Did you do a double-take at this article’s title? Believe what your eyes tell you, Douchebags (also known as DB Equipment) is a company that makes luggage of every shape and size. I have been testing their Carryall duffle in the 40 liter size for several months now, and aside from the name, I have to say the bag is pretty stellar.
What’s in a name?
Before you ask, NO, I have no idea why this company named itself Douchebags. Their website (douchebags.com, of course) offers up a company story that doesn’t even hint at why they chose this moniker. Sigh. My latest theory is that there is no rhyme or reason, it’s just a clever way of keeping people talking about them. If so, it’s a good tactic.
But on to the real reason for this article- the build and performance of the Carryall 40L bag. As you probably guessed, it’s a 40 liter duffle-style pack that is made to go everywhere with you. DB used 600D Polyester as the main exterior material to go along with an EVA back panel. The main storage area that is accessed via the single-zip back panel. There is a large second storage zone accessed by a bottom zipper, and another smaller area near the top of the pack. The bag can be converted from a duffle-style bag with a beefy hand grip to a backpack-style by retracting the duffle strap and pulling the pack straps out their hidden area on the back panel. I took the DB Carryall with me everywhere for the past few months, and found it to be a great travel bag.
Carryall 40L performance
My first use for this pack was during a trip to Chile for snowboarding. I used it as my carry on item (it meets international regulations) and stuffed it with everything I thought I’d want if my checked bags didn’t arrive. That meant extra pants, socks, hoodie, jacket, shoes, books, tablet, and a ton of other little items. No problem at all for the Carryall. I really like the mesh storage areas that Douchebags added to the main compartment and on the interior side of the back panel. Since this is a really sharp looking bag, it blended in just fine whether on the streets of Santiago, or stuffed into the overheads of ski buses.
It carries weight well in backpack mode, and when used as a duffle you can really load it up and chuck it around. The burly straps showed no signs of breaking down even after being rough on them on multiple car camping trips to both the mountains and canyon country here in Utah. I took this bag with me on almost every overnight trip I made this summer and fall, and I’ve never ran out of room or felt like the bag was going to fail me.
My biggest complaint was the lack of a shoulder sling for a true “duffel experience”. If DB could engineer those sneaky backpack straps, why couldn’t they also add a classic sling strap, too?
Final verdict
I really like the Douchebags Carryall bag. This pack easily overcame the weird company name, and honestly, if all of DB’s products perform this well, who cares what they call themselves. The Carryall 40L can take a proper beating on camping trips, will easily fit a weekend’s worth of clothes or gear, and looks great when you’re just touring around the city. Nice touches like chunky zippers and the mesh storage zones put it over the top for me in terms of what I look for in a weekend gear bag. Overall, it’s a well made pack that I’ll tote on many future trips.