Mountaineering Gear

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The North Face Base Camp Duffel - Gear Review

By Kendall Card - May 25th, 2007 - 1 Comment

Yeah, you’ve seen them being hauled on yaks, headed for Everest Base Camp on the North side. Perhaps it was that die hard climber you saw in Kennedy Airport on his way to some far off climbing destination and as he weaved his way through the suits a base camp duffel was his companion, carried like a backpack. For a split moment you pictured yourself, sans briefcase and suit, swapping places with the unshaven yet striking figure. Wherever you may have seen one, if you’re like me, you’ve come to realize that when it comes to duffel bags that can take whatever you can dish out the Base Camp Duffel from The North Face is the standard. So I finally picked one up a couple of months ago. Now I, like that climber in Kennedy Airport, can toss all my cams, a rope, a harness, change of clothing, down jacket, et al into the duffel and head out on an adventure. Or, like the two weeks ago I can put my Scarpa Spirit 3 ski boots, my crampons, and the rest of my ski mountaineering gear into the duffel and head out to Mt. Hood to climb and ski the WyEast face. Regardless of the trip I get the feeling that this duffel is going to last me a LONG time. The Ins and Outs of the Base Camp Duffel (BCD) Let’s get into the details. The BCD comes in 4 different sizes and the in the large size which I have it weights in at 4lbs. The weight primarily is due to the PVC tarpaulin material that is very thick and water/wind/stain/everything you don’t want inside proof. It’s...Read more...

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