Let’s Settle the Great Gym Bag Debate

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The best gym bags can organize all of your workout essentials—your go-to cycling shoes, a water bottle, shower toiletries—while also looking cute on your shoulder. No more tossing your sports equipment in the backseat of your car or stuffing your work bag so full it’s impossible to carry.

As fitness editors, we have a lot of opinions on what makes a gym bag truly great. We’re getting into our favorites (the ones we’ve carried for years) below.

Our top picks

1. Best Overall: FP Movement Quilted Carryall, $78
2. Best Budget Pick: Old Navy Macro Trek Bag, $30
3. Best for Organization: Dagne Dover Landon Neoprene Carryall Bag, $200
4. Best With Shoe Compartment: Gymshark Everyday Gym Bag Medium, $54
5. Best With Water Reservoir: Osprey Skimmer 16 Hydration Pack, $120
6. Best Weatherproof: Patagonia Black Hole Pack 25L, $149

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Schlepping got just a whole lot easier.

Best Overall: FP Movement Quilted Carryall

This puffy tote is roomy enough to hold your HIIT shoes, weightlifting gloves, and a change of clothes, and more. “It’s my Mary Poppins bag that I somehow always fit everything I need at the gym and more in,” SELF’s associate social media manager, Katie Gunderman, says. “There are two pockets on the inside that I use to hold my jewelry and separate my sweaty clothes after I work out. And I love the long strap because it’s so easy to throw over my shoulder as a crossbody!”

SELF’s senior commerce editor, Sarah Felbin, seconds the bag’s seemingly neverending storage. “It’s massive and holds literally anything and everything,” she says. “I just wish it had more pockets inside because my smaller stuff can get lost easily—it’s kind of like a ‘black hole bag,’ in that way.”

Best Budget Pick: Old Navy Macro Trek Bag

Into FP Movement’s bag, but not the price? This oversized crossbody from Old Navy has a similar vibe, for less. Its long strap is adjustable, so you can carry it on your shoulder or across your body. The main compartment will hold your gym clothes, water bottle, protein bar, and more must-haves. We also love the cinchable drawstrings on either side, to give this slouchy bag some shape.

Best for Organization: Dagne Dover Landon Neoprene Carryall Bag

This Dagne Dover bag is worth the splurge for the organization it’ll bring to your life. It comes with a zippered shoe bag to keep your kicks separate from your clean clothes, a small mesh pouch to hold little items like AirPods or deodorant, a key leash to keep them handy, and interior and exterior pockets.

Felbin travels with a larger version of this duffel, but thinks this size is perfect for a gym bag. “The outside material is thick neoprene that’s easy to keep clean, and the wide straps make it easy to carry on my shoulder or crossbody,” she says. “It just has tons of smart details—the ends snap into the sides of the bag, and the shoulder straps can be snapped together too.”

Best With Shoe Compartment: Gymshark Everyday Gym Bag Medium

For a classic, cleverly designed duffel, this Gymshark bag is our pick. It has short carrying handles and a longer, crossbody strap you can sling over your shoulder when it starts to feel heavy. It’ll keep you organized with its designated shoe compartment—which you can also use for dirty clothes—and an exterior pocket that’s perfect for your phone and keys.

“It fits a pair of shoes; a change of clothes; and extra essentials like hair ties, hand sanitizer, extra socks, and a water bottle pretty seamlessly. And I like that the separate shoe compartment keeps my gym clothes clean,” says one SELF tester. They also note that this bag is a great fit for petite folks: “I like to travel light, which is why I don’t normally use gym bags. But this Gymshark one feels small enough on my five-foot-two frame.”

Best With Water Reservoir: Osprey Skimmer 16 Hydration Pack

Hikers, listen up: You can take this backpack to the gym one day, and up the mountain the next. It has a removable hydration pack inside and a hose port you can sip through while climbing. There’s also a foam panel that rests against your back for maximum comfort and airflow, plus straps that go across your hips and sternum to keep it secure. And the bag is slim enough to easily slip into your gym locker.

SELF’s senior director of audience, Lexi Herrick, says this pack is super comfortable to wear. And, despite its slimmer appearance, it can hold a ton. “I can fill it with water, snacks, and a light layer, and still move like I’m not carrying a boulder on my back,” she shares.

Best Weatherproof: Patagonia Black Hole Pack 25L

You might find yourself reaching for this bag even on rest days. Just ask SELF’s senior commerce writer, Sarah Coughlin: “Patagonia’s Black Hole pack is my main bag for traveling and the gym, and it has never let me down—it holds a ton of stuff, it’s weatherproof, and it’s seemingly indestructible,” she says. “I’ve had mine for nearly a decade and, apart from some holes in the external water bottle pockets, it’s basically as good as new.”

Also key? A long list of small (but impactful) design features, like a strap on the back that acts as a trolley pass-through, a mesh back panel that ventilates, and a padded laptop sleeve inside the main compartment.

How we chose the best gym bags

SELF editors have carried most of the bags on this list for years. They hold all of our essentials and help us feel put together while we head straight from the gym to the office. They’re the unsung—until now—heroes of our busy days and workout routines

What to look for in a gym bag

Related:

• The Best Weekender Bags Are Genuinely Cute and Hold Everything You Need
• Every Lift and Stretch Is Easier in Comfy Workout Shorts
• 7 Travel Backpacks That Can Fit a Ton Without Straining Your Shoulders

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