to carry, offering no shoulder or backpack straps and sporting only two straps for carrying the duffel in "briefcase" mode, a big pain in the larger sizes when they are full. It features a single zippered opening that makes rooting around for lost items a little more difficult compared with the models with D-shaped openings. This wasn't much of a problem in the smaller sizes but we found it more difficult in the larger sizes. The Long Haul doesn't have many extra lash points for strapping it on the top of Jeeps or onto a sled, but it had enough that you can make it work. Another note: both its fabric zipper pulls came off on our first day.

Value

These are the least expensive duffel bags in our review with the exception of the largest sizes (XL and XXL), which are comparably priced with the Wild Things models. Despite their drawbacks, the Gregory Long Haul Duffels are durable and weather-resistant duffels that will last most people through many adventures. For those on a budget and not needing all the features associated with more expensive duffels, the Long Hauls are a good option.

— Ian Nicholson