The original duffle's spawned a conveyor belt of look-a-likes, but has The North Face's classic Base Camp Duffle still got what it takes?
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The North Face Base Camp Duffle
- Tested
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Price: £110.00
(XL), £89.99 (L), £79.99 (M)
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Weight: 2,240 / 1,820 / 1,600 grammes
(men's large)
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Features:
PU-coated, NEO KT 1800 fabric, alpine cut shoulder straps
(detachable), D-zip with zipper flap, dual daisy chains,
twin hail handles on ends, rugged contruction with extra bar
tacks and double stitching, four compression straps,
internal mesh pockets, ID pocket on top, locking zippers,
handle.
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Tough, roomy, versatile.
Not cheap...
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The Concept Pretty much the original outdoor duffle, the idea
is that you can chuck anything in it, drag it around the world, haul
it up rock faces, stick it on your back like a rucksac when you need
to and just about live in it...
The idea works so well that the world is awash with lookalike
versions from other manufacturers and variations on the theme as
well.
Features
It comes in three different sizes, but all get the same bombproof
build quality and a new for 2003 harder-nosed, more abrasion
resistant, PU-coated fabric. For what's essentially a great big carry
bag, it's actually extraordinarily refined.
For starters you get compression straps, a pair of removable and
decently shaped shoulder straps, a huge flapped and zipped opening for
easy access, daisy chains for clipping and tying into to, enough
handles to keep an octopus happy. Then there's the neat little
details like the luggage label pocket, a mesh pocket on the inside of
the lid for documents and zip fasteners with locking loops fitted to
take a padlock.
And that's it really, a big, tough bag which you can carry around
easily if you need to.
In Action After using one of these for a couple of months we
started to wonder how we ever managed without. It's near perfect for
travelling to outdoor destinations - just chuck everything in,
including your pack, and zip it up. We have the 'Large' 90-litre
version which is big enough for most lunacy, but if you're really up
against it, try the 'XL' which carries a massive 140 litres even if
you
can't.
It avoids all the worry and hassle of having your expensive pack
thrown around by baggage handlers and survives unscathed itself. That
fabric is tough and very water resistant too. It's be great for
strapping onto a burro or a yak for trekking use and we wouldn't bet
against it surviving some hauling action too.
Those shoulder straps are a god-send as well. It's a basic
carrying system, but surprisingly comfortable helped by the nicely
ergonomically cut shape of the harness, which you can remove easily
as well. The compression straps help keep stuff stable. Okay, it's
not in the same class as a dedicated rucksac, but for wandering
across airports and between bus stations and hostals, it's
perfect.
Finally, it's easy to fit a padlock, since the zippers feature
interlocking rings for easy securing.
It's the original and arguably still the best. Tough, roomy, easy to
carry, nicely designed and well featured you'll wonder how you ever
did without. Ours has survived three air journeys, some rough
camping weekends and a bit more abuse and still looks brand new.
We're taking it to Nepal in November too and based on past
experience, we reckon it'd also be spot-on for mule / burro / yak
transportation. We like. Just about the only down side is the price.
You can get lookalikes for a lot less.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Tough, rugged, roomy and easy to carry around thanks to a
detachable harness system that's reasonably comfortable to
use plus all the handles and haul loops you could ask for.
You'll wonder how you survived without it. The original and
arguably still the best duffle around.
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