North Face Base Camp Duffel

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I'm looking at picking up a North Face Base Camp Duffel to haul all my hunting gear in for airline travel. I'll be carrying my optics in my carry on and my rifle of course will be in it's own case. Anyone have any experience with these duffel bags? Also trying to figure out if the large (90 liters) is going to be big enough since I won't be transporting my food and fuel containers which I'll already have forward deployed in Alaska or if I need to be thinking about the XL (155 liters).
 

LostArra

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I've taken a duffel the past two years on my fishing trips to Alaska. Here is my experience.

1. After previously wrestling with large duffels on hunting trips, the best move I made was getting an Eagle Creek No Matter What Flashpoint Rolling Duffel. It does not have a heavy frame like a suitcase. In fact, you can roll it up and put it in it's own shoe-size bag. But the two wheels make a loaded duffel a LOT easier to deal with when you are also carrying a rifle case and a carry on. The rolling feature without a frame is not quite as maneuverable as a suitcase with an extendable handle but it works.

2. My roller is 105 liters and it seems huge (wt is same as North Face). I would imagine you could include the kitchen sink with 155. Eagle Creek does make a 128 Liter XL model.

3. With a big duffel it is pretty easy to get over the airline weight limit.

I'm sorry for changing brands but the prices are similar and the non-rollers I used were not North Face.
 
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Mine is an Ingear Safari wheeled cargo bag.
It's 34"Lx18"Wx16"H works out to ~9800ci or 160L.
Definitely big enough and I use the heck out of it here at home for truck camp trips, family vacations, etc.

And because a gun case counts as 1pc of checked, I also use a large travel golf case to put my rifle case, fishing poles, tackle and other light bulky non-valuable gear into the pockets of the golf bag.
Hunt'nFish
 

charvey9

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I've had the X Large north face duffel for about 5 years now and love it. The zippers aren't sealed, but it is basically waterproof for travel purposes. I have no worries throwing it in the back of the truck with all my gear regardless of the weather. I've flown with it multiple times the bag and had no issues. I can fit all my hunting/camping gear in there with room to spare.

They are like the Cadillac of duffels I think, but if the weatherproof construction isn't really a big deal for you I would think that any large duffel will do the trick. Hockey equipment bags are another good option and military surplus bags are a really good value.
 

Beendare

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Some good points above...I would agree with Lostarra...bigger isn't always better as you can only do 50# these days anyway. Some of those tricked out rolling duffels are pretty heavy...an extra 10# over the lighter ones....limiting how much you can put in them. My criteria is; light but durable, Rolling and as waterproof as possible.
 

rayporter

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get a bigger duffel. 28 long inches is too small.

i prefer a full length zipper instead of the D shaped zipper opening, it is a pain to get stuff out of the D shape opening. paint a big spot on it to identify your duffel and tie some survey ribbon to the handles.
 
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WonkyWapiti
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Thanks for the info guys. This is my first hunting trip via air travel. Normally I just drive out of state and pack everything in action packer containers.
 

Bughalli

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I have the Northface duffle a in every size. Yeah, I love them. Used them for the past 8 years or so. Traveled all over the place with them (hunting, fishing trips, intl trips). Carried the XL through Morocco and Egypt. Pretty much bomb proof and very water resistant. As others mentioned, fabric is waterproof but seams aren't sealed and zippers are't waterproof. The bigger ones have shoulder straps like a backpack, which is handy if you need to carry it for any distance. It gets marked up from abuse, but it can take a beating. I also bought the XL roller version. Called "rolling thunder" or something like that. Very sturdy, but damn it was heavy. I would go over the airline weight maximum before it was even close to being full. I used for a trip to Belize and BC for fishing trips. I really like having some rollers though. Sold that bag. I couple of us did a lot of research comparing bags with rollers. Even bought a bunch only to return them. We settled on LLBean rolling duffles. Not as durable fabric as Northface, but strong nylon fabric, good low profile frame and very very light. Gave up very little weight for the convenience of wheels. Size is XL. That's my go-to bag for traveling now, unless I need to bring my bow. Probably used it on 3-4 trips now. Held up great with one small rip from the airline. Can't beat the price and LLBeans 100% guarantee.

If I'm bringing my bow then a use a giant nylon duffle bag I bought online. REI's duffles weren't big enough. This one I would probably fitinside. The one I bought I put my bow case, boots, clothes, etc all in the bag. I pack my small clothes in the bow case with the bow. The big items go around the outside of the case, but still in the duffle bag offering protection. If I need organization, the REI sells these super light weight zipper pouches in the travel section. Use those and weigh almost nothing. Literally. Worked really well so far. Never been over the weight limit.

Pay attention to the weight of bags. Less compartments are better...means less fabric and zippers, equals less weight for the bag and more weight can be used towards your stuff. It's pretty easy to hit that 50lbs limit.
 

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colonel00

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I had to get a duffle for my trip to CO this weekend. No experience with the NF but I went with this guy off Amazon and I must say, for the price this is a heck of a deal. The bag seems really tough. I will be putting my T1, boots & trekking poles in it. I bought the 30" first and decided it was too small so I returned it for the 40".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ON8YFY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brock,

Are you flying to CO and checking this duffle or just driving? Seems like a great deal and I could use one of these for my trip to Alaska in 2 weeks but I just wanted to be sure it would work as a checked bag.
 

Brock A

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Brock,

Are you flying to CO and checking this duffle or just driving? Seems like a great deal and I could use one of these for my trip to Alaska in 2 weeks but I just wanted to be sure it would work as a checked bag.
I'm flying. It should work perfect as a checked bag.
 

colonel00

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I'm flying. It should work perfect as a checked bag.

Cool. Please post back if you have any issues. I just could see some ticket agent being anal about it and measuring it as 40 x 16 x 16 which is 10 inches over the commonly allowed 62 linear inches.
 

Brock A

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Cool. Please post back if you have any issues. I just could see some ticket agent being anal about it and measuring it as 40 x 16 x 16 which is 10 inches over the commonly allowed 62 linear inches.

Will do. I don't think I will come close to filling it up as its just housing my T1, really. My boots will be in the pack and the trekking poles in the side pocket. The 30" was just a little tight to put the pack in. The 40" was obviously more than I need but I opted for that vs fighting it every time. Hopefully the oversize is overlooked since its not full.
 

LostArra

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Just to clarify my earlier post: the Eagle creek rolling duffel I use is under 4 pounds, same as the NF.

Point being, rollers don't have to be heavy.
 

Brock A

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Cool. Please post back if you have any issues. I just could see some ticket agent being anal about it and measuring it as 40 x 16 x 16 which is 10 inches over the commonly allowed 62 linear inches.
FYI, no issues checking this.
 
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WonkyWapiti
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Well this forum is awesome! I picked up a used XL northface duffel from Trr15 and it arrived today. Thanks for saving me some money!
 
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