The North Face Base Camp Duffel: Brilliant for Campervan Life
Ninety-five litres, built like a small expedition and almost suspiciously well suited to life in Vanilla.
Some bits of campervan kit are clever, some are expensive, and some simply earn their place by working every single time. My large The North Face Base Camp Duffel belongs firmly in that last category. Mine is the unmistakable Summit Gold version: a great yellow barrel of a bag that is difficult to lose, difficult to damage and remarkably good at swallowing the loose clothing and travel gear that would otherwise spread itself around Vanilla like it had booked the whole van.
Why a duffel works so well in a campervan
Campervan storage is a slightly different discipline from packing a car or checking into a hotel. Everything needs a home, but that home also needs to move when the bed is made, the seats are turned or the next stage of the journey begins.
A rigid suitcase is often awkward in that environment. It takes up exactly the same amount of room whether it is full or empty, its wheels and frame catch on things, and opening it can demand a surprising amount of floor space.
The Base Camp Duffel is far more cooperative. Its barrel shape can sit across the back, tuck beside other equipment or be shifted quickly when Vanilla changes from travelling mode to camping mode. As the contents reduce, the four compression straps can pull everything in tighter. When the bag is not needed, it does not insist on remaining a piece of furniture.
The Large is properly large
The Large holds 95 litres. The official dimensions are 40.64 by 71.12 by 40.64 centimetres, and the bag weighs about 1.84 kilograms empty.
That makes it a substantial bag, but for campervan life that capacity is exactly the attraction. It can take the clothing and soft gear for a proper trip in one organised load rather than leaving several smaller bags to migrate around the van.
The wide D-shaped zipped opening is particularly useful. Rather than tunnelling blindly through a narrow top, I can open the bag properly and see what is inside. In the limited space of a campervan, being able to find something without unpacking everything else is a small luxury worth celebrating.
In a campervan, the best storage is not necessarily another cupboard. Sometimes it is one very good bag.
Tough enough for real travelling
This is not delicate luggage. The current Large uses a 1000-denier recycled PVC main fabric with an 840-denier recycled ballistic-nylon base, plus a non-PFC durable water-repellent finish. The construction includes double stitching and extra bartacks where the bag takes strain.
The important distinction is that it is water-resistant rather than completely waterproof. I would not throw it in a river and expect miracles. For being carried through rain, placed on damp ground or moved around a campsite, however, the tough coated material is reassuringly practical and easy to wipe down.
That matters in Vanilla. Campervan equipment lives closer to muddy boots, wet grass, bike gear and the general untidiness of an outdoor weekend than normal household luggage ever does. A bag that does not need mollycoddling is the right sort of bag.
Carry it, haul it or wear it
The padded side handles make it easy to grab the duffel and move it around the van, but the detachable, adjustable shoulder straps are the feature that turns it into something more useful.
Loaded luggage is rarely parked exactly beside the pitch, accommodation or front door. Being able to put the Base Camp Duffel on like a backpack leaves both hands free for keys, another bag, campsite gear or the all-important first brew.
It will never feel like a carefully ventilated hiking rucksack—and that is not its job—but for shifting a big load from Vanilla to wherever I am staying, the backpack option is brilliant.
Little details that earn their keep
Inside the main compartment there is a secure zipped mesh pocket, useful for keeping smaller items from disappearing into the 95-litre depths. The zipped end-cap pocket gives shoes, laundry or damp kit somewhere separate from the main load.
That separation is especially welcome after a wet campsite or an outdoor day. Clean clothing and muddy gear are not natural travelling companions, however determined they may be to mingle.
There is also a water-resistant identification window on top. It is a minor detail until several similar expedition-style bags are together, at which point it becomes unexpectedly sensible.
One of Vanilla’s quiet heroes
The Base Camp Duffel was designed with far grander expeditions in mind than a weekend beside a British campsite. That may be precisely why it works so well. Campervan life rewards equipment that is uncomplicated, strong and adaptable.
The Summit Gold colour also suits the NIX world rather nicely. It is bright enough to spot instantly in a dark van, while the black straps and rugged shape look as though the bag is ready for whatever SKY, ROAD or TRAIL produces next.
It is not the cheapest way to carry clothing, and at 95 litres it is not a small bag. But after using it with Vanilla, I would struggle to return to a rigid suitcase or a collection of flimsy holdalls.
In a campervan, the best storage is not necessarily another cupboard. Sometimes it is one very good bag—and this one has been absolutely brilliant.
The bag featured in this Story
labelThe North Face Base Camp Duffel Bag – Large at Cotswold Outdoor
OPEN LINK ↗labelThe North Face Base Camp Duffel 95L – official product page
OPEN LINK ↗