It was my first time in ages packing for a business trip to a tech conference, and I had just received my Public Rec Pro Weekender in the mail. I considered if I should take it as my bag for the four-day trip, because I’m usually a 45-liter backpack type of traveler.

I went for it, and packed up this duffel bag from Public Rec with my clothes, an extra pair of shoes, my toiletries and some of my tech, for working remotely while I was away. How was this duffel going to benefit my travel style? I had to see.

In this review, I’ll detail the features of the bag that helped me travel from my home in the NY Metro area, all the way to a conference in San Francisco, with layover flights both ways. This is an honest review with photos I took during my trip, when I got to put this duffel through the real grind.

Summary of the Pro Weekender

The Pro Weekender from Public Rec is a 30-liter duffel that has a boxy shape, grab handles, a shoulder strap and a collection of zipper pockets. It comes in two “heather” fabrics, Grey and Black.

While you could employ it as a gym bag or weekend trip bag, Public Rec is gearing it toward professionals taking short business trips. And that’s what I wanted to test it out for, when I had the chance.

Pro Weekender

Pros:

  • It doesn’t weigh a lot at all. When it’s empty, it’s around two and a half pounds.
  • I think the current price is affordable for most young professionals seeking a business travel duffel that looks decent and clean.
  • I thought the shoe compartment was handy, and I used it for shoes I took to wear at the conference.
  • It fits in an overhead bin on an airplane, which is good because I didn’t want to check it as luggage.
  • The fabric is water-resistant, which helps for all-weather scenarios when you’re on the go.

Cons:

  • The shoulder strap (as I found out while on my layovers) does not have a lot of padding.
  • It might benefit from a few extra liters of volume — I wouldn’t use it for a trip longer than four days.
  • It’s not my pick for a bag in which to store my laptop, because I’m looking for stronger padding for that use, but you could layer a light computer like a MacBook Air in its own sleeve, layered inside with padding from packing cubes if you wanted to.

How it worked out for my business trip (what I liked)

By choosing to travel with a duffel as my main business trip luggage, I knew that I’d be carrying it around both by the grab handles and wearing it crossbody quite a bit through the airport. But what I also liked was having all my stuff accessible, and making use of the exterior pockets.

Here are the best parts of how the Pro Weekender helped me out during transit.

The overall size and capacity (30L)

The Pro Weekender was a fair size for my short trip. I’d also use it for a week-long trip if I only needed a small number of shoes, pants, shirts and had access to laundry at my destination. If you’re stressed about not having enough space, this is a duffel that fits more than it looks like it can.

The duffel is pretty durable and fits in all the overhead storage bins of airplanes. It even fits in planes that have small overhead bins. I was in a 2-3 seat configuration plane, and the left side bins were even smaller than the right side, but the Pro Weekender had no problem fitting vertically inside the bin.

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Photo of Becca Siegel and Dan Gold

Durable quality

It’s surprisingly rigid: the zippers won’t break unless you put extreme stress on them. I had the bag almost full with all my trip stuff and the zippers did not make me nervous.

Storage pockets with zippers

in practice, I didn’t use the storage pockets much, because I use a small travel tech bag for my tech accessories like earbuds, wires, cables and chargers.

I did wind up using some of the zipper pockets for things like receipts I had to save for expensing. I also used one of the zipper pockets for stowing my phone quickly when I was going through airport security.

Shoe storage compartment

I used this shoe compartment to store my Allbirds high-tops, which I wore to the conference. I packed them, because I like traveling in my slide-on Birkenstock sandals. I secretly kick them off while I’m sitting on the plane. Having a built-in shoe compartment is a nice feature that I’ve called out in other backpacks, too.

Just FYI: I brought a daypack as a personal item, and for my laptop

When traveling with a duffel, if you’re like me, you probably need an extra backpack for a computer and a sweatshirt, or snacks for the flight. This would be your personal item that goes under the seat.

I took my Moment Everything Backpack, which you can learn about in my Moment Everything Backpack review. It’s trusty for storing a laptop (or two), plus a tablet, all your tech and valuable essentials like a passport, in all the pockets.

Also consider that your Pro Weekender duffel will be too big to be your “day bag” for where you’re going. Whether it’s a weekend trip to the beach or the mountains, or a biz trip to see a client, you’ll need a slim daypack or laptop bag to complete your luggage setup.

Things I liked a little less

This duffel bag isn’t perfect, and I didn’t expect it to be. Here’s where I have some critiques.

Lack of cushion in shoulder strap

The strap is durable, but doesn’t have a ton of cushion on it. Nevertheless, it didn’t bother me. I wore the bag crossbody-style for an hour, while I was walking around the airport. The weight distribution didn’t bother me.

If you’re looking for a duffel with the ultimate cushion and ergonomic design in the shoulder strap, check out the Troubadour Orbis Duffel review that Becca wrote. This is for people who prioritize comfort in the shoulder strap area (and this bag comes at a pretty different price, to reflect that.)

Because of the bare minimum padding and support in the shoulder strap, it became cumbersome once I was wearing it using the crossbody strap, while also wearing my Moment backpack. I think that any duffel bag would do this to you for the wearing experience.

To alleviate my neck, I alternated the wearing by also using the grab handles. That’s the reality of traveling with a duffel bag.

Price

The Pro Weekender bag is rather affordable, when compared to the competition. It’s a middle-of-the-road travel bag that works perfectly for business.

You could for sure find a travel duffel bag for $45 on Amazon, but it’ll probably look like a goofy gym bag.

You could also consider that getting a duffel bag is usually an economic purchase when compared to getting a suitcase of the same caliber. They have different use cases, and I tend to think that duffels are actually best for road trips, but everyone has a different opinion on that.

Overall impression

If good impressions matter, this bag won’t stand out as something cheap. It’s far from a random duffel from Target. When you show up on your business trip, or your weekend away with friends you haven’t seen in ages, the Pro Weekender is a cool style.

Getting the Pro Weekender is an intentional travel decision: it’s one that you’d be thankful for when you show up at a client or tech conference.

What you’d be getting from a cheaper bag is one that doesn’t look great. The Public Rec duffel looks good, performs well and should last me a while. I came back from my trip and realized that I had utilized a good majority of its features and highlights, and I’d use it again.

How to get it

Public Rec products are only available at Public Rec’s website, so pick up yours at the Pro Weekender product page. You’ll get free shipping on any purchase over $75, so this duffel scores you free shipping in an instant.

More about Public Rec

Public Rec is one of my favorite brands for athleisure clothes as well as business-casual decent clothes. In our Public Rec brand revew, you can see more about the large variety of products from the company that both Becca and I have tried, from stretchy travel-friendly T-shirts and super comfy joggers, to chinos, hoodies and polos.

One of my favorite Public Rec products to date are the Men’s Dealmaker Shorts, which I absolutely would’ve worn on my conference trip if San Francisco had been a little warmer that week. I list them as #1 in my list of the best men’s shorts for travel.