Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

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.

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.

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

Bought the Recon and the Borealis to compare. Liked both as they're very similar, but the Recon is supposed to be bigger and better for outdoor use. I didn't find this to be the case, but its a personal preference. Both fit the same amount of things (pair of sneakers, gym clothes, a few notebooks, and a rain jacket) but the Borealis seemed to hold the weight differently. The Recon was more top heavy and looked "fuller". The main deciding factor was the water bottle pockets. They both fit large bottles but when wearing the backpack I could not get the bottle in or out of the pocket of the Recon but could with the Borealis.

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

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 bought the backpack from TNF in al kout mall in Kuwait were I live .. it was 145 usd !!! I had to get it because I was travelling the next day and I really like it .. yeah and there was no warranty

This is the third version of the Northface Recon that I've had over the years and I love it's durability, functionality and overall design. There are great stash pockets for office supplies, Nalgene bottle and my laptop. Alternately I've used it many times as an airline carry on and as a quick overnight bag. I only bought the most recent version as my last was increasingly showing signs of wear in the mesh outside pocket and the plastic buckles were breaking after years of constant use and heavy loads. I really like some of the changes in this most recent version of the Recon. There is a padded sunglasses pocket at the top of the pack, a separate laptop sleeve and a smaller more easily accessible pen and accessories area.

Great backpack. Very comfortable and loading it doesn't change the overall appearance as my backpack from other sellers previously had. Very nice design but seems small. Nice computer pocket. Nice deep pockets for water bottles on the sides. My Yeti fits perfectly.

Purchased this Backpack after reading through the features, and enjoying the design. Received the back pack and no fleece lining. Called TNF and they stated it was a webisite error. I will be trying this back pack out to see if I like or dislike the laptop compartment (No sleeve insert to secure the laptop from moving around)

Bought this for my daughter in high school for a book bag. Love the color white gray and teal. A lot of pockets to keep organized. Didn't give 5 stars because the bag seems heavy without anything in it yet.

i would give this 4.5 stars just for the reason that the second pocket is a little to small. When I try to put my binder into the bag it gets caught in the middle of the bag and then I need to force it in. But other than that this backpack is very nice.

Big enough that it fits all your school needs without being too bulky! Awesome padding on straps and back so even if you're carrying your entire life in that thing it doesn't feel like it.

Love that it has a hip strap to offset heaviness of my school back pack

The back board is really stiff and not quite enough room. overall a good backpack for a college student.

I was looking for a new backpack for school and at first I was really concerned it would be too small because of the amount of textbooks I have to carry around with me. This backpack fits all of it!

The water bottle pockets weared out quickly but otherwise great product.

When our backpack arrived the Cheap bag it was in was literally ripped to pieces and the whole backpack exposed to elements left on our porch. I have photos. It was ridiculous and we checked the back pack and it seemed OK so we kept it. When you spend over $100.00 on a nice back pack you would think the company would take more initiative to package such a product in a safe and nice manner to protect it. The photos would shock you. How the back pack didn't get ruined is amazing. Hopefully this means it will be durable . Besides that we are pleased with what arrived. Thank goodness it wasn't damaged . My daughter starts school on Monday so we hope it will work great for her through the year.