The North Face  Base Camp Duffel - Medium

This Base Camp duffel is white on the inside. All other Base Camp duffel colors are the same on the inside as on the outside. Finding gear in this duffel is so much easier than my black Base Camp. The white interior is a welcome addition to the line. This should be a genuine consideration for anyone that has ever struggled to find something in their bag while inside a tent or in the trunk. Additionally, this duffel is as rugged as they come. Not a lot of features beyond ruggedness and a lot of tie-down loops. However, if your camp food opens up inside the bag, you can easily wipe the inside clean with a wet rag, or spray it out with a garden hose. The same goes for setting it in the mud. Just spray it off and you're done.

The Camp Duffel is the everything duffel. I've brought the medium sized duffel on every trip (plane, road trip with open truck bed, lake, beach, climbing pretty much anywhere I would need to bring a decent amount of gear with me) for the past two years. The material is extremely durable. The bag gets abused. There are some scuffs from being thrown around, but shows no sign of extreme wear. I've had no trouble bring this as my carry on during flights (Haven't flown Frontier with the bag nor will I attempt to bring this on Frontier.

Overall, I liked the stiffness of the bag, and prefer it to the lighter weight bags. This is a matter of preference. This bag does not compress as much and is heavier, but those are the trade offs for a heavier duty bag that is easier to carry. It is great for its intended use as a camping, adventure bag, but the 70L is a bit small. It also functions well as a weekend bag. That said, I probably would not try to use this as a gym bag, it may be a pain to stuff into a locker. If it had a center strap grommet I would give it 5 stars. Otherwise, it is great. THE GOOD: STRONG: This bag is stiff, heavy duty material, that appears to emphasize the "base camp" functionality. I have a larger Black hole duffel, and the North Face appears to be heavier duty on the bottom, and sides and has stiffer material. EASY TO CARRY: The heavier material makes it easier to carry. The problem with the lighter bags is that they don't have much support, so unless full, they sag more. The heavier material with this bag makes it more comfortable using the backpack straps. GOOD POCKETS: Functional pockets with 2-3 internal webbed pockets and one side compartment which is nice to separate gear. COMFORTABLE STRAPS: Comfortable backpack straps that adjust well and are sturdy. CARRY ON FUNCTIONALITY: There is a wide range of sizes. I found the 70L a little smaller than I expected, but quite easy to upgrade to the 95L if you want a slightly bigger bag. The 70L will still likely act as a carry on where you are likely to get more pushback from airlines on the 95L. THE BAD HEAVY: Overall, this is nearly 1.5 lbs heavier than the similar sized Black Hole bag and does packs down to about twice the size. That said, it is still compresses to about the size of a stack of 7-8 dinner plates, which is not bad. NO CENTER SHOULDER STRAP: There is no great single shoulder strap. I'm not sure why it is so hard to add an extra grommet for a CENTER shoulder strap like an ordinary duffel, but none of the outdoor companies seem to think this is neccessary. The backpack straps are not great for carrying on a single shoulder. You either carry as a backpack, or with the side straps. BACKPACK STRAPS CUMBERSOME Backpack straps are not the easiest to remove - they don't clip off. You have to unwind the webbing through the plastic, and it takes some finesse to do so. If you check it, you need to at least take one side of the straps off to zip it properly so you need to get good at this. It can get a bit annoying to remove the straps and then reinstall them (like 4-5 minutes easily to put them on, and similarly to take them off)..

I bought this bag several years ago for a scuba dive trip to the Cayman Islands. I can place all my important gear in this waterproof bag and carry it on the airplane and it fits perfectly in the overhead. I bought another bag for my daughter. We love this product.

This bag was exactly what my daughter needed in starting college at one of the military academies. She was supposed to be able to carry all her stuff backpack style. We were excited to have found this bag!

Great duffel. This is a great bag, good for weekend trips in the outdoors. It can be used as a backpack for each travel. The tough exterior means you don't have to worry if it gets a little wet or dirty. Top compartment is great for personal items. Overall a great bag.

This bag rocks! The backpack straps are so convenient. Love it!

Construction seems excellent. Backpack straps very comfortable. Surprisingly, it really does collapse to the size of the accompanying crush-bag, though I wouldn't trust it to retain water resistance if you did that too many times. Only two cons: 1) Doesn't come with a full shoulder strap, only backpack straps and carry handle. 2) Because it is a duffle, it is naturally less stiff than a backpack when worn as such. Pack wisely to save your back.

This bag doesn’t have a handle on the side, like most duffels do. Every time I carry it from the top handle it scrapes my leg. Super annoying. Additionally no quick release on the backpack straps-so reattaching them is time consuming and a little tricky. Since they have to be removed every time you fly this is really inconvenient compared to other bags I’ve had.

I really like this duffle bag so far--storage space, backpack carrying capability, sturdy material. The only thing I don't like so far is the zippers are stiff and don't open/close easily. I'm hoping the loosen up a bit as I use the bag more.