Peak Design Travel Weekender 25L review: A serious upgrade on the classic duffel

There is a good reason why people love Peak Design. The company’s attention to detail is second to none, and its product design is instantly recognisable, whether it's applied to camera accessories or travel bags.

The latter category has seen a lot of action in recent years, with the brand launching a variety of options, including a ‘pro’ rolling suitcase and a large, 45L travel backpack, to name a few. Now, Peak Design has added four more products to its lineup, and I managed to get my hands on almost all of them months before they were released.

And even though I like them all – the Travel Crossbody 3L is amazing – the Travel Weekender 25L excited me the most, so I decided to review it first. It’s a modern version of the Gladstone holdall with a large central opening and many organisational pockets, offering plenty of space to stash your stuff from weekend trips.

It’s built with the meticulous attention to detail Peak Design is known for, and the Weekender works just as well as a companion to the brand’s rolling carry-on suitcase as it does on its own. My only real gripe is the strap design, but that feels like something Peak Design could easily refine in a future update.

Peak Design Travel Weekender 25L review

Price and availability

All four recently announced bags, including the Travel Weekender 25L, are available to pre-order on Kickstarter from 3 March 2026, ahead of a wider direct-to-consumer release on 26 May. The recommended retail price is $199.95 (~£150 / €172 / AU$285), but for the next 30 days, you can pre-order it for $159 (~£119 / €137 / AU$227).

Design and materials

Weighing 1.377kg / 3lb 0.6oz with the shoulder strap and 1.25kg / 2lb 12oz without, the Travel Weekender 25L is Peak Design’s first structured duffel-style travel bag and brings the brand’s signature organisation-first design to a classic weekend bag format.

Thanks to its somewhat rigid construction, the bag can stand upright when packed and even when it’s empty. The Travel Weekender uses Peak Design’s proprietary abrasion-resistant thread and Versa Shell 400D 100% recycled weatherproof exterior to “withstand decades of use.”

As expected from the brand’s bag, the Travel Weekender has pockets everywhere. There are two zippered pockets on either side of the main opening. One secures the laptop compartment – big enough for a 16” MacBook Pro – and the other a myriad of small organisational pockets for stuff like keys, wallets, phones, etc.

The huge main compartment is divided into two pockets via a zippered pocket in the middle, plus you’ll find a zippered mesh pocket on one side and two access pockets on the other. There is also a hidden AirTag pocket in the mesh pocket. I counted 15 pockets altogether.

Carrying options include stand-up grab handles and a removable, adjustable padded shoulder strap, and the bag uses theft-deterrent zippers you’ll recognise from other Peak Design bags. A strap on the back of the bag can help fasten the Travel Weekender to the brand’s rolling suitcase.

Performance and comfort

I used the Travel Weekender 25L just last weekend, on an overnight trip to London to see the ever-so-funny Sheng Wang perform at the Union Chapel. It took me a moment to convince my wife to take the Peak Design bag as our main bag, as it distributes weight unevenly on the shoulder, and we wanted to do some walking before the show commenced.

I managed to have my way, and we filled the Travel Weekender with a change of clothes, a couple of books, toiletries, and some snacks for the day. When I laid it all out on the bed next to the bag, I had my concerns about whether we could fit it all inside the pockets, but I was pleasantly surprised that not only did we fit it all inside the pockets, but the bag didn’t look stuffed, either.

We took the train, and I kept the bag between my legs on the floor, as it made it much easier to access. The fact that the bag stays upright when it’s open is a lot more handy than you’d think. Afterwards, we took the tube and carted ourselves around London for a bit before embarking on a walk.

It goes without saying that my wife was right about carrying all our stuff on one shoulder. The sleek strap, even though it’s padded, can only help distribute weight so much, and that 25-litre capacity will be felt when full. After two days – and continuously swapping the bag over to different shoulders to reduce pressure – both my shoulders and traps were aching.

Of course, the Travel Weekender isn’t necessarily designed to be carried around like this. It’s best to use it as a supplementary bag with your suitcase. The bag measures approximately 47 x 22.5 x 32 cm (~18.5 x 8.9 x 12.6 inches), meaning you could squeeze it into a small baggage sizer at airports. If you fly with non-budget airlines, it can certainly pass as a handbag.

The shoulder strap is detachable, so you can swap it for a more comfortable third-party strap if you prefer to carry your luggage on your shoulder. I can also imagine Peak Design, of all companies, coming up with a solution, maybe by devising a strap with a secondary belt that loops around the other shoulder, almost like a sling.

Other than the strap issue, I would be hard-pressed to find anything else not perfect with the Travel Weekender. It not only looks nice and feels quality, but it’s also Fair Trade-certified and 100% Carbon Neutral. Judging by how well it’s made, I can imagine it will serve someone well for the next few decades as a travel bag.

I even managed to get rained on, and I can confirm the Versa Shell is indeed weatherproof. The handles did get a little saturated with water, but the contents of the bag stayed dry, with the water beading on the surface to prevent it from entering the material.

Verdict

Peak Design has turned the humble weekender into something genuinely premium. The Travel Weekender 25L is smart, structured and absurdly well organised, with enough room for two on an overnight trip without ever looking overstuffed. The strap could distribute weight better when fully loaded, but aside from that, it’s hard to fault. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.