I’ll be honest: I’m a lot more interested in looking at things like the best Smith Machines for home gyms, best squat shoes, and even the best rucking backpacks more than I am at looking at gym backpacks.
…because, let’s be real; I work out at home.
I’m not lugging a gym bag with me to my lifting sessions anymore…
The key word in that last sentence…”anymore”…because, truth be told, I did lug a bag with me for a long time.
Whether I was working at the gym, training, or even going to the University of Georgia Ramsey Center for some lame “all Student Affairs” meeting back in the day (those gatherings were as worthless and insufferable as you’re thinking!), I had a lot of opportunities to…”test out” gym bags.
Might as well use my experiences to help you pick out a good one…or even the best one.
Admittedly, we have our biases, but we think you’ll agree that the bags we’ve compiled are definitely…
Table of Contents
The 8 Best Gym Backpacks
🏆 Best Overall
91
Best CrossFit
86
Best for Meal Prep
89
Best Organizer
88
Best Affordable
90
The 8 Best Gym Backpacks
- THE NORTH FACE Base Camp Duffel – Best gym backpack (overall)
- Bear KompleX Military Grade Tactical Backpack – Best CrossFit backpack
- WOLFpak Meal PREP Management Backpack – Best meal prep backpack
- Serious Steel Fitness Pro Backpack – Best organizer gym bag
- SDTAME Gym Duffle Bag Backpack – Best affordable gym backpack
- KNKG Conquer Backpack – Contender
- GORUCK GR2 – Contender
- TYR Elite Team Mesh Backpack – Contender
THE NORTH FACE Base Camp Duffel
⭐️ Verdict: Best gym backpack (overall)
The North Face’s Base Camp Duffel combines overall load capacity and relative affordability with a basic, but functional dividing system to become the best gym backpack on the market today.
The “Small” variant’s 50-liter load capacity is more than sufficient for those who regularly take an extensive array of gear and accessories to the gym with them on a regular basis.
The lack of significant internal storage division and separation may not be ideal for some gym goers, but separated mesh pockets are effective at keeping the clean clothes away from the smelly gear.
Pros
50-liter load capacity
Constructed of durable ballistic nylon
Very good size-to-price ratio
Con
Internal organization/division not overly extensive
With multiple internal pockets, external pockets, and a spacious main storage area, The North Face Base Camp Duffel may come off as being a bit…excessive to many gym-goers, but is one of the select few bags that is fully capable of accommodating all of the gear needs of more serious lifters.
Although the Base Camp Duffel offers a lot of different size options to choose from, we think that the interestingly-labeled “Small” variant is sufficient for most lifters. With a 50-liter capacity, you should have more than enough room to accommodate shoes, belts, grips, and chalk, but if this isn’t quite enough space for you, any of the 4 larger variants should work just fine.
The North Face Base Camp Duffel’s mesh pockets zip shut and the brand’s reputation for durability speaks for itself. Despite this, it is reasonably priced, although without separate, dedicated internal compartments, changes of clothes are best kept in the external mesh pocket.
Bear KompleX Military Grade Tactical Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Best CrossFit backpack
The Bear KompleX Military Grade Tactical Backpack provides capacity and organization advantages for those who prefer the more traditional backpack design.
With a top-end load capacity of 50 liters, the “standard” Military Grade Tactical Backpack variant is the most suitable for most gym goers, although the 25-liter “mini” is a good options for “minimalist” lifters.
The bag’s top-end capacity is somewhat limited due to its multiple side and end pockets and other similarly-sized backpacks are usually priced a bit less “premium” in comparison.
Pros
Multiple separate pockets
50-liter load capacity
1000D nylon is more than durable enough for the bag’s main purposes
Cons
Pockets are generally smaller and may not be effective at accommodating larger items
Most people associate the Bear KompleX (yeah, you have to do the “X” like that) brand with CrossFit grips (and possibly with knee sleeves). However, their Military Grade Tactical Backpack is a solid option for those who prefer a more traditional backpack-style gym bag.
