The North Face  Base Camp Duffel - Large

I loved this bag like it was my first born child. I took it on every trip because of the absurd about of stuff you can fit in it. Unfortunately, on my most recent trip to SC, the baggage claim people must have not liked it so much bc I picked it up with a gaping hole in the front. So much for “legendary durability”. Nevertheless, this is still the greatest bag I’ve ever owned and I’ll be ordering another.

This bag is exactly what I was looking for: durable, lots of room, shoulder straps, mesh compartments, and side pocket. I've been living out of this bag for a couple weeks now and it's been great. Spilled coffee on it and the waterproof fabric shined in action. Zippers can be a bit tough to work with but I'd rather have that then some cheapies.

Very sturdy and easy to pack. My first trips and I got all the necessary gear for the trips there. Expandable. Awesome colors so that you can recognize it right away among black suitcases.

It's survived being tossed and checked on flights without a single hint of wear. Easily hosed off inside and out when dirty and sufficiently waterproof. Ours fits all of our snorkel gear for two plus towels and a lot of other stuff. On a dive boat they stored everyone's daybags under the seats, at the end of the day we were the only ones with a dry bag and contents while everyone else's bags looked like they had been submerged for hours. Cons: black color gets super hot in the sun, and the backpack straps are difficult (if not impossible) to remove and they are right in the way of the main access flap.

I'm returning this. The reason to have a duffel back instead of a suitcase is so it packs up small for storage while expanding to hold stuff. And when it holds stuff, I want to be able to throw it over my shoulder easily. This one doesn't pack small. All that fancy material is seriously bulky and stiff, and resists folding up to store compactly. And there's no simple shoulder strap. Either the pseudo backpack straps are in the way of packing/unpacking, or they're detached and dangling in the way somewhere else. Worse still, they don't attach / detach with simple clip action like a normal shoulder strap. Rather, you have to thread them or unthread them at the bottom each time. Forget it.

What a great bag. The opening is perfect size, the end cap pocket is nice to store dirty or wet stuff, the material is seemingly sturdy and durable and easy to clean. The stitching and quality of the straps appear to be good as well. I do not baby my stuff, I beat the heck out of it and I believe this bag will live up to the lifetime warranty it supposedly carries. I typically buy all Pelican duffels and backpacks, but I might end up with a couple more from North Face given the variety of sizes and backpack straps. Impressed, did not expect to be.

I used this bag for a rough fire season in Alaska and the lower 48. Always kept my gear dry despite rough conditions and being flown in sling nets under helicopters and enduring numerous boat trips. Perfect size for all my gear and easy to carry due to the backpack straps. Highly recommend to any other wildland firefighter as a PG bag, and for use wandering the world in the off-season.

Tons of space, love the inner mesh pocket and the outer pocket. The mesh carrying bag is also awesome to separate the dirties from the freshies. The backpack straps are wide and comfy - although if it’s fully loaded up you’ll wish you had a hip strap. Backpack straps are removable though which is a nice plus. I’ve also tried taking one strap off and putting the other diagonally to use as a shoulder strap. It worked but not as comfortable as using both straps as the strap padding can’t slide up and down the strap. I have mostly used this for airport traveling. Using the compression straps you can easily use this as a carry on. It’s oddly stiff...I think because the material is so hard core but that sorta makes it feel like it will last forever. That being said, it is a little hard to zip open and shut...especially if there’s stuff inside and the compression straps are tight. Used on maybe 10 trips so far?

I flew to Stockholm and traveled to the Finnish Arctic in December of 2017 and I wanted a bag that would work in all weather, easily transportable since I knew I would be going through snow. The bag readily shed rain and snow with ease. I love the backpack straps on this thing so none of those annoying rolling wheel sounds (especially where the older cities are cobbled) with normal luggage and I would be able to move pretty quickly and freely. There was plenty of space for snow equipment and a week's worth of clothes and souvenirs.

I thought material would be a bit softer, but I suppose duffel would just be fabric with a strap. My duffel arrived with a little scuff mark and during a 4-day test, I scuffed a bit more. Based on material, I believe the scuffs will just wipe off. It is a solid bag, though giant. I am 5'6" 27" waist and the bag full overloaded me - the bag was wearing me! But I needed a size larger than the medium to carry 3-weeks work of gear/clothing/etc. I recommend checking out the sizing to make sure your back and weight will carry a full 95L pack.I packed to around 33 lbs during 4-day test. I also suggest strapping the two carry straps together when ready to wear like a back pack as each time I didn't, my arm would go though the backpack strap and carry strap causing lots of frustration.