Vango Force 10 Caldera 80L Duffle Review

Nia Jenkins gives us her Vango Force 10 Caldera 80L Duffle Review . . .

Built tough, with multiple carrying options and attachment points, the Caldera 80L Duffle from Force Ten is a must have for any outdoor enthusiast

I’ve been using the Vango Force 10 Caldera Duffle mainly for expeditions or mini adventures and here’s what I thought.

I went to visit Dylan Jones at Crib Goch/Outdoor World Llanberis to ask for his expertise on a duffle I needed for a Mont Blanc expedition. Dylan advised me on the Vango F10 Caldera 80L duffle, so that’s what I went for.

First things first – the colour is really quirky and definitely stands out from the crowd. The bright orange definitely came in handy when I was trying to spot my bag on the conveyer belt at the airport, and of course it’s in Mud and Routes corporate orange – so good start!

The duffle is very spacious and has lots of different compartments and netting sections to separate your gear. This was handy whilst rummaging through the bag in the dark, early hours of the morning before setting off – I had memorised what gear was in each section pretty quickly!

The main compartment is very spacious – plenty of room for clothes, boots, crampons, harness and a helmet. I used the side compartments then to carry smaller pieces of kit like headtorch, gloves, compass, flasks, maps etc.

It’s a multi way duffle so you can wear it either as a rucksack or you can use the carry straps. I usually opted for the backpack style and I’m glad to say that the straps were very comfortable – there’s nothing worse than thin straps digging into your shoulder blades! There’s also grap straps on both ends of the bag which are also very handy.

The multi way straps are removable and easy to whip off quickly if you’d rather carry the duffle as a hold-all bag. My bag was rather heavy on Mont Blanc, I was carrying approx 10kg a day so I always opted for the shoulder straps as they were very comfortable and the weight was spread out with the heat straps too. Without any kit inside the duffle weighs 1.28kg.

Another great feature of the Caldera is that the duffle has a water resistant coating. I was using the bag for a week in the Alps and I think we had every weather possible. From rain, snow, hail and sun the bags content always stayed dry and never got damp once. The inside is also 100%nylon so very easy to wipe down with a damp cloth to keep it clean.

I honestly cannot think of a negative point about the Vango Force 10 Caldera 80L Duffle bag – it’s a great lightweight duffle that’s also tough and durable. It has plenty of storage sections, comfortable straps and it’s an awesome colour. The perfect duffle for an expedition!

Vango Force 10 Caldera 80L Duffle features + specifications

Fabric: – Main:Cordura (100% nylon, 500D) / Base: 100% heavy duty nylon (1,680D)

• Water resistant coating
• Daisy chains
• Number 10 zips
• Zipped mesh pocket Inside bag
• Central grab handle
• Grab handles at both ends
• Duraflex components
• Top zipped access
• Dimensions: 78 x 36 x 36cm
• Weight: 1.28g

Quality A
Functionality A
Durability A
Lightweight A

(Kindly provided by and available at Crib Goch Outdoor World, Llanberis. Diolch Dylan!)

Nia Jenkins

Nia is a keen mountaineer and loves spending any spare time in the hills. She is a member of the Aberglaslyn Mountain Rescue team since 2015 and there she has gained numerous qualifications and training. She summited Mt Kilimanjaro in 2014 and reached Everest Basecamp in 2015. She will be going on an expedition to Mt Blanc in 2017 and is hoping to reach Everest summit one day!

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