With a 25-liter capacity, the “mini” variant might work for gym goers commuting with a relatively small amount of gear, although we would suggest opting for the “standard” option. At 50 liters, this version of the Military Grade Tactical Backpack combines a high-end load capacity with a multitude of external pockets and internal organization areas.
The Bear KompleX Military Grade Tactical Backpack’s 1000D ballistic nylon composition isn’t quite as tough as Cordura, but should hold up more than fun for “normal” gym-going ventures. With so many compartments, the top-end load capacity can be effectively limited, so be careful if you plan on hauling larger, single objects (example a medium-sized strongman bag) with you as the main internal storage area may not be quite big enough to accommodate it.
WOLFpak Meal PREP Management Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Best meal prep backpack
The WOLFpak Meal PREP Management Backpack provides specialized space for “standard” gym gear as well as up to 3 separately packaged meals.
The backpack’s meal insulated storage compartment comes loaded with 3 specifically designed containers as well as an ice pack to ensure food remains stored at an appropriate temperature.
The Meal PREP Management Backpack is a more expensive gym backpack option, but for gym goers who prioritize meal prep and organization, it is an ideal option.
Pros
Dedicated, insulated meal storage compartment
Meal containers and ice pack are included
Separate storage areas for “traditional” gym gear
Cons
Not inexpensive
The WOLFpak Meal PREP Management Backpack is the niche gym bag you never knew you needed…until you realized just how awesome it is and how much you actually need it. If you do any kind of meal prep and travel with your homemade food (even if it’s just grub leftover from last night’s dinner), this is the bag to haul it with.
We’re pretty sure that most would agree that the Meal PREP Management Backpack’s headline/key features is its “internal insulated pocket, which includes 3 large meal containers (and) an ice packet” (the actual containers are included, by the way). This pocket is separate from the other large compartment and sub-compartments, which allows for more “normal” gym gear to be taken along with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If you don’t do much meal prep, yet alone carry your food with you, you probably won’t find nearly as much utility in WOLFpak’s Meal PREP Management Backpack as others will. However, the company’s non-meal management bags are also solid options so one of them might be more your speed.
Serious Steel Fitness Pro Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Best organizer gym bag
The Serious Steel Fitness Pro Backpack complements the use of extremely durable materials with a combination of elements of a traditional backpack, a ruck, and a dedicated gym bag.
The Fitness Pro Backpack’s removable and adjustable dividers allows for significant customization as well as compartmentalization of different pieces of workout gear.
With only a 32-liter load capacity, the Fitness Pro Backpack doesn’t boast the largest amount of storage space, but its efficient design allows users to effectively maximize this space.
Pros
Multiple removable internal dividers
Constructed of extremely durable 1680D ballistic nylon
Suitable for a numerous purposes (daypack, rucking, etc.)
Cons
Not the largest load capacity
The Serious Steel Fitness Pro Backpack is a solid gym backpack for those who prefer a smaller bag (it has a 32-liter load capacity), yet want or need a legitimate organization system in their bags. With multiple dividers creating 3 separate storage areas, complemented by a completely separate external storage area, the bag is small, but more than sufficient.
Unlike many of the other options on this list, the Fitness Pro Backpack is constructed of 1680D nylon, a much heavier and durable blend than the 1000D and 500D materials that others are made out of. For simple trips to and from the gym, some might consider this to be overkill, but its sure to add to the lifespan of the bag.
At ~$140, the Serious Steel Fitness Pro Backpack isn’t the most affordable gym backpack…but it is by no means the most expensive, either. With that being said, when considering its materials, sheer number of dividers/pockets, and overall functionality, it may be the best “value” bags on this list.
SDTAME Gym Duffle Bag Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Best affordable gym backpack
The SDTAME Gym Duffle Bag Backpack combines a significant load capacity (40 liters) with a very attractive and affordable price tag (~$35).
