The North Face Shrank Its Most Iconic Bag

Because not all critical travel items are big.

The North Face Base Camp Travel Canister bag in black shown at an angle from the front against a bright yellow background

Published December 10, 2024

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The North Face’s Base Camp Duffel is an undisputed adventure icon. That’s due in no small part to its role in pioneering the adventure duffel bag category nearly 45 years ago.

While it officially adopted the name it still bears today in the late 1980s, The North Face released its first version of the bag over a decade earlier, in 1979. That’s 25 years before Patagonia’s equally famous Black Hole Duffle launched, for those keeping score.

As with nearly any successful outdoor product that gains household name brand recognition, The North Face has steadily expanded the Base Camp name to a wide range of rugged bags of various shapes and sizes, including gearboxes and rolling luggage, over the years. However, the recent addition of two new “canister” versions might be the most pragmatic expansion yet.

Meet the The North Face Base Camp Travel Canister

The North Face Base Camp Travel Canister shown open to reveal the integrated hanger and mirror. It's also shown filled with small toiletries. The black bag is setting against a bright yellow background. — Though the Base Camp Travel Canister is clearly meant to work as a Dopp kit, it would also work well as a carrier for tech accessories.

The North Face recently released two different sizes of the Base Camp Travel Canister. The larger version measures 11.6” x 6” x 6”. The smaller version is mainly narrower and measures 9.5” x 5” x 5”.

Beyond the sizing differences, both versions are essentially identical. The bags are made from 840D recycled ballistic nylon with a non-PFC durable water-repellent finish and feature daisy-chain webbing lash points and twin haul handles on either end.

They also both feature an internal hook for hanging and a small mirror that can attach to it via a hook and look and loop strap.

The North Face Base Camp Travel Canister bag in black shown at an angle from behind against a bright yellow background — The miniaturized take on the Basecamp Duffel is available in two different sizes. The large version measures 11.6” x 6” x 6”. The smaller version measures 9.5” x 5” x 5″.

These latter features clearly make either version of the canister ideal candidates for Dopp kits, although there’s no reason they can’t haul other small accessories like power bricks and charging cables, too.

Both sizes are available in The North Face’s classic black and brighter blue colors. The small size also features a brighter red option.

Impressively, they’re also priced at $35 and $45, which puts them on par with the most affordable Dopp kits on the market that we recommend right now.

Overall, they look like a fun and surprisingly useful remix on the Base Camp Duffle that frequent travelers can appreciate on any trip, whether off or on the beaten path.