Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

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!

My 5th grader loves it! She loves the colors and all the pockets. It seems to have less room than I thought it would after she puts her chromebook in it. Also, it doesn't want to stand upright.

This product is great, enough space for everything and easy to carry around when carrying to many books inside. There's plenty of different colors and features! I totally recommend!

Bought this for my high school aged daughter. It's well made, zippers work nicely and looks feminine.

I use it for school, but it could easily be used for any activity you can think of. It has a lot of smaller pockets inside the three main ones, which is nice. Really a good backpack, however the laptop compartment is stiff to protect the laptop, which makes it a little uncomfortable to wear. The backpack is a good size as well.

I use it for school and I like be it but I have lots of books and sometimes it can be a tight squeeze!

I bought this one for the room and durability specifically. I have a 14" hp and it fits perfectly in the laptop zip area. However, if I put more than two 3-subject spirals, two folders, and a 1" textbook in the other main pocket, it's a tight fit overall. The zippers aren't under pressure because everything is low enough in the backpack that the fabric next to the zipper doesn't have anything pulling on it, so that is one compensation. Again though, bulky items are not welcome. There is kind of a design flaw where if you have anything like a calculator in the front pockets for organizing, it takes up space in the top part of the main pocket, so you have to shove your planner and stuff in past the lump from the front pocket, and then when you want it back out you have to hold the front pocket of the backpack forward to reach into the main pocket, under the lump from the front pocket, and grab your stuff. Likewise, it pushes the notebooks against the laptop compartment. However, the side storage for water bottles/umbrellas, as well as the very front outside pocket are roomy and store things outward from the backpack, so you don't lose space on the inside. It's amazingly convenient to be able to put away keys or a wallet without having to deal with a zipper, and still know it's not going to fall out. Overall, it's durable enough I don't mind having to stuff it. It's worth noting, though, that because of the durable design, you lose comfort on the shoulders. I think it's designed to store more vertically than horizontally, and that's where you see the little inconveniences I mentioned pop up. So if you just have a laptop, a few notebooks, and then little things like chapstick and pens, it's perfect. If you are looking for bulky storage though like calculator, planner, pencil bag, hair brush, and especially if you have a 15" laptop!, I would find something bigger.

Bought this in gray for my 8th grader. It's beautiful and seems to be sturdythough time will tell. The colors are the same as viewed online. Smaller than her previous backpackwhich I pointed out to her when we viewed the measurements prior to purchase. But even though it's a tight fit to get all her school stuff in (it basically fits four 1" 3-ring binders plus a "pencil pouch" with a few supplies, calculator, etc. but not extra space hogs like her lunch box) she is adamant about making it work. Because she loves it that much.

Mostly used for school, helps carry the weight without feeling too exhausted

Love this backpack but just a little all for all my books and binders in 10th grade

Bought this in gray for my 8th grader. It's beautiful and seems to be sturdy-though time will tell. The colors are the same as viewed online. Smaller than her previous backpack-which I pointed out to her when we viewed the measurements prior to purchase. But even though it's a tight fit to get all her school stuff in (it basically fits four 1" 3-ring binders plus a "pencil pouch" with a few supplies, calculator, etc. -but not extra space hogs like her lunch box) she is adamant about making it work. Because she loves it that much.

I bought this bag for my middle school son and it holds all of his books and he still has room. I loved th colors.

I love the inside lining and the material it is made out of. Great quality