My main travel bag is the 40L Topo Designs Mountain Duffle. I’ve carried it on tons of flights both international and domestic. I like the simplicity and padded structure.

Previously, I did one trip with their Global Travel Bag and hated all the stupid pockets and extra material, it felt like it had tons of compartments but no space. I guess I just like a big open bag. I don’t even really utilize the external side pockets on the Mountain Duffle, though I like the internal mesh pocket for this and that.

Been hitting a wall though with 40L on trips of around two weeks, particularly if I need to bring clothes for multiple activities/climates or need a second pair of shoes, like dress shoes or hiking boots. The bag is stuffed!

I have a three week trip coming up and want something slightly bigger, but not so big that it precludes carry on.

Here’s what I’m looking at and what I like about them:

Patagonia Black Hole 55L - It is what it is, seems like the perfect size but isn’t particularly exciting.

Black Diamond Stonehauler 60L - Looks nice and I like the integrated bag for dirty laundry/shoes.

The North Face Base Camp Voyager 62L - I like the external pocket for shoes/laundry, but feels flimsy and the backpack straps in the lid seem weird. Worried it would be too big, but I bought one to check it out and it’s not substantially bigger than my 40L Mountain Duffle. See pics.