The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag Review

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag Review by Erin Trail The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag is super durable and easy to pack, carry, and use for all of your travels. Specifications Removable, adjustable, alpine-cut (ergonomic) shoulder straps Duffel handles can be connected with a hook-and-loop wrap Grab handles on ends offer multiple…

Erin Trail

June 5, 2026

5–8 minutes

duffel, luggage, The North Face

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag

Review by Erin Trail

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag is super durable and easy to pack, carry, and use for all of your travels.

Specifications

Removable, adjustable, alpine-cut (ergonomic) shoulder straps
Duffel handles can be connected with a hook-and-loop wrap
Grab handles on ends offer multiple carrying options
D-zip opening with a weather-resistant, zippered flap
Main compartment has a secure-zip mesh pocket and an end-cap mesh sleeve pocket for more organization
Made from water-resistant Base Camp material with extra bartacks and double stitching
Four compression straps
Daisy-chain webbing offers lash points
Water-resistant ID window on top
Body Material: 1000D recycled polyester with phthalate-free PVC coating
Bottom Material: 840D recycled ballistic nylon with non-PFC durable water-repellent (non-PFC DWR) finish
Size medium volume: 71 liters

Detailed Review

I’ve been doing a lot of airplane travel for various races lately. I’ve been needing a medium size bag that can also double as a carry on that holds a fair amount of things, has several carry options, and a bit of organization.

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag does all of these things, and does it extremely well.

I recently raced the Ragnar Trail Relay just outside of Zion National Park. This race is an 8 person race, done relay style across 36 hours. And we camped at the venue. None of my other teammates were campers, which meant I brought a ridiculous amount of things with me.

I’m 5’4″ as a reference point. I often am hauling around backpacks that are longer than my upper torso. And when I’m wearing things like this, it’s usually when I’m dragging everything around an airport. The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag is long on me (it’s fine, I’m used to that). The removable shoulder straps are fantastic though. This bag probably weighed 20-25 lbs and the straps felt surprisingly comfortable. I usually need a horizontal connector strap to help alleviate pressure on my shoulders, but even without that extra weight spreading measure, the bag felt great as a backpack. The straps are also very intuitive and easy to put on, which is something that I don’t always experience with other bags. The straps also shrink down or expand, to fit a wide range of body sizes.

I got the Fizz Lime-Lemon Mist-Tnf Black colorway because I love how bright it is. I’m able to spot this bag easily – and it makes for a nice visual marker for people meeting me at passenger pickup spots. The exterior color carries through to the interior, which is so great. Often with duffel bags, they become a bit of a black hole. Since the inside was also high-vis yellow, individual items stood out and I was able to find things easier, especially at night.

The are a few stash pockets located throughout The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag. There’s a large one (that zips closed) along the inside of the lid of the bag. My favorite pocket was the end-cap pocket, for stashing layers. I departed Denver during a blizzard and needed to wear my down puffy jacket to the airport. I landed in Las Vegas, with temperatures in the mid-90s. The end-cap pocket was perfect for holding layers that I need to store or make accessible during my travels.

The main zipper compartment has a nicely sized opening. I found that the zippers moved well and I appreciated that the top opening was designed with a top overflap to give the bag extra weather protection.

I also appreciated all of the exterior contact points for baggage handling. The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag has grab handles on each end and also duffel handles on each side. This means that no matter your angle, you are able to get a secure hold on your bag and move it around.

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag fabric is really tough. While I’ve only taken it on one trip, other than for a few scuffs (which happens with light colored fabric), the exterior of the bag is in great shape. And while I experienced zero precipitation on my trip, the exterior fabric is waterproof, which means you don’t need to worry about ending up with a soggy bag showing up in luggage claim.

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag worked for me as a carry on for larger airplanes. I did have to gate check it for my return flight out of St George, Utah, because I was on a regional jet that had smaller overhead compartments.

The North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag is available in a variety of sizes, from 50 liters to 150 liters and is available in a wide range of colors.

Erin Trail

Trail Boss of Stoke

Erin Trail’s hobby is collecting hobbies. She’s a 5th Generation Coloradan and grew up exploring the outdoors on family camping trips and hikes. Her first backpacking trip was at eight years old to Grizzly Reservoir – she proudly carried all of her own gear those 3 miles from the main parking lot to the Reservoir.

Erin is an adult-onset athlete who started as a Masters Swimmer and then developed into a triathlete. She has completed 5 Ironman races and nearly 20 x 70.3 distance Ironman races, including the World Championship in Lahti, Finland, in 2023. In 2025, she raced for Team USA in Pontevedra, Spain for the World Triathlon Cross Tri World Championship. She placed 9th in her age group and was the 1st American woman in her age group.

Erin Trail on her mountain bike at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Erin Trail on her running at the World Tri Cross Triathlon World Championship race

Somewhere along her triathlon journey, she picked up deep love of cycling. Cycling encouraged her to see landscapes in a new way, learn new skills and to develop self reliance; now she often goes and does Type 2 rides just to see if she can do it. She’s got all the bikes: gravel, mountain, fat bike, time trial and road.

She is even known to combine her love of camping and cycling and go off on solo 24 hour overnight bikepacking trips in the mountains of Colorado. In addition to bikes, she teaches yoga, lifts weights, skis, SUPs and has recently purchased a campervan.

Erin is a former Montana park ranger with a degree in environmental engineering. She loves getting into technical details while putting her gear (and herself) through the paces. She shares her home in Colorado with her husband, Will, and her 3 cats (Zipper, Brewtus, and Simcoe).

Fall and winter 2025 will bring Erin to the “Adventure Side”, with many camping, vanlife, bikepacking, and mountain bike rides. Once the snow flies, she can be find resort skiing, fat biking, and triathlon training (inside and outside).

In 2026 Erin took the National Championship in her Age Group for the USA Triathlon Cross Tri. She’s also racing the a National Championship Road Sprint and Olympic Distance race in Milwaukee and a few other off road triathlons and bike races. In 2027, she will represent Team USA at the World Championship Cross Triathlon in Edmonton, Canada. She’ll also save lots of room for adventure time with her friends and husband.

When not adventuring, she can be found on a sunny patio somewhere, drinking beers with her husband.

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