Volume45 L
Weight1,635 g
Dimensions56 × 37 × 19 cm
Cabin1 cm too tall for 55 cm limits
Patagonia · Black Hole MLC 45L
Black Hole MLC 45L: the Patagonia cabin backpack that opens like a suitcase, from the station platform to the overhead locker.
The Black Hole MLC 45L is a 45-litre Patagonia cabin backpack, designed to the maximum cabin size of most airlines. On Friday evening it leaves the office on your back, goes through the security gate on your shoulder, and opens flat like a suitcase on the hotel bed. No wheels, no telescopic handle: all the space goes to your things.
Air travel · Train · Long-haul travel
On your back through the station, flat on the hotel bed.

The range
22, 30 or 45 litres: three sizes, three cabin rules.

Black Hole Micro MLC 22L
22 L · 870 g · 46 × 30 × 19 cm
Designed to go under the seat. In Europe it's bigger than the free under-seat bag: count it as a cabin bag.
See the Black Hole Micro MLC 22L
Black Hole Mini MLC 30L
30 L · 1,290 g · 51 × 30.5 × 18 cm
Fits every 55 cm cabin bag limit. Not under the seat.
See the Black Hole Mini MLC 30L
Black Hole MLC 45L
45 L · 1,635 g · 56 × 37 × 19 cm
For the long trip. 1 cm too tall for 55 cm limits; it fits on easyJet.
You're viewing this model
Photos to the same scale: 46, 51 and 56 cm tall.
In the cabin
The overhead locker: on easyJet, yes; with 55 cm limits, it's 1 cm over.
The MLC is designed to the maximum cabin size of most airlines. Soft-sided, it squashes into the locker when it isn't overstuffed; stuffed to bursting, it bulges.
Under the seat
Personal item, free on most flights.
Overhead locker · depending on the airline
Designed to the cabin size of most airlines; at 56 cm tall, it's 1 cm over the 55 cm limits.
In the hold
Too big for the cabin.
Dimensions 56 × 37 × 19 cmMost common limit in Europe 55 × 35 × 25 cm: 1 cm over in height, 2 cm over in width
It fits easyJet's large cabin bag (56 × 45 × 25 cm, paid option). Ryanair, Transavia, Vueling, Lufthansa and Air France set the height at 55 cm: check with your airline, or take the Mini MLC 30L, which fits all of these limits.
Size limits checked in October 2026; every airline sets and changes its own rules, so check yours before you fly.



Colours
Black, pale khaki or plum.
Black
Matt black, discreet grey logo: it goes from the commuter train to the hotel lobby without drawing attention.
Weathered Stone
A pale khaki, almost sage: against a dark jumper, you spot it at a glance in the locker.
Berry Fig
A deep plum with a cream logo: colour on your back, without shouting.

What fits inside
45L
It opens like a suitcase: a week of travelling light.
The zip runs all the way round the bag: clothes lie flat on one side, small things go in the lid pockets. A rough guide rather than a promise: enough for a week if you travel light, with the laptop kept apart in its own compartment.
- Clothes for a week, if you travel light
- A 15-inch laptop, papers, chargers and cables
- Small things in two pockets and a top pocket
Ways to carry
On your back, on your shoulder, in your hand, or on your suitcase.




Laptop
The laptop, in a compartment that opens flat.
The padded laptop compartment opens out and lies flat in the security tray, with room for papers and cables.
15-inch
Takes most laptops with a 15-inch screen.

300denier, the thickness of the yarn
The fabric
The Black Hole fabric, in travel form.
- 100% recycled polyester ripstop, laminated with a recycled TPU film (a flexible plastic) that makes it weather-resistant. The Black Hole duffels go up to 900 denier.
- Lining and harness. PU-coated recycled polyester, and recycled airmesh for the shoulder straps and hip belt, all bluesign® certified.
- Factory. In Vietnam, in a Fair Trade Certified™ factory.
In the rain
A shower between the station and the hotel: the laminated fabric holds.
Light rain
Water-repellent fabric
PU coating and a durable water repellent (DWR) finish: water beads up, then eventually gets through at the seams and zips.
Shower
Laminated fabric
Fabric covered with a TPU film (a flexible plastic) that stands up to the weather. The seams aren't taped.
This bag
Proper rain
Rain cover
A removable cover goes over the whole bag. Without it, the coated fabric eventually lets water through.
The seams aren't taped: in a thunderstorm, get it under cover.
Patagonia
A brand that guarantees what it makes, and repairs it.
“We guarantee everything we make”: repair, replacement or refund if a product doesn't satisfy you (Ironclad Guarantee). Your claim goes through Eiken, and we pass it on to Patagonia.
Its products are designed to be repaired: the Worn Wear programme, and more than 100 repair guides written with iFixit.
Founded in Ventura, California. A certified B Corp and founding member of 1% for the Planet; since 2022, Earth has been its only shareholder.
Eiken's take
- Why we chose it
- A proper 45-litre bag that's still a backpack: you walk with it all the way to the plane, put it in the locker, and the harness disappears.
- Worth knowing
- 1.6 kg empty, the price of the harness and the fabric: on a cabin bag limited to 8 kg, that leaves 6.4 kg for your things.
- Who it's for
- Anyone travelling for a week with a single bag, in the cabin, who walks from the station to the hotel rather than dragging a suitcase.
Baptiste, Eiken
Specifications
- Volume45 L
- Weight1,635 g
- Dimensions56 × 37 × 19 cm (height × width × depth)
- Laptopmost 15-inch laptops, lay-flat compartment
- Storagetwo organiser pockets and a top pocket in the main compartment; no outside pocket
- Carrybackpack, shoulder, hand
- Fabricrecycled 300 D polyester ripstop, recycled TPU film
- Liningrecycled 200 D polyester, PU coating
- Harnessrecycled polyester airmesh
- Certificationsbluesign® (lining, shoulder straps, hip belt); Fair Trade Certified™ sewn
- Made inVietnam
- Patagonia style number49307
Specifications: Patagonia data; dimensions converted from inches.
Questions
What are the dimensions and weight of the MLC 45L?
56 × 37 × 19 cm (height × width × depth) and 1,635 g empty, for 45 litres.
Is the MLC 45L waterproof?
It handles a shower without being waterproof: the fabric is laminated with a TPU film, but the seams aren't taped. In a thunderstorm, get it under cover.
Does the MLC 45L fit in the cabin on easyJet, Ryanair or Air France?
On easyJet, yes, as a large cabin bag (56 × 45 × 25 cm, paid option). On Ryanair (55 × 40 × 20 cm, Priority), it's 1 cm too tall; on Air France (55 × 35 × 25 cm), 1 cm too tall and 2 cm too wide. Never under the seat. Being soft, it squashes down if it isn't overstuffed; check with your airline.
Does the MLC 45L have an outside pocket for a passport or a water bottle?
No, there's no zipped pocket or bottle holder outside: everything goes in the main compartment, with two organiser pockets and a top pocket for small things. For a water bottle within reach, the Mini MLC 30L has a stretch mesh outside pocket.




