Orucase Janus Duffel 50 Review

Oru: おる to fold; to bend; to make. Orucase is owned and operated by passionate athletes and makers. The idea for the company came to mind from the hassle and expense of traveling with bikes on a tight racer budget. They have a design lab in San Diego where they sew their own prototypes and come up with all their solutions. They also sell some made-in-house products, like the Orucase Janus Duffel 50 bag I tested.

With outdoor sports in mind, the need for minimizing environmental impact is also a consideration. “A percentage from the sale of every Orucase product goes to purchasing carbon dioxide emission permits from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the preeminent carbon market in the northeastern United States.” Orucase also partnered with “Cooler”, a company that helps other companies achieve carbon neutrality.

I tested the Janus Duffel 50L bag for a few weeks. I used it mostly to bring cycling gear and bouldering gear to and from different locations. 

Who It Suits

The Janus Duffel is for anyone looking to haul some outdoor gear, clothing, or both. The duffel works great for the gym, climbing gym, hauling bike stuff, hauling stinky shoes/sweaty clothing, leaving it in your trunk as an emergency bag, and just for any “big carry” scenario.

Who It Doesn’t

If you’re the type of consumer who likes a heritage silhouette, color palette, and material choice I can see this bag not fitting your wants and needs. Though it is impossible to deny its extremely useful nature and clever design.

The Good

The bag was designed as an adventure travel duffel, but the features are functional for all types of situations. At 50L (40L main compartment, general dim: 30cm (12″) diameter by 61cm (24″) long) it is quite large, but it really doesn’t feel that way as it is light and the contemporary silhouette cleverly masks the volume with contemporary angled lines and the use of darts.

A big part of the functionality comes from the multiple, thick grab handles along the perimeter of the bag. It also includes a padded shoulder strap that can be used as a traditional duffel shoulder strap or a crossbody sling with an included stabilizer strap for a completely hands-free experience; this is my preferred method. The design allows you to hook up the strap in multiple positions for an ambidextrous fit. There are also three packing cubes included (two made of mesh, one made of EPLX) that are designed to work with this bag specifically. They can latch onto the inside of the bag for a secure fit. 

The duffel is made out of Challenge EPLX 200D on the top side of the bag and EPLX450RS (Ripstop face fabric) on the bottom of the bag for some extra wear resistance. Both material variants are laminated, recycled, waterproof with a 0.5mm RUV matte film backing, and 97% UV resistant. The whole aesthetic is very stealthy, black on black, but the different materials give it some nice textural variety. The entire bag is lightly padded with 3mm closed cell foam and fully lined with what looks like a 210D Ripstop PU-coated material for added water resistance, protection and just to keep the general shape when empty. Every exterior zipper is spec’d with #10 YKK RC zips and paracord pullers, which are very smooth despite the size. All the grab handles are made of generously padded tubular webbing that’s been sewn semi-flat.

The silhouette is semi-pill shaped with a large main opening and some large gusseted side pockets. These side pockets use mesh as a gusset when they’re unzipped for expansion, so it not only expands the volume, but it also makes the pockets breathable and allows damp stuff to breathe, which is a useful feature for active users. These side pockets are perfect for helmets or shoes, but I found myself throwing sweaty clothes in there to keep them away from my other gear.

Inside the main compartment you can find two decently large flat zipper pockets, one on the interior side of the main lid, which will fit an iPad or small laptop, and one on the front side of the bag. These are perfect for documents, snacks, and any other items you want to keep separate.

Two of the packing cubes included with the bag are made entirely out of spacer mesh with a slanted, large zipper opening. The third one is made of EPLX200 with a similar zipper opening. They’re also different volumes so you can mix and match whatever fits your needs. These are made to fit this duffel specifically and will latch into the inside of the duffel using some plastic clips that interface with some shock cord, which is permanently sewn into the duffel. The system is very simple and allows the cubes to stay in place no matter how the duffel is handled.

The included shoulder strap is adjustable, wide, and decently padded. Perfect for short hikes with gear or if you’re on a bike. It is ambidextrous and includes a stabilizer strap so it doesn’t constantly try to shift around. The attachment points comprise D-rings and spring gates made by Woojin plastic.

The Not So Good

There are only a few points I can think of in terms of less-than-ideals. One would be the zippers that wrap around the bottom of the bag for the side pocket gussets, but Orucase considered this. They’re #10 YKK RC zippers, which are specifically made for luggage, with high strength and high abrasion resistance in mind. I personally carry a duffel or I leave it on the ground; I don’t drag it behind my bike. Second, the main opening has a trapezoidal shape that tapers in on the top front of the bag; this slightly limits accessibility. The third point, and this is more of a personal preference, I wish the main volume was larger, sacrificing a little volume from the side pockets. 

Verdict

All in all, if you want a US-made, long-lasting product made by folks who are passionate about soft goods design and adventure travel, the Orucase Janus Duffel will not let you down. At $250 USD for the bag and interior packing cubes, the bang for buck is there. All Orucase products are guaranteed to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for the practical lifetime of the product. Items covered under this warranty will be repaired or replaced for free. Damage because of normal wear and tear, misuse, or neglect will be repaired at a reasonable price. You can find more info on their website.

This article was written by Gino Romano, industrial designer, cyclist, minimalist and master of carry memes. Follow his adventures on Instagram.