Franklin Sports Pickleball Backpack + Duffle Bag - Elite Series Pickleball Bag for Paddles, Balls + Equipment - Hybrid Backpack + Duffle Design for Men + Women - Black

First of all, the quality is very good. The material is a tough nylon "Twill Weave Fabric" that should hold up to rough handling. The zippers are of high quality with durable materials and pull clips. The stitching is very good with thick thread and well placed so I do not think this will pose a problem like in some cheaper bags. The handles are comfortable and well built both on top and for duffle use.The bag can conveniently be used as a backpack or duffle. As a backpack, you have padded straps with a chest strap but there is no waist strap so the weight is all on your shoulders. Unless you plan on walking long distances, this is really not an issue. When using as a duffle, you can hide the straps in a sleeve on the back so they are not hanging loosely. The attachments for the shoulder strap are well built and should last the life of the bag.There are numerous compartments, 2 specifically for paddles on the side. The 2 water bottle compartments are a bit small and will only holding narrow 12 to 16 ounce bottles. There is a nice collapsible shoe compartment that expands into the main compartment. It is made of what appears to be a waterproof or resistant material which is nice to place your shoes without messing up the rest of your gear. The main compartment is very spacious and good for placing balls, gloves, clothing and even more paddles if needed. There are a few other interesting compartments that could be used for other items but they probably are more than you need for a pickleball outing.Overall, this is a very nice bag with the convenience of carrying as a duffle or backpack. It should last many years and be more than adequate carrying the typical pickleball player's gear.

We've recently been playing a good deal of pickleball. Everyone in the house now has their own paddle, and their towel, and their water bottle, and their favorite post game snack, etc. Faced with the prospect of toting around all this "gear", it was clearly time to add to a larger pickleball duffle to our aresenal of bags. And now that we have some nicer pickleball paddles, I don't really want to toss them in the car or have them jostled around in our beach duffle. Having a pickleball-specifc bag sounds over-the-top, but it has made pickleball days a breeze! I was also really impressed with the thoughtful design and durable construction.Materials are exceptional. They appear durable, with thick nylon fabric, quality, smooth zippers, and clean stitching.Aside from swallowing all of our gear, this bag was packed with smart design. There are seperate sleeves in the rear compartment so the paddle faces don't rub together. That's where the kids paddles will go. There are individual zippered pockets on the sides (two) to house mom and dad's fancy paddles. The duffle can convert to a backpack style with shoulder straps, which can stow into seperate "hidden" compartments when not in use. This bag also uses invisible style zippers to keep schmutz away from the zipper teeth. The bag uses a zippered tunnel for balls seperate from the main compartment. There is a large nylon hook that can fold out for hanging on the pickleball court fence. And the back or base of the bag has several pads to allow airflow between you and the bag material, which is great if you biked or walked to the court on a hot day.We are quite happy with this. It stores a ton withough becoming unweildy, it's built like a tank, and has some really great design features.

Design of the bag is good. Very utilitarian and carries all I need. I'm accustomed to much heavier fabric used in ski bags and tennis bag I've owned in the past. The fabric seems a bit light, so I chuckle when I read the Franklin claims of durability for a lifetime. I guess they are counting on selling to senior pickleball players in their 70's and 80's when they calculate "lifetime." So far I've had two zippers fail, one backpack strap tear off and the lining of one of the paddle pockets come undone. I contacted Franklin and am expecting replacement.

Coming from Franklins first line of pickleball bags (the black and green ones), this bag is definitely a step up. Materials feel solid, lots of room for paddles, balls, shoes, towels, tape, etc. The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because there are some design flaws in my opinion. One of the side paddle pockets is smooth while the other is fleece lined...why? Also - when using it as a backpack, the top zipper for phone/keys is great. However when using it as a duffle bag, that zipper is on the ground...they should have placed the zipper the other way around so it could be used as a side pocket in duffle bag mode. Lastly, there are two water bottle side pockets which seems unnecessary and lazy in design. But overall the bag feels good, has tons of storage, and the black/gold color combo looks pretty sharp.

You can tell that the design of this bag was very thoughtfully designed. The location and usability of each segment makes sense and is easy to use. The paddle pocked it lined with a soft and padded material to protect your paddles. There is a main compartment to hold all accessories you could possibly need to bring for your sessions, I store my Pickleball balls there. The bottom has a shoe compartment to keep those separate from the rest of your items. Finally there is an additional auxiliary pocket and 2 water bottle holders which are a little smaller/not elastic which is probably my only complaint.The backpack itself is comfortable with extra padding around the areas it pushes against your back, and there is a nice quality hook to attach the bag to the fences while playing.