The Gym Duffle Bag Backpack splits into multiple storage compartments to include dedicated shoe and laptop areas.
The color scheme of the Gym Duffle Bag Backpack may not be the most appealing for many gym goers, but its other impressive features make it a solid option.
Pros
Waterproof layers/areas
Dedicated shoe and laptop compartments
Very affordable
Cons
Not the most “neutral” color option/schemes
SDTAME may not be the biggest name in the fitness and/or baggage/luggage world (if they’re really even a “name” at all!), but they have, nevertheless, positioned themselves for a Top-5 finish on our list of the best gym backpacks. With a price point of ~$35, their aptly named Gym Duffle Bag Backpack is the best affordable gym backpack out there.
Besides the very attractive price point, the SDTAME Gym Duffle Bag Backpack boasts a decent 40-liter load capacity along with a dedicated shoe compartment. This ensures that there is enough capacity to accommodate most “standard” gym gear while keeping your shoes safely away from all of it (or, if you’re like me, it’ll keep your gear safe from your shoes).
Multiple exterior pockets (to include a waterproof zipper layer as well as a dedicated laptop pocket) ensure that there are even more options for gear/item separation. Frankly, the only thing really holding back the Gym Duffle Bag Backpack are those color/design schemes…unless, of course, you’re into that sorta thing…
KNKG Conquer Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Contender!
At 38 liters, the KNKG Conquer Backpack is the largest/has the largest load capacity of any of the company’s backpacks.
The internal, removable and adjustable dividers allow gym goers to quickly and easily organize their gear layout to their exact needs and specifications.
At roughly $300, the Conquer Backpack is not an inexpensive bag, but its “practical lifetime warranty” helps to justify its higher price point.
Pros
Removable internal dividers
Works as an everyday carry bag in addition to a gym bag
Covered by a “practical liftetime warranty”
Cons
Expensive
In recent years, KNKG has made a lot of waves with its backpacks and duffel bags, although we think that its Conquer Backpack makes for the best gym bag of the bunch. Very humbly declaring itself to be “The GOAT of organized backpacks”, we tend to agree that it is up there with the best.
The KNKG Conquer Backpack’s most conspicuous, and arguably most valuable features, are its removable dividers. These are gamechangers for gym goers as they not only allow for internal storage customization (you can adjust these to accommodate your equipment) or remove them altogether for when you just want to throw all of your stuff into one, big 38-liter bag.
Internal mesh pockets and dual external (bottle) pockets are welcome additions, although the ~$300 price tag may be a bit steep, even when considering the decent overall volume and excellent customization options. Also, the 500D nylon primary material is decent, but not overly resilient.
GORUCK Kit Bag
⭐️ Verdict: Contender!
The GORUCK Kit Bag comes in multiple variants, with even its smallest offering (32-liter load capacity) being more than sufficient for a dedicated gym bag.
The mid-sized 57-liter variant lacks some of the external pockets, but its sheer size-to-price ration makes it the most appropriate option for most enthusiasts.
The Kit Bag is not designed specifically as a gym bag and is lacking in some common gym bag features (ex. dedicated shoe compartment), but its more niche features make it competitive.
Pros
Multiple acceptable size variants to choose from
Covered by GORUCK Scars Lifetime Warranty
Relatively inexpensive
Cons
Larger variants lack certain features
The GORUCK Kit Bag may seem like a somewhat odd inclusion on this list as most people probably associate it more with traveling or “everyday carry” (school, work, etc.), more than as a dedicated gym bag. While all of these associations are legitimate, it actually makes for a deceptively effective gym bag.
While the Kit Bag comes in a few different sizes (we can attest from personal use/experience that even the smallest 32-liter variant works pretty well as a gym bag), for those who are really serious about their gear (or simply have a lot of gear to haul), the 57-liter version (and even the 84-liter version for the truly ambitious) are where it’s at.
