The duffle bag, spelled duffel in its older form, is named after a place. Duffel is a town in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, and it gave its name to a coarse, thick woolen cloth that was made there. The first printed mention of a bag by that name that I can find is from 1768, and by 1915 American English had settled on duffel bag. It started as a sack for a sailor's belongings, which is why a sailor's version is still called a seabag.

I like that a bag with such a rough beginning now comes in suede and pebbled leather. A good duffle bag is the one thing that does the work of a suitcase and still squashes flat in a closet. Coach is a nice example of the leather side: the brand began in 1941 in a Manhattan loft with six leather-workers, and its founder Miles Cahn borrowed the idea of baseball glove leather that gets softer with wear.

So the first eight are all leather. The Away Leather Duffle in jet black is the sharp, city one, with a detachable strap. The Longchamp Le Foulonné in caramel and the Le Pliage Xtra in turtledove are softer and rounder, and the Le Pliage grew from the folding bag Philippe Cassegrain designed in 1993. For a straight, tailored shape, the Vince Westmore in black is the one I would take to a client dinner out of town. Frye's Logan in cognac has a luggage tag and a lived-in look from day one, and the Coach Soft Empire Carryall slouches in the best way.

My tip: lift each one by the top handles, not the strap, before you commit. Leather is heavy empty, and the handles tell you whether it will still be comfortable at gate B40 in November.

Nylon is the sensible answer for a weekend away in October, when it might rain on the platform. Away began in 2015 when Jen Rubio and Steph Korey, who met working at Warby Parker, decided to build better luggage, and the Featherlight Weekender in blush pink and the Signature Weekender in coast blue show that practical streak. Both open flat like a suitcase.

The CALPAK Luka Duffel in chocolate is puffy, padded and has a dedicated shoe compartment, so your boots do not touch your knitwear. The Luka Large in matte black is the same bag with room for a second sweater. Longchamp makes the Le Pliage Original L in mocha and the Le Pliage Energy L in black, and the folding trick is the point: it packs into a pocket of your carry-on and comes out when you shop too much. Dagne Dover's Denver Convertible Duffle in dark moss has front straps and a crossbody strap, and Rains makes the Hilo in forest green for wet weather.

Test: unzip it and look at the lining seams and the base. Press a hand into the bottom and see whether it holds a shape or collapses. Check that the shoulder strap clip feels solid and that the handles are padded where they meet your palm.

What I would skip: very light fabric if you carry boots and a laptop, because a thin base will sag by the second trip.

Canvas is the oldest answer to the duffle, and it is the closest to the original cloth sack. Duffel cloth was wool, but the tradition of tough, plain fabric stayed. Barbour's waxed canvas duffle in olive has two short handles and a shoulder strap, and it looks better once it scuffs. The Korchmar Fulton framed duffel in olive waxed canvas has a frame that holds its mouth open, so you can find your charger without emptying it.

Away's Transit Canvas Weekender in tan has rolled handles and a zip-top opening. For a softer color story, the WANT Les Essentiels Hartsfield in dark camel is organic cotton canvas with tan leather on the handles and base, and the Ame & Lulu Nantucket in cabana has rainbow rickrack on the handles, which makes it the most cheerful bag in the whole edit. Longchamp has the Le Pliage Collection S in heritage green and the Boxford L in brown with tan leather corners. Coach shows up again with the Compass Bag 50 in Signature Canvas, in charcoal.

Test: rub the canvas between your fingers. It should feel dense and a little dry, not papery. On waxed canvas, check that the wax is even at the folds and corners, since that is where it cracks first.

What I would skip: pale canvas for commuting. Cream and tan marks easily on a train floor, so save them for car trips and the house.

Designer duffle bags mostly come down to one question: do you want the logo, or the leather. Gucci builds its Borsetto GG canvas large duffel and the GG Supreme large duffle in beige, with the green-and-red web stripe along the handles, and they are the loud, recognizable pair. Magda Butrym makes the Brigitte large suede duffel in chocolate brown with a knotted tassel, and the Varsovia in gray suede with floral appliqué, which is a very different, softer idea of a weekender.

Mulberry is the quiet one. Roger Saul founded it in 1971 with his mother Joan, and in 1973 they opened a factory in Chilcompton, Somerset. The Medium Clipper in mole and cognac and the Heritage Day Clipper in scotchgrain carry the brand's English country leather look, with cognac corners, handles and a luggage tag. MM6 Maison Margiela's Travelling Leather Duffle in black is the plain, sleek option, and Dolce&Gabbana's logo lettering duffle is the opposite, in black rubberized letters.

Test: look at the corners and the handle joins. They carry the weight, so the stitching should be tight and the leather folded cleanly. Suede needs a quick check of where your hand rests, because that area darkens first.

What I would skip: suede in a rainy week, however good it looks with a camel coat.

I treat a gym duffle like a work bag that happens to smell of sneakers, so organization matters more than looks. lululemon started in 1998 as a yoga-wear retailer, and its City Essentials Duffle 28L and 3-in-1 Gym Duffle 30L in black follow that practical, clean line.

CALPAK's Fit Gym Duffel in black has utility buckles and keeps gym gear organized from start to finish. Dagne Dover's Landon Carryall in camel is neoprene, with room for shoes and a change of clothes, and it looks closer to a tote than a gym bag. The NikeSKIMS Puffer Gym Bag in obsidian is padded and navy, and the Fabletics Gym Duffle has a separate shoe compartment, which is the feature I would look for first. The Béis Duffle in black comes from the travel brand Shay Mitchell launched in 2018. Away's Active Duffle 40L is the most compact in its Active Collection and packs for up to four nights, so it also works as a weekend bag.

Test: zip every pocket and imagine a wet towel in the main one. Is there a separate compartment, or does it touch everything else. Also, carry it on your shoulder for a full minute and see if the strap digs in.

What I would skip: a pristine light color for the gym, however tempting. Black hides everything.

I would start by deciding what the bag has to do on a Friday evening. If it goes to a weekend away, I would take the leather Vince Westmore. If it is mostly the gym with the odd trip, then the Away Active Duffle 40L.

Then check the handles, the base and the strap clip, in that order, because those are the parts that fail. The rest is color.

I keep coming back to Duffel, that small Belgian town that made a rough woolen cloth and accidentally named every bag we pack. Whatever you pick, it is part of a long line of sacks that go where you go. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Weekend Away.