Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

I love the color and size but wish the backpack would stand up on it own and not fall over. It is a longer back than I normally use so I have to dig to get things at the bottom. Overall I like it and it is the closest thing I could find that had requirements I wanted.

Great backpack that holds all my school supplies but does not stay upright when set down, which can be irritating during class.

Cant attest to the durability yet (since it's new) but the fit and finish are great!

I bought this for my daughter as she has a friend with one and loves. Unfortunately, this one is the new design and hers was the old design. The new design will not sit on the floor and stay upright. The bottom is curved and falls on its face. There isn't enough grip on the bottom to lean it back against something without the bottom sliding out. The old style also made better use of the storage. I wish I could find an old stlye one for her.

It's very pretty, but the pockets at the front only go halfway so it's hard to get to the bottom of the bag, and if you put too much stuff in the front pocket it bulges out and looks awkward. It also sits very high and doesn't give you a "relaxed look" but that means it does take pressure off your back and shoulders and is very comfortable.

absolutely love the style and design of this new pack. I got the FLAGBLUELIGHTHTR/TNFWHITE. If blue is your color this will set you off. Its like the most perfect dark royol blue I've seen. Love it. The material chosen has deep texture which adds great personality and character. I hate super flat materials. The computer pocket is nice because it is just shy of the bottom of the main pocket reducing possible contact during a drop; However, the distance is reduced, if its on the ground and your pack isn't full, displacing that distance. I think an improvement to the overall computer protection would be to place some type dense foam on the very bottom of the computer compartment, placed in-between the inner and outer materials. That may be over kill but better none the less. As it is, I still feel much better with my Mac in this pack as opposed to my last. I would like to see these suggestions as future upgrades of which I would probably purchase and retire my current pack as a result. All-in-all, I love the pack and am looking forward to extensive use going forward.

This backpack was purchased as a gift for a student. She loved the colors and well thought out organization pockets. Time will tell if the fabrication will survive a middle school student.

A little heavy but great padding for the back. A nice assortment of compartments.

I use this backpack primarily for school. It carries everything and I even have enough room for things I don't necessarily need but is nice to have. I even bought one for myself for travel purposes too. The only thing that is a slight con is that it's pretty heavy of a backpack itself when it's empty but the padding in it is so supportive it makes up for it!

Great product, lots on zippers and compartments to organized everything that I need to travel with. However the black camo was a little too glittery/sparkly for my liking so I returned the black camo and purchased the all black version.

I use the bag for work to carry my lap top and paper work. I am not a brief case person and this bag is perfect for my style anf taste while protecting my important stuff.

I absolutely love this backpack, as a person with back issues and is in high school, this bag is amazing. The only cons that I have found are the water bottle holders wear quickly, I have had this bag for about 2-3 months and there is already a small hole in one of the portions where you would put a water bottle. The other side is starting to wear also. I cannot have any binders because if I do, the bag makes my back start to hurt and I have to remove the binder(s) within the first few minutes of putting it in.

The backpack is super high quality. It definietly matches up to the North Face standard. I do wish that the compartments and pockets were organized a little bit differently. Having more smaller pockets would be awesome.

Ordered this for my daughter for school. She loves it.

I researched for days for a backpack that will take the pressure of my shoulders, still hold all of my stuff, and look decent (it does - I love the colors). This one most definitely takes the pressure and weight off of my shoulders, but I was surprised by its weight when nothing is in it. I wish it were lighter to begin with. The side pockets hold large water bottles, small umbrellas, with nothing slipping out. The front area is perfect for a rain jacket or sweatshirt to be folded and stored, and yet still easy to grab when needed. I do have two complaints about this bag: (1) if you fill the smaller middle pocket with anything other than small items such as pens, it takes up the larger middle pocket's space thus making it difficult to put books there; (2) it doesn't stand up by itself and that drives me crazy since it always requires propping it against something - and it still sometimes tips over. However, my number one goal was to find a backpack that alleviated my shoulder pain, and this one has worked really well.

I love this bag! It fits a lot more books and binders then the old version of the bag! The only con to this bag is that the front accessories pocket is smaller then the old version, but i don't mind because it helps me to not overpack my bag!

I use this backpack for school. It is a great quality and very durable! However, it is very difficult to fit all of my binders in it. It is long enough but if it were a bit wider then it would be perfect! Overall I love it!

I love using this backpack for school because it has a good amount of space and pockets to store everything separately! It is a little heavy but it is really good to use for school

I love my backpack, but the design needs improvements. I use my backpack mainly for college and I carry two huge textbooks, a five subject notebook, 13in laptop, glasses case, wallet, phone/laptop chargers, and a lab coat. I can carry everything in my backpack but it is very cramped and difficult to retrieve and store away my books. This backpack is perfect if you are planning on carrying just one textbook and a laptop, but once you add two or three books it becomes a different story. I really love this bag but I am dissapionted that I struggle so much with it.

I bought this for grad school so it needs to carry my 13" laptop every day, a small lunch box, a book or two, papers and a notebook. I also wanted it to double as my travel pack where it'll carry a full complement of electronics - a camera kit, drives etc. Everyone knows the positives of North Face so I'll just describe the (two) issues I have. First, despite the good amount of volume access is a somewhat difficult. The main compartment that holds the laptop just won't unzip more than halfway. So, if I want to put some important documents along with the laptop, or a slim folder or file, I literally have to push these in. Second, the laptop compartment ends a little above the floor of the bag when seen from the main compartment. This is great for protecting the laptop, but then if I keep a notebook in the main compartment its spine comes under pressure around the middle, making the book take a curved shape. For the same reason I can't put a file of documents in the main section. There are also two oddities - First, the bag just won't stand up straight and is ready to topple over. Only with a full load does it not need support, when it leans over on the support of things in the main compartment. Second, while it is really comfortable to carry even with a full load, strangely it is not endorsed by the ACA (the Borealis, Surge etc. are). Not sure about the significance of this. In all, I've thought about returning it, but the comfort is miles ahead of other bags and being a tall person I am quite conscious about not putting the wrong kind of load on my spine. So, I should be able to live with the drawbacks. Overall, I am quite liking the bag!

I use this backpack for school

This backpack is very roomy and attractive. However, for a college student who has to walk around 30 minutes to classes, I was slightly disappointed by how uncomfortable this backpack was. I tried putting my books and my laptop in it one day and it hurt so much that I decided I just can't bring my laptop with me to class. Otherwise, this backpack does the job. so just wish it were designed more like the older models that were much easier on the neck.

I bought this book bag to use at work. I do a lot of walking around the hospital and needed something that would hold my laptop and not hurt my shoulders. This bag is great for what I need. I do wish it was slightly larger so I didn't have to squeeze my stuff on the inside.

I enjoy this backpack, I've had the older Recon model for 4 years before getting this new backpack and it's something I'm getting use to and something completely difffent but I love the backpack. My only con is if I wanted it to stand up straight when I leave it on the floor it just falls over. Wished it stayed more in place.

Spacious!