The larger GORUCK Kit Bag variations do not have as many pockets and subsidiary features as the smallest, 32-liter offering and unlike the aptly named (but much less capable) GORUCK Gym Bag, there isn’t a dedicated shoe compartment. However, if basic organization and sheer capacity are priorities for you, these are legit options at lower prices than what most of the company’s lineup goes for.
TYR Elite Team Mesh Backpack
⭐️ Verdict: Contender!
The TYR Elite Team Mesh Backpack is an inexpensive gym backpack from a company that is usually associated with high-end swim gear.
The Elite Team Mesh Backpack’s combination of a ~$35 price tag with a 40-liter load capacity makes it an ideal choice for those not looking to make a major investment into their gym backpack.
Consisting of mainly mesh material, the Elite Team Mesh Backpack may not be as attractive to those who would prefer more “solid” material, throughout.
Pros
Inexpensive
Quick-dry mechanisms ideal for “pool day” workouts
Highly-respected brand
Cons
Primarily comprised of pure mesh material
For years, the vast majority of enthusiasts likely associated TYR with competitive swimming bathing suits while in recent years, they’ve expanded into the realms of developing (really good) Olympic weightlifting shoes and sponsoring CrossFit (and…ahem…”alternative” fitness athletes). Now, we’re adding gym bags to that list of associations with their Elite Team Mesh Backpack.
From a purely price-to-size ratio, TYR’s Elite Team Mesh Backpack is pretty hard to compete with. It isn’t hard to find it online for under $35 and with a 40 liter load capacity, most lifters won’t have too much trouble loading most of their day-to-day training gear inside.
If you’re not really into bags that are mostly mesh, the Elite Team Mesh Backpack may not be your first choice. However, if swimming ventures, and all of the associated gear that comes with them, are your primary focus, the bag’s quick-drying mechanisms might be exactly what your activity requires.
What to Look For in Gym Backpacks
We understand that we hit you with kinda a diverse selection of bags. However, we do have some rhyme to our reasoning in regards to how we came to these conclusions.
Let’s take a look at the 4 main criteria that we used to assess the contenders we looked at and to ultimately come to the top 8 (and even further down to the top 5).
Organization
Gym bags are organized in a lot of different ways, but, to simplify things, we can break down these methods by the manner in which users themselves approach organization:
- The people who like to really organize their gym gear.
- The people, myself included, who just throw all their stuff in the middle and mindlessly grope away for what they need (not the most efficient or effective approach, but whatever).
You can get away with the latter approach with just about any bag…but the former option requires the right…”tools” for the job.
Some bags have ’em; some bags don’t.
Obviously, gym bags with separate, dedicated item storage areas are going to allow for more efficient organization than those without these features. However, just because a bag has a ton of pockets doesn’t make it “good”.
All of that being said, we rate bags in this category on how well they perform at organizing common gym items: can they fit a couple pairs of shoes? Can they accommodate a chalk container? Can you separate your clean and dirty clothes? How about food?
It’s impossible to know what you prioritize when you head off to lift, but we think it’s safe to assume that a bag that can accommodate 4, individually packed meals and an ice pack will be able to handle your old shorts and a jump rope.
Load Capacity
This is a pretty straightforward assessment category (and is also one that most people would agree is pretty important), but we do want to emphasize that this is not the same as the previous category. Load capacity deals with a bag’s sheer “just throw everything in” storage capabilities.
We know that everyone has different gym gear needs (we definitely went through a period where we weren’t bringing any specialized gear with us), but larger capacity bags are pretty much always going to facilitate being able to bring more stuff.
You may not be hauling a weight belt, jump rope, gloves, grips, weightlifting shoes, food, change of clothes (the list can go on) now…but we can assure you, circumstances change.
The higher the capacity, the higher we rate it.
Price
Like the previous category, we assume that you’re very well aware of how and why this category is important. For many (most people) this is the most important assessment category.
