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Aduffel bag,[1][2][3][4]duffle bag,[3][5][6] orkit bag is a large bag made of either natural or syntheticfabric (typicallycanvas ornylon).
Historically a duffel bag had a top closure using adrawstring.[2] Later bags had a webbing hand grip, along with a shoulder strap with clip that closed the opening by nesting grommets from around the rim of the bag. An overpadlockable eye loop and an independent pair of ruck sack straps were also used.
Generally a duffel bag is used bynon-commissionedpersonnel in the military, and for travel, sports and recreation by civilians, especially schoolchildren, who may use them to carry their physical education or football kits.[7] When used by asailor ormarine a duffel is known as aseabag. A duffel's open structure and lack of rigidity make it adaptable to carrying sports gear and similar bulky objects.
A duffel bag is often confused with a hoop-handled hard-bottomed zippered bag, generically also known as agym bag.
Some of these misnamedduffle bags are also cylindrical but zip open on the long, horizontal side, and have handles like atote bag.
The origin of the name is disputed. Most sources maintain the name comes fromDuffel,[8] a town inFlanders,Belgium, where the thickduffel cloth used to make the bag originated in the 17th century.[9]
According to theOxford English Dictionary, the word dates back to 1649, used to describe ‘a coarse woollen cloth having a thick nap or frieze’. The earliest reference of the word specifically referring to aduffel bag is 1768.[10]
Media related toDuffel bags at Wikimedia Commons