Cordillera Blanca Gear Tests:The North Face Base Camp and Rolling Thunder Duffels

The North Face Base Camp Duffel has been the standard for expedition travel for years. It was recently joined by the wheeled Rolling Thunder Duffle, and I took one of each to Peru.

These bags are absolutely massive (9070cu in, 8400cu in respectively), and they easily held the 140 pounds of gear I checked on the plane. (Thanks to the guy at the Delta counter for not charging me.) Stacking the Base Camp on top of the Rolling Thunder allowed me to stroll through customs instead of dragging two bags which weighed more than me (yes, I weight less than 140 pounds).

I’ve had my Base Camp Duffel for about five years, and I’m confident it’ll last at least another ten unless it falls off the roof of a colectivo and disappears into a river. Compression straps on the Base Camp helped out when it came back less than full.

These bags are:

• Absolute huge
• As burly as they get
• A great choice for expedition travel
  

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