Unfortunately, there is quite the range here with some of the least expensive bags on the list running under $40 while there are others that run up to and including $300. Obviously, we think that those on the lesser end of this spectrum are quality bags, but those at the higher end of the spectrum simply have more or more niche features that demand and higher price point.
We’re rating these on their total prices; it’s up to you to decide which features are worth the price.
Customer Reviews
Not only do we work out in our barn/garage space…we don’t even regularly haul stuff to the commercial gym in town all that often anymore.
With this in mind, it probably should go without saying that as much as we think our picks for the best gym backpacks are legit, others might see things differently.
At the end of the day, we always take customer reviews into consideration with these deep dives, mainly because, we think we know a lot…
Shopping tips for Gym Backpacks
We’ve just finished going over the way we rate bags. Now let’s look at some other items of consideration that you should keep in mind when you’re selecting the best gym backpack for you.
Materials
For most people, their gym bag’s materials aren’t going to make that much of a difference. You’re more than likely just throwing your bag over your shoulder and heading out.
If you have a more…intense…secondary purpose in mind (which we’ll hit on in just a little bit), you may need a bag with higher-quality materials.
Or you may just be sick of getting those bags with that crappy, cheap plasticky material.
Most of the bags we’ve profiled are comprised of some type of Cordura or Ballistic Nylon blend. These tend to be the more expensive bags on the list and, in our experience, these are the bags that can:
- Take more abuse (drops, etc.)
- Last a lot longer
Still, at the end of the day, your price-to-quality ratio preferences, combined with your material wants/needs should be a determining factor.
Separators
As we mentioned before, one of the main reasons (the main reason?) why people opt for a specialized gym bag is because they want to be able to separate their stuff.
This checks out, but it’s important to be mindful of the fact that not all separators are created equally. Some are merely the same, at times flimsy, material as the rest of the bag while in other cases, they are heavy duty, removable separators that can essentially be “mixed and matched”.
In our opinion, some of the removable and “customizable” options can actually be more trouble than they’re worth, but if you want to constantly be re-organizing your stuff or if you like being able to change how your bag’s interior is arranged, bags with these are excellent options.
Secondary Purposes
A lot of people like having a “set it and forget it” bag that they only use for gym gear. This makes sense if you have other bags for other purposes and/or you prefer consistency, always knowing exactly what’s in your bag and what goes in your bag.
In contrast, many other people figure that if they’re going to invest a lot of money into a bag, they may as well get a lot of use out of it. This could involve using it for travel, rucking, or even as their everyday carry bag (please, for the sake of everyone else, remove the dirty clothes before opening your bag in class!)
Only you know what you have in mind for your bag…keep this in mind when you’re purchasing one.
How we Chose the “Best” Products
We’ve, admittedly, used everything from gigantic duffel bags to children’s backpacks to haul our gym gear in. We’re confident that we know what a good gym backpack looks and feels like…as well as what bad ones are all about.
Besides our own personal experiences (positive and negative!) with gym backpacks, we have also scanned a number of reviews discussing weighted vests and have taken everything we’ve learned into consideration. We are confident that our list is an aggregator of the best gym backpacks! Click here to find out a lot more about how we test and review products.
The Best Gym Backpacks…
At this point, we hope that you have a pretty good idea of what you’re looking for in a gym backpack and possibly even which specific bag you’d like to get your hands on.
If it’s one of these 8, excellent! If not…what’s wrong with you?!
(Just kidding…sorta)
We work out in a glorified shed/quasi-barn structure so we don’t haul ours around as much anymore, but trust us…having the right back for the job, whether you’re carting the day’s meals around or even just a couple of pairs of shoes makes a yuge difference in your approach to your workouts.
We’re partial to the bags you can do a few things with (you’ll know them when you see them), but if you gotta go with a seizure-inducing, affordable bag…well…you do you!
🏆 Best Overall
91
Best CrossFit
86
Best for Meal Prep
89
Best Organizer
88
Best Affordable
90
