The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack (26L) Review

The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack (26L) is part of TNF’s line of packs with water- and abrasion-resistant materials to withstand the rigors of travel. We’ve also tested The North Face Base Camp Voyager Travel Pack (35L), but this smaller size is designed for daily use and short weekend trips.

How does the design translate from the larger travel backpack to the daypack size? We’ve been carrying it daily in and around metro Detroit as we commute to the office to find out.

External Components

The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack has a rather rugged aesthetic thanks to its external materials, primarily a 300D recycled polyester tarpaulin with TPU laminate. That makes it extremely water-resistant while also lending it a crunchy, shiny vibe. Your mileage will vary on how you feel about that look. The bottom of the bag is 840D recycled nylon with a PFC-free DWR to protect it from the damp ground.

The rough-and-tumble design continues with multiple daisy chains of loops parading around the bag. Apart from bags that include PALS webbing for MOLLE attachments, it has more loops where you can connect gear with a carabiner than most. There’s a set parading down either side of the bottom front pocket and thicker attachment points extending from either side of the top carry handle. We didn’t ever use them, but if you like to hang hand sanitizer, a hat, or fun keychains off your bag, you have plenty of places to choose from.

All the loops are stitched in place with a contrasting thread color for a unique style. We have TNF Black with TNF White accents, which means the stitching and The North Face logo in the bottom right corner of the front are white, and the base color is black.

There is a padded carry handle on the top that’s comfortable to hold and not too fat to hang on a hook. The YKK zippers are just as easy to use, with slim webbing tabs on the pulls to help you open and close the bag. The only issue we have is with the ones on the main compartment extending into the side bottle pockets to give you better access to your gear. While we appreciate the wide access, it’s difficult to unzip the bag if you have a bottle in the pocket (and why is it that the zippers always end up in the pocket where we’ve put a bottle as opposed to the one we’ve left empty on the other side? It’s like trying to find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop—the world may never know!)

Woojin Hardware makes the buckle on the sternum strap and the adjustment sliders. Everything functions well, with adjustment easy yet staying where it’s set. The only thing to mention is that—at least on our colorway—the buckle and adjusters are a subtle camouflage pattern. It’s a mottled black and gray that’s just a little more interesting to look at than straight black but still unobtrusive. You might not even notice it unless you look closely, but you know we do!

The harness system is quite capable for a 26L bag. The back panel is very nicely cushioned, with four squares of cushion on either side of a vertical air channel. They’re covered with a smooth micromesh for breathability, as is the slightly thinner cushion on the shoulder straps. Altogether, it makes for a comfortable carrying experience, especially when you engage the sternum strap, which slides on a rail for micro-adjustments. It lacks a strap keeper, but the shoulder straps have keepers to keep extra in check. They also have a bit of webbing at the top of each strap for more flexibility. Along with helping the bag to be more comfortable around broad shoulders, it made it easier to put the Base Camp Voyager Daypack on over a puffy winter coat, so it’s a win on two counts.

However, we miss having a luggage pass-through, which we would have put in the vertical air track. If you wanted to use this as a personal item bag or even as your carry on, in addition to a hardside suitcase or softside luggage, it would really be handy for making your way through the airport.

Oh, and if you need to connect more gear to the outside of the bag, don’t worry; there are more daisy chains of loops parading down the front of each strap. There are 30 loops on daisy chains scattered around this bag, so you’re definitely not going to run out of room for carabiners. How you feel about that aesthetically is another story, though.

Fit Notes

Ah, aesthetics … This is where, subjectively, we think The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack stumbles. The squared-off shape and copious daisy chains might make more sense for the larger Travel Pack, but they give the daypack a more awkward appearance. Honestly, the sheer amount of daisy chains around the bag is enough to give us pause, but when combined with the TPU exterior and boxy shape, it’s just not a look we love. However, there are bound to be travelers who like the look, and there’s a decent chance that you at least find it passable, or you wouldn’t be reading this review. So, if you’re more of a functional traveler and the rugged vibe speaks to you, don’t let us talk you out of it!

That’s because we’re happy to say that it is really comfortable to carry around thanks to that capable harness system. The back panel is quite long for users with shorter torsos, but the cushioned padding does a good job of making sure that it’s not uncomfortable on your lower back. If you’re packing it as a personal item bag and need to carry it around for hours before checking into your hotel or have a long commute on foot to work, you’ll be thankful for the travel backpack-like harness on a daypack frame. It’s enough without being overkill, which is a hard line to straddle.

Inside The Daypack

Along with copious attachment points, The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack has a plethora of pockets for various-sized gear.

