The North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro Lightweight Pack Review

Why would you need a 15L daypack? That depends on what you need to carry. If you’re only bringing a laptop, minimal tech accessories, and an extra layer to work every day, that’s enough. If you want something to carry your snacks and books on the plane, as well as around as you explore on a trip, it’s also a good size. So, is the The North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro Lightweight Pack a good option when you’re in the market for a small travel daypack? That depends on what you need from your personal item bag. Let’s dive into the details to find out.

External Components

The North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro Lightweight Pack fits right in with the aesthetics of the Base Camp line from TNF. It’s got 300D recycled polyester with a TPU coating on the main body, which is easy to wipe clean, though it may start to show scuffs after a while. At the bottom is a thicker 420D recycled nylon with a PU coating and a non-PFC DWR finish, and the back panel is made of 840D recycled ballistic nylon with a PU coating and a non-PFC DWR finish. It can certainly handle the weather wherever you are and should be sturdy enough to last through years of trips.

There’s a TNF logo near the bottom of the bag on a patch that feels like Hyapalon. It’s more subtle than we sometimes see from The North Face, especially as it’s black on our New Taupe Green/TNF Black colorway. You can also get it in Anthracite Grey/TNF Black if you prefer. Both use the primary color (green or grey) for most of the bag, with black accents on the patch, bungee cord, and zipper pulls. Those two colorways are also available for the remaining pieces in the Base Camp Voyager Pro travel system—the Travel Pack, Crossbody, and Travel Pouch—so you can make your whole setup match if you get all four pieces.

To that end, the Lightweight Pack has two sets of corded daisy chains on its front that you can use if you want to kangaroo-connect it to the front of The North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro Travel Pack. You can also use them to hold other small items, from a hat to hand sanitizer to a collapsible travel bottle (and you might want to do that since, spoiler alert, the bag lacks side bottle pockets for hydration).

There is also a bungee cord on the front that you can loosen or cinch tighter to carry other gear, whether that’s a damp rain jacket, an umbrella, or flip-flops. It’s not very tightly packed, so it’s best for larger items. The toggles to cinch it tight are plastic but work as expected, as do the YKK zippers, which have Hypalon-like tabs through the metal pulls for easy grabbing to open the main compartment. The front pocket zipper has a cord that matches the daisy chains instead.

The harness system is quite simple. There’s a webbing carry handle that’s thin for long-term holding but slips nicely onto hooks for hanging the bag. The shoulder straps are lightly padded and lined with breathable mesh. They’re soft enough on bare shoulders and broad enough to spread the weight. The back panel also has a small amount of padding, but no breathable mesh, so things get sweaty pretty quickly in warm weather.

Fit Notes

Overall, The North Face Base Camp Voyager Pro Lightweight Pack is pretty comfortable to carry, simply because you can’t put a ton of weight inside. We carried it for several miles, loaded with books, and barely felt like anything was inside. The biggest issue is the lack of breathability; things got sweaty pretty quickly since we were testing it on a sunny Midwestern summer day. We missed the back panel mesh more than we minded the minimal padding, so even though this is a lightweight, durable bag, it might not be the one you necessarily want to take on a hike. It’s the right size and made of the right materials for outdoor adventures, but it’s just not breathable enough if you don’t want a damp back.

Luckily, it doesn’t look so rugged that it would be out of place as you wandered around a city, taking in a museum or festival. The materials are tough but not rough-looking, so they blend well in slightly more polished settings, though they will still stand out if you’re wearing a suit.

Inside The Pack

Since this is designed to coordinate with the Base Camp Voyager Pro Travel Pack, it’s not too surprising that it’s missing some traditional daypack features, but we still miss them enough to point them out.

The biggest issue is the lack of side pockets, whether you need them for a water bottle, an umbrella, or a camera tripod. Obviously, you’ll have them if you’ve attached this bag to the 36L travel backpack, but you probably still want to stay hydrated when you’re carrying the smaller bag around on your trip, so we miss them. Instead, you’ll have to hook a carabiner through one of those daisy chains and carry a travel water bottle with a handle that way if you want. You can try tucking it under the bungees to keep it from flopping around, but it might not always stay in place.

There’s no small quick-grab pocket, either, but the front panel pocket works well for that. It’s larger than your phone, wallet, and passport, but it’s not so large that you can’t find them if you toss them all in with a few other items, and the vertical opening is accessible when you swing the bag around to your front if you leave it on your left shoulder.

The main compartment opens pretty widely with a horseshoe-style zipper across the top. Against the back panel is a lightly-padded sleeve for up to a 16-inch laptop. It’s not elevated very much off the bottom of the bag, but the padding wraps around the edge of your computer for device protection.

On its face are two mesh slip pockets. We use one for our AirPods and the other for our glasses case. They’re overkill for tiny tech like earbuds, but it’s a nice option to save you from scrounging around the bottom of the bag for smaller gear.

There’s also a key clip on a short leash atop the right-hand pocket. You can probably reach door handles if you swing the bag around on your right shoulder, and you can always slip your keys into the pocket to keep them from clanging against other items in the main compartment.

The remaining space is open for whatever other gear you need to carry, whether that’s books, an extra layer, snacks, or a water bottle. There’s not a ton of capacity inside the bag, but it’s enough to get the job done in most situations. If you need to carry ponchos and snacks around a theme park, sweaters and maps around a city, or a laptop and tech to the local coffee shop, it’s a good option. If you’re carrying enough gear for a family of four, it might not be quite enough. You’ll want to get everyone their own Lightweight Pack.