Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

The pockets keep me organized, the chest strap helps distribute weight when it's filled to the brim and I love the colors.

Use for college. Great and has plenty of room for books and laptop. Wish the shoulder straps were more padded though.

Will be a great addition for college and travel

I love this backpack for a bunch of reasons. Namely, the design in both style and functionality is a perfectly balanced. In the Adirondacks where I hike, there are many rock scrambles where I'm on all fours scaling a rock face. The waist and chest straps help to keep the bag in place instead of sliding to the right or left and throwing off my balance. I like it a lot more than the tactical style bag I was using, which had the same straps but it was flimsy so even if the bag stayed put, the things in my bag would shift and throw me off balance. This bag is more rigid. I love how lightweight it is too. With nothing in it, I barely feel it on my back. It is also very well built. The zippers are chunky and don't feel cheap and the webbing straps feel premium. I love the design. I bought the bold red color which looks great. I like that TNF is going back to the bold color schemes again. The past few years everything was either earthy or neutrals. I much prefer those bold colors that portray adventure better than Urban Navy. Anyway, I like the SOS whistle incorporated into the chest strap too. That's handy if you ever become lost and need help so that's a nice touch. Not sure it's effective in scaring away bears though. And finally, I like the vented and padded shoulder straps and back pad. It really helps to keep my body temp down on strenuous hikes.

I was definitely skeptical in buying this product, just because it was rather pricey. However, after receiving the product, it's evident that it was made to last. The material the backpack is made out of is extremely built and sturdy. It's sleek and has a modern look to it, which I loved. The overall shape of the backpack makes it difficult to stuff a lot of things inside, though, so I would recommend getting a different style if you are one looking for a backpack that can hold a lot of stuff. However, as a freshmen going into college, this backpack will be the perfect fit for me.

Pros: 1. Outside design is very smart looking. 2. Big mesh pocket is functional. 3. Fleece lined sunglasses pocket is a appreciated necessity. 4. DEEP dual waterbottle pockets are great, something that NF has not previously included. 5. Ventilation is awesome, especially for biking. Cons: 1. The straps at the top, where they attach to the bag rub on my neck which is quite uncomfortable and itchy - personally, I don't like my backpack hanging low on my back especially with weight, regardless, the shouldn't rub. 2. The organization pocket only reaches halfway - it's a waste of space in my opinion, why not extend it fully? It also makes the top half of the bag bulge outwards, unevenly, when packed. 3. Laptop compartment is only about 1 inch from the bottom of the bag which doesn't seem like very good protection. I also appreciate having the laptop in the main compartment but that isn't a huge deal for me. I have a 5 year old Surge II that has served me well through high school and college and a 2018 model Recon that I've used for the last year. I liked the look of the 2019 Recon and wanted to try it but I will stick to my 2018 bag instead. If I could take the organization pocket, single main pocket (laptop space included), and wider straps of the 2018 Recon and stick them on the 2019 model, NF would have themselves a near perfect bag. In summary: if the straps don't bother your neck and, what I consider to be inconveniences more than issues, are of no concern, then I recommend this bag simply because of NF's amazing reputation and my pleasant experiences with other models of their bags.

I use this for school. I like it, but I wish it wasn't so heavy. Also, I wish there was a spot to put the extra straps (waist strap) in. I know the older recon backpacks had a little pocket for them. I wish this one did too.

This is a pretty good backpack. It holds a lot of stuff... if you pack it correctly. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the shape makes it hard to use. When I first packed this bag for a trip it seemed to hold very little but it turns out there was still a lot of room at the bottom that was inaccessible if not packed in a specific order. I assume this will also make accessing my items at the bottom fairly difficult. My husband's mens' North Face backpack unzips much further making his much more convenient and I wish this one had that feature.

I have used the previous version of the backpack for all four years of high school and it does not have a single rip or tear. It is durable and long lasting. I intend to use this model for college and expect it to hold up the same. Great product!

I just got this new back pack for school, it is so cute and the colors are great!

one thing i would change is more main pockets.

I purchased this backpack for college I love the quality of the materials and the overall design. I love that my hydro flask (24oz) fits perfectly in the pockets and isn't to bulky, I am also able to fit my umbrella in the front pocket. However my only problem with the backpack is the women's straps are smaller than I expected.

Straps are not comfy

Overall, I love the style of the bag. However, it doesn't fit all my books in at once for school

My daughter loves her backpack! We ordered from NorthFace to get the color she wanted.

My High school kiddo looked at many many backpacks, this one seemed to be the right size for her tablet, books/papers, water bottle, and lunch! It's not too small but not overly big and bullky. We are hoping it lasts all 4 year years.

I was really excited to buy a North Face backpack for my upcoming year of Law School. With heavy books, a structurally sound backpack is a must. I was pleased to see that they offered the backpack in Rose Gold! However, when I received the backpack I was disappointed that the stitching on the front was just gold and the zippers were a copper color. I would have preferred for the accent colors to be simply gold or I would have bought a different color scheme. That being said this backpack's structure is exactly what I was looking for to protect my back from my heavy textbooks. I won't return it for a different color because the school year is already here, but a word to the wise for Rose Gold Lovers: try a different color.

I use this product for college, and it has plenty of room for all me stuff! Very comfortable. The only thing is I wish the front pocket was a little deeper, but there's plenty of room elsewhere!

I purchased this backpack for my daughter in middle school. It is a very durable backpack that can take a lot of weight from books and laptops.

I use this product for school. I enjoy that the computer pocket is big enough for my computer. It seems very stiff to me.

Good product!

I use this backpack for school. It has room but would be better if it was a little more roomy for all my books and notebooks. Very cute and comfortable though.

I wish the pack had a bit larger capacity, and that the outer pocket extended further down.

This is a great bag. I would give it 5 stars but I cannot. The plastic backboard is not removable at all. It is sewn into the back of the bag. It should have been an option to remove it. More forward thinking into versatility and preferences needs to be done in the design process. Otherwise this is a great bag.

College student