Any dyed-in-the-wool gym rat will tell you that the hobby—like all the best hobbies—comes with a ton of gear. (No pun intended.) I’ve lost count of the amount of wraps, straps, belts, chalk, water bottles, shaker tins, knee sleeves, supplements, and shoes that I’ve got lying around, which is why it’s so important that I have a gym bag that can accommodate whatever cocktail of compression equipment I’m lugging to the gym on a particular day. I’ve tried them all, from mesh JanSport backpacks and old-school cylinder duffels to massive NYU-issued wrestling bags and minimalist drawstring knapsacks. Recently, though, I’ve been testing the 35L KNKG Core Duffel Gym Bag, and I’m here to tell you that it’s officially meathead-approved.
Made for Gym Rats, by Gym Rats
KNKG makes a ton of hardwearing, military-inspired gear that’s built to last, and their Core Duffel Gym Bag is no exception. It’s got an external weightlifting belt attachment (more on that later), an internal laptop sleeve, an internal shoe compartment, and dual bottle pockets. It’s straightforward, easy to sling over your shoulder or tote with the Velcro handles, and is designed to fit with the (not included) duffel divider for serious storage nerds. I prefer the open design, so I skipped the divider, but I could see how people might be into an even heavier level of organization, despite this thing having more pockets than I can count.
Finally, a Bag That Holds My Lifting Belt (and Everything Else)
Alright, onto my favorite feature of the bag, and the one that I think sets it apart from your standard duffel. The one beef I have with most gym bags is that they don’t usually accommodate lifting belts, which is why the included belt storage is my favorite feature of the KNKG Core Duffel Gym Bag. (They literally have a belt size row in their size chart, which rocks.) If you’ve never used a heavy-duty leather weightlifting belt—the best ones are from Pioneer, IMO, if you’re wondering—they’re a little cumbersome and stiff by nature. This is a good thing, since they offer support when you’re lifting heavy and won’t move around as you go through a movement. The good ones range from 10mm thick (about .4 inches) to 13mm (over half an inch), so they’re a huge hassle to store and transport.
However, the tuck-it-away design of the Core Duffel makes it easy: Just loop both ends of the belt through the external sleeves, and voila, secure and out of the way. I left some of the belt hanging out in the picture on the left to show you how it works, then tucked it away in the picture on the right—just make sure you measure your belt and get the duffel size that matches before you pull the trigger on one of these.
You’ll also notice that I was able to fit a lot of gear into this sucker. In total, I could comfortably fit the following in there (deep breath):
- 10mm leather lifting belt
- Weightlifting shoes
- Deadlift slippers
- 5mm knee sleeves
- Multiply knee sleeves
- Slingshot
- Inzer single-ply deadlift suit
- Resistance band
- Wrist wraps
- Lifting straps
- Lock
- Training logbook
