Patagonia Black Hole MLC 45L Review

If you need as much room as possible in your travel luggage, take a closer look at the Patagonia Black Hole MLC 45L. We loved its durability and water resistance for more adventurous travel, and trusted it to transport expensive laptops and formal wear safely to our destination.

Storage & Protection

The main interior compartment of the MLC 45L offers very generous dimensions that can accommodate a folded-up suit, extra shoes, or a hair dryer in addition to your daily clothing. The other pockets and compartments of this bag were also easy to fit large laptops, chargers, a tablet, and even a paperback book. The MLC doesn't have as much padding on the front side of the bag, but we were happy with the backside protection for our computers.

Patagonia built this bag with a 300 denier polyester with a laminated finish, which naturally repels water and finds a good balance between weight and durability. In the rainy months of the Pacific Northwest, we still wouldn't spend all afternoon in the rain with the MLC 45L, but it can handle a drizzle with ease. The polyester fabric is also very tear-resistant, passing our weighted drag tests with flying colors. The MLC doesn't have a ton of padding, but with clothes in the main compartment, our electronics were well-protected, even when it was in the camper shell while 4-wheeling.

While there is an incredible amount of storage inside the MLC, there isn't a single external pocket besides the laptop and main compartments. This caused us to put water bottles inside the backpack, taking up valuable clothing real estate. We also missed quick-access pockets for travel docs and headphones.

Comfort & Fit

When using the MLC 45L as a backpack, it offers a hip belt to ease weight off the shoulders, and it allowed us to huff across an entire town to the next hotel without uncomfortable pinching or rubbing. It doesn't have a ton of adjustability with the fit, but it kept our multi-sized team happy on walking-intensive vacations as long as we didn't put too much weight in the MLC.

The MLC 45L was comfortable for 3-5 miles with lighter loads under 20 pounds. However, when carrying over 30 pounds, it's best to stick to 1-2-mile distances before your next flight or bus ride, as the flat back panel doesn't have much padding or back shaping. At the end of the day, this is still a comfy bag for most travelers, as we found that a laptop, charger cables, and clothes rarely exceeded 30 pounds.

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The back panel of the MLC doesn't have any body-mapping in the padding, so the entire bag simply presses against the back. This makes for a less supportive backpack and offers minimal airflow when you're huffing through a sunny train terminal or mid-summer commute to a hotel.

Ease of Use

Large bags like this often prioritize space over organization, but Patagonia made it easy to keep track of your essentials with the MLC 45L. This model accommodates laptops and tablets of all sizes in the two padded sleeves, which was especially handy on work trips. It's also well-configured for charger cords, pens, and headphones. The best part? The MLC keeps the electronics completely separate from the clothes compartment. We only wish the MLC had even one exterior pocket for cell phones or car keys.

In addition to its layout, the MLC 45L has a clean exterior to reduce the chances of it getting snagged in an overhead bin or in the back of a truck. The trade-off is that there aren't any pockets for sunscreen, chapstick, or a passport, forcing you to unzip one of the larger compartments for any belongings. Our team loved the four carrying methods: single shoulder strap, backpack straps, roller-bag slide-on, and handle carry. When flying with an airline that had stricter carry-on rules, the compression straps came in handy to make it smaller, though we still recommend checking with your main airline to see if the MLC 45 will work as a carry-on.

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Transitioning the bag from one carrying system to another was intuitive and quick, whether in a queue at the airport or mid-train ride. However, we recommend not using the single shoulder carry if you need to carry this bag across an entire airport, especially if it's fully loaded. It's just not padded enough to be practical for that kind of use.

Versatility

As a bulkier bag, this might not be the right choice for every single trip. It has plenty of space for a weeklong getaway or a business trip, but some travelers might not need as much space for casual travel with a shorter packing list.

The compression straps on the bag do help reduce the size of the MLC, but we suggest taking a hard look at your average trip needs. While some of its competition can be used for day trips to the coffee shop, the MLC 45 is simply a multi-night backpack.

Should You Buy the MLC 45L?

If you're the kind of traveler who wants to bring as much as possible, put the MLC 45L on the contenders list. It's a wider bag than many, so you can bring bulkier clothing or shoes without as much of a wrestling match, but triple check that it fits within your airline's requirements. The back panel doesn't have any support or contouring padding, so it rides a bit warmer, but we were still comfy carrying it for a few miles across airports and urban sprawls. The MLC's bigger profile makes it too much bag for many remote workers' coffee shop outings, but it's very capable for overnight trips up to a week long.

What Other Travel Backpacks Should You Consider?

If you'd like a more comfy bag that can handle heavy loads, the Osprey Farpoint 40 is an outdoors-oriented bag that we were happy carrying for several miles, plus it has an external pocket for fast-drawing travel documents or lip balm. It doesn't have the nice admin panel found on the MLC, but it is a great option if you only need to keep track of clothing, a few electronics, and some sunglasses.