Weekender Travel Bags
Weekender Travel Bags – What’s broadly defined as a “weekender” today likely derives from the duffel bag, which was first referenced in print by an English newspaper in 1768.
In contrast to the hard, heavy trunks made from wood or leather, duffel bags were made from a dense woolen fabric and had a loose, open shape allowing the soldiers or sailors who often used them to maximize their storage potential.
With time, what was essentially a piece of campaign gear was transformed into a symbol of leisure, with brands taking note and offering up luxe versions made from fine materials like calfskin and suede.
The market today teems with tempting options, and we’ve done our best to scour the weekender market in hunt of both classic iterations from heritage makers and cutting-edge designs from contemporary brands.
Weekender Travel Bags – Métier Nomad Weekender $4750
Métier’s Nomad weekender bears all the hallmarks of the London-based leather goods brand.
It’s made from soft, luxurious leather (in this case a supple Italian calfskin treated to avoid pilling) and has been cleverly designed to be as voluminous as its dimensions will allow, thanks to a pair of side tabs that unclip with a snap.
At the same time, the bag still retains enough internal organizing features, like a leather passport holder and a 14” laptop pocket, to qualify it for business as well as pleasure.
Bennett Winch Weekender $1500
From their perch at 34 Savile Row, the two Robins behind Bennett Winch—Robin Bennett and Robin Winch, respectively—have carved out a niche as perhaps the most feature-obsessed luggage makers in the UK
Its flagship weekender (which like the rest of the range, is made in England) demonstrates the business’ commendable nerdery with such details as a padded laptop sleeve and two designated waterproof compartments useful for stashing anything from gym gear to a still-drying swimsuit.
Exterior wise, it’s made from the brand’s signature heavyweight bonded canvas, whose membrane renders it entirely weatherproof in even the fiercest of storms.
Weekender Travel Bags – Ghurka Cavalier II $1495
Few American luggage makers are so storied as Ghurka, which was established in Connecticut in 1975.
Its aesthetic inspiration, however, is much older: founder Marley Hodgson, a noted Anglophile, won a Victorian-era British officer’s bag made from sturdy saddle leather at auction, and decided to recreate it in the States.
Since then, hundreds of individual Ghurka designs have been produced, nearly all made from the brand’s distinctly beefy leather or else a heavy cotton twill and finished with a signature checked lining.
One of its most enduring products is the Cavalier series of duffel bags, whose three numbered iterations are sized for overnight stays, weekend trips and extended travel, respectively.
Observer Collection Seebag $1595
The Seebag is the brainchild of designer and photographer Robert Spangle, an ex-Marine who now crosses the globe to snap warzones and fashion shows alike.
A rare blend of practical utility and forward-thinking design, its innovative wedge shape and replaceable pebble grain handles allow it to be worn like a crossbody, slung over the shoulder or simply carried in hand.
The military-grade cotton bag opens up to reveal a waterproof liner that can be removed and carried with a pair of handles to function like a tote.
Weekender Travel Bags – Sunspel Weekend Bag $595
From cashmere crewnecks to its famed Sea Island cotton tees, Sunspel’s whole M.O. has been to make cleanly designed staples from the best materials imaginable.
Its compact weekender, constructed from bonded Italian canvas for water-resistance and held with top handles secured by a sturdy leather hand strap, is no exception.
Tom Beckbe Canvas Duffel $595
Tom Beckbe makes waxed canvas jackets and bags inspired by outdoor pursuits, but you needn’t know your way around a rod or a rifle to appreciate its hardy goods.
Its weekender, made from weatherproof waxed canvas with American leather trims in a “clamshell” design that provides easy access to its fully lined interior, is precisely the sort of bag that’ll keep looking better the longer (and harder) it’s used.
Weekender Travel Bags – Ralph Lauren Bedford Duffel $5900
As part of its mission to be a full lifestyle outfitter, Ralph Lauren added luggage to its product assortment in 1982.
The most luxurious interpretation of that remit comes from its Purple Label line, which tapped a family-operated factory in Florence to produce this tidy canvas duffle trimmed with a smooth calfskin leather typically used in equestrian accessories.
Hand-stitching and brass hardware further burnish its luxe credentials, as does a polished finish that gives the leather just the right amount of sheen.
Mulberry Day Clipper $1095
Founded in Somerset in 1971, Mulberry has since grown to be one of the UK’s largest makers of luxury leather goods but hasn’t lost sight of its rural origins.
Its countryside DNA is evident in designs like its Heritage Day Clipper, available in waterproof waxed cotton and equipped with a pair of external pockets with inverted pleats for maximum storage.
Like Mulberry’s other products, it has been made with maximum attention to sustainability and circularity in keeping with the company’s “Made to Last” manifesto.
Weekender Travel Bags – Saddler’s Union T02 Travel Bag $1100
Saddler’s Union was first established in mid-century Rome, where its “bucket bags” became a symbol of Italy’s post-war economic recovery.
Recently relaunched by a team of siblings, the new Saddler’s Union remains faithful to the hard-wearing ethos of the original, as evidenced by the design of its T02 travel bag made from nearly indestructible cotton canvas.
Like the other items in its assortment, the calf leather used to trim T02 has been hand-colored in a traditional Roman technique that ensures that no two bags will ever look exactly alike.
T. Anthony Garment Duffel $1100
Since its 1946 founding, T. Anthony has supplied luggage to the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Marylin Monroe, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
With a clientele such as this, it’s of little wonder that the New York-based brand has put extra thought into how its designs may satisfy a more rarefied client’s need.
A more recent model, its Garment Duffle, does so by including a specially designed compartment that allows up to two garments to be hung, making it a weekender and garment bag all in one.
