The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag Review

The North Face is a brand that has conquered every niche of the travel world.

From outdoor clothing to shoes and backpacks, you’ll find the brand stamped on every type of gear you can imagine. And while not all of their products are remarkable, there is one that stands high above the rest.

Today we’ll be looking at the Base Camp Duffel, and how it claimed its spot as one of the most popular travel bags in the World!

Let’s get started, shall we?

# Overview and Features

The North Face Base Camp is a rugged duffel bag meant to be carried both as a traditional duffel or as a backpack.

For that purpose, it has two removable shoulder straps, although it lacks the waist belt and load lifters you would find in a trekking backpack. Two padded handles also allow you to carry the bag by hand, which is especially practical when waiting in long lines.

The inside features a single large compartment, with an additional zipped pocket on the inner part of the lid. The lack of additional compartments helps with reducing the weight of the bag, but also means that packing cubes are a must.

The main compartment can be tightened with four external compression straps, ensuring that your gear remains in place.

© The Girl Outdoors

A second, small compartment is found on the top-end of the bag. You won’t be able to fit much in here though, especially if your bag is already full. We mainly use it to store small items we might need on the fly, such as chargers, earphones or snacks. 

Every Base Camp Duffel comes folded inside a mesh bag, meant as a way to store your duffel when not in use so that it doesn’t take up too much space. However, getting it to fit back into the mesh bag can take some practice, especially with the larger sizes!

# Materials

The North Face Base Camp is made out of durable recycled 1000D polyester, with a PVC coating to give it a high degree of water resistance. The tough fabric makes it resistant to tearing and piercing, meaning you won’t have to worry too much about airline luggage handlers destroying your bag. However, it also makes the bag very rigid and a little hard to open.

Despite the thickness of the fabric, the Base Camp surprisingly doesn’t weigh much, starting at 970 grams for 31L. So light packers rejoice, it’s not exactly ultralight but still pretty decent!

© Ekosport

# Sizes

There are a total of 6 different sizes available for the Base Camp Duffel:

XS: 31L / 970g (Cabin Sized)

S: 50L / 1195 g (Cabin Sized)

M: 71L / 1620g

L: 95L / 1840g

XL: 132L / 1965g

XXL: 150L / 2850g

# Best Use

When it comes to travelling, the Base Camp is best suited to travellers and backpackers who are constantly on the move.

The large access to the main compartment makes it easy to rapidly pack and un-pack, especially with the use of cubes, while the rugged water resistant fabric ensures it will survive all sorts of environments, from the city to the wilderness.

With that said, it’s not meant for long distance hikes or walks. The shoulder straps are quite basic and, in our opinion, the bag gets uncomfortable really fast, especially when heavily loaded.

As for the sizes, we believe the extra small (XS) and small (S) sizes should fit the needs of most travellers. They still afford you plenty of space to pack, while still not being so large that they risk becoming unbearably heavy. The medium (M) size is a bit of a grey area, and will depend on your trip. If you don’t have to cover any extensive distances on foot, then go for it. Otherwise, you might be better off with a smaller size. 

From large (L) and up, they work perfectly for road trips , or for carrying and protecting heavy equipment for activities such as diving and mountaineering. We find them way too large to be used as regular backpacks, and would simply go for a suitcase or a trekking backpack of an equivalent size instead.

Finally, not per se a negative, the brand and model are very recognisable and not ideal if you wish to look discreet and pass under the radar. 

© Outdoors Magic

# Pros & Cons

+ Extremely durable and rugged

+ Water-resistant recycled fabric

+ Spacious main compartment

+ Effective compression straps

+ Useful carry handle

+ Practical shoulder straps

+ Surprisingly light, despite the thickness of the fabric

+ Features two cabin sizes (XS & S)

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- Quickly gets uncomfortable when heavily loaded

- Lacks inner compartments

- Getting it to fit in the mesh bag can be a pain

- The fabric is very rigid

© The North Face

# Is it For You?

So, should you go and get yourself a Base Camp Duffel?

All in all, while this bag has some amazing features, we feel like it fits to a specific niche of travellers. Yes, it is close to indestructible, and there is no denying that the large main compartment makes packing a breeze, but we can’t get over just how uncomfortable it can be to carry on your back.

We are primarily backpackers, and as such prefer to move as light and as comfortably as possible, and we found that the Base Camp Duffel simply does not fit our travel style.

• If your priority is the durability of your gear and you do not plan on covering long distances on foot with your backpack on, then the Base Camp Duffel is the perfect choice for you. You won’t have to worry about it ripping or tearing, and the larger sizes will allow you to fit all the gear you need. 

• If, however, what you’re looking for is a backpack that allows you to be on your feet for long periods of time and over long distances, then this is not it. 

In the end, The North Face Base Camp Duffel excels at what it’s designed to do.

As an ultra-tough duffel bag designed to carry your gear to the ends of the earth, and take on and shrug off anything you can throw at it.

As a regular backpack, however, it trips and falls on its extra-durable face. 

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