A horizontal zipper runs across the middle of the bag’s front, opening to reveal a large dump pocket for quick-grab gear. It’s lined with soft fleece to prevent scratches to your delicate gear, but (spoiler alert!) a lot of pockets on this daypack have the same lining, so you can pick and choose what suits you best. We don’t tend to put much in this pocket simply because there are so many other options, but it is a good place to stash a phone, a passport holder or minimalist wallet, and daily essentials like hand sanitizer and tissues. The pocket is so durable that we don’t mind stashing sunglasses here, either, as long as they’re in a protective case to save them from other gear in the pocket.

Above that is an admin pocket with a zipper that opens horseshoe-style, from left to right. You can pull the front of this pocket down to access the organization inside, of which there is a lot. At the top is a padded, softly-lined slip pocket for a tablet or e-reader. You’ll want to do as we say and not as we do and stash something thin in here because sticking a fat reading glasses case here makes it difficult to use the remaining pockets on its front. It’s just something to remember if you don’t carry a tablet or notebook regularly; it’s a big pocket—for thin items.

In front of that is a large zipper pocket with a key leash inside. We wish the leash were on the left instead of the right, and that this pocket unzipped from right to left instead of left to right, so that you could pull out just the key leash and have it hanging out to swipe a door fob without having all of the pockets open. You must also go through two zippers to get your keys, which is not the most convenient. Oh, and the same advice applies here: if you pack this full of bulky gear like wall chargers, battery banks, or similar gear that we would want to put in a zipper pocket, it will make it hard to squeeze gear into the next pockets.

Because yes, there are more pockets in this compartment—two more rows of them, in fact. The next level includes a fleece slip pocket that’s half the width of the larger pockets and easily fits a phone. Two more liner pockets are next to it for skinnier items like a battery bank, several pens, and the like. Then, in front of all of those pockets are two more mesh slip pockets. We liked using them for our AirPods but found sliding it in and taking it out a tight squeeze when just about anything was in the pockets behind them. It’s telling that The North Face’s product page photo shows AirPods in the mesh pocket on the right, without the case. We don’t know anyone who carries their earbuds like that, but we do know it’s a good way to lose them and don’t recommend it. Instead, you’ll have to pick and choose which organizational features you want to use and which you’ll leave empty because, in our experience, you can’t use them all at once.

Space remains in front of those pockets for you to toss gear inside, which is probably what you should do with bulkier gear. Just realize that things can fall out the sides of the admin pocket when unzipped if you don’t have them locked down in a pocket.

You’ll find water bottle pockets on either side of the daypack. They hold slender bottles in place nicely but can expand to hold slightly wider bottles, as well. A large webbing tab is at the top of each pocket; pull it out toward the side, and you’ll have wider access to the pockets. You’ll have to use some muscle, though, as the elastic on our sample is very tight. As testers who have lost bottles because they slid out of pockets without our knowledge when a bag was lying down, we don’t mind the snug fit.

Against the back panel is a large, U-shaped zipper with dual heads that provides access to the laptop compartment. It can generously accommodate up to a 16-inch device and swallows our small, skinny, 13-inch MacBook Air. It’s lined with the same soft fleece as many of the other pockets and features some padding on either side to protect your device. It’s also slightly raised off the bottom of the bag to blunt any impact on the edges of your computer if you set the daypack down too hard.

That’s a lot of space to fill, but is there anything left for the main compartment? That’s a good question, and the answer is … yes?

This is the area that opens with a dual-headed zipper that extends into the bottle pockets. At the top of the front panel is a large zippered mesh pocket. That’s it for the organization, but if you fill it and the two front pockets, you’ll find that it’s a bit of a tight squeeze to fill the bottom of the main compartment.

We feel that a 26L bag ought to be able to accommodate a small cooler for our lunch (and most daypacks of this size do), but getting it inside takes a bit of effort and contortion. That’s because there are only 3-4 inches (7.62-10.16 cm) of depth here once the front pockets and laptop compartment eat into the space, so you’re going to want to use packing cubes to make the most of this space if you want to use it as an overnight bag, and, even so, you’re going to be limited on the size and number of cubes you can use. We managed to squeeze in our lunch box, winter gloves, and a hat, but that basically fills the space (It’s January in Michigan as of the writing of this review. Our gloves and hat are big and thick. You’ll manage to fit more inside if you forgo snacks and are using it in warmer weather.)

So, whether The North Face Base Camp Voyager Daypack is the 26L bag for you will depend a lot on your style and needs. If you like the rugged shell and need its durability while preferring to make use of a lot of organization but not a ton of open space, it’s definitely a comfortable option. However, if you regularly haul larger or bulkier items, you may want to consider an upgrade to the Voyager Travel Pack or another daypack with more space in the main compartment.