Customer Reviews The North Face Base Camp Duffel - Small

I had the old style Base Camp Duffel until someone smashed my truck window and stole it. I used it daily as a duffel for my workout gear. So I purchased a new one, not knowing The North Face had changed the design. This is a duffel bag right? Where are the handles? I would have been happy with a single shoulder strap centered on the bag, nope. The only way to carry this is using the backpack straps. The old style duffle had handles that met in the middle of the bag so you could carry it like a duffle. There is no way to do that now. I will be returning this one and trying to find an old style bag.

We bought 2 of these bags. 1 from Gander Mountain and 1 on-line. (both North Face Large Base Camp Duffels) The Gander Mountain version traditional carrying handles that met in the middle. The on-line version only had side handles. It was nearly impossible to carry the bag with side handles only. The good news is the bag held up well in the Sahara and kept all the sand out! For me - the handles are a big deal. If I can find the older model on-line I'm going to buy it and try to return the newer model.

The redesign of the duffelbag is really a design failure

I've had many of these bags over the years and loved them all. Just got a new one and I'm going to be sending it back. Why remove the handles? I only use the shoulder straps if I'm going to be carrying it for a long distance, but I've use that handles 99% of the time. This makes about as much sense as removing the steering wheel from a car.

I have a previous version of this duffel bag size large and it is great but I needed something smaller for weekend trips. Unfortunately, someone on the design team decided that we do not need handles anymore. This decision was not thought through. It's the only way I carried my previous version and now have to find a way to rig some handles on it....I am not happy!!!

I had such high hopes for this bag. I was so excited when I got it. I do a lot of traveling and thought it would be easier to use a NF Duffel and I honestly regret it every. single. time. The straps are completely useless. If you have even a little bit of weight you feel it on your shoulders. Its not meant to be carried, but even having to carry it short distances like an airport transfer or from the parking lot to your house/hotel the bag is a PAIN to carry. Actual physical pain and so much frustration. Also-this bag is ABSOLUTELY NOT waterproof. I thought the point of making the bag with waterproof material was that it would be waterproof and could withstand a little water-let me be clear- it cant. Not even a little sprinkle rain. All the North Face had to do was make the zipper waterproof like the rest of the bag. I am currently on my 3rd load of laundry and drying everything out because I left it out during some light rain and everything got soaked. Actual puddles. I assumed it would be just the top of the bag where the rain comes in from the zipper but there were puddles at the bottom of my bag. I couldnt be more disappointed with this bag. North Face I expected so much more from your "technically advanced" gear.

I took the bag, which I loved, on a trip, 3 days, rafting, hiking biking. The weather resistance was undeniable. However if you put anything in the bag and close it, like most normal people do when flying home. The bag acts like a fermentation chamber that turns your dirty clothes into some radioactive toxic waste. I used the bag once, for this trip, let it air out after throwing away all the belongings I had in the bag. Decided to try it again, It took my perfectly clean clothes and turned them into a smell most reminiscent of that kid in gym class who never took his clothes home to clean them. I had to throw out the hiking shoes, shirts and pants that I bought at TNF store, which by the way are awesome and I would recommend a thousand times over. Skip the bag though, it is gross.

Love this bag. Big, rugged, compression straps. Took it to Nepal last year for a month trek, survived the mule and a lot of tossing around. But...this year went back to Nepal and ran into a typhoon, several rainy days. I and many others on this trek had the bag. Universally, we had flooding into the bag. Small storm, big storm. Didn't matter. A day on the mule in a drizzle and everything that wasn't double bagged and independently waterproof was soaked. North Face-if you improved the zipper we would be good to go. Thus the 1 star rating. It is a great bag, until ...it is not. And when you are deep in the mountains and it is cold and rainy and everything is wet. well, we all wish you had paid more attention to the zipper....

I was recently given a NF duffel as a gift. It's a well-designed bag, but I find the tropical-fish colors too intense for my taste. Some more subdued options would be helpful. My major complaint, however, is size of the NF logo. It's enough that a customer buys a NF product. We shouldn't be required to advertise for NF as well--unless NF wants to send us a check for doing so. I don't wear clothing that advertises its maker, nor do I want my duffel bag to advertise. It was for this reason that I returned the NF bag to the store. Let's stop this pernicious and profoundly ugly trend of providing free advertising to the manufacturers of the products we buy.