Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

Love the new design. Picked the red and I'm very happy with the color. This will be perfect for carrying a laptop and charging cord along with books and notebooks around campus. The fleece pockets are great as well.

Very well made. Great features.

My son asked for a new bag for his birthday. He said he wanted one that was going to last through out his high school year and requested a Northface like his older brother. I surprised him for his birthday and he loved it.

Incredibly durable material, these things are made to last. Most efficient use of pocket space out f all my bags. Wear it to work, on the trails, to the beach, this backpack is built for it all.

As a professional photographer with a great interest in nature and street photography, I have been searching for bag which fits my small frame and correctly distributes the weight of my gear. The Recon is perfect! The waist and sternum cinches help so much. Plus it fits as an underseat carryon! Thank you so much for this wonderful backpack!!!

I honestly really love the padding on this backpack, the colors are nice too! But my complaint about this backpack is the new designs... in my opinion, the old model of the recon backpack looks way better

I really wanted to get an older model of the recon because I loved it so very much however now that they don't sell them im very sad and I think you should bring back the older model. I would totally recommend the older model to a friend not this one though.

Overall a good backpack. The material used is durable though I'm not sure how it would do in rainy weather. Lots of pockets of different sizes for your storage needs. Sturdy back for shoulder and back support. The only reason it did not get an extra star was because the laptop compartment was too small for my laptop. Unless you have a smaller than average portable PC you'll find your laptop asking for more space. Otherwise, I'd choose this pack as my everyday carry.

I love the new colors, but I am NOT happy with the new design. I as well wanted a new one for the next school year, and I am so upset that the old recon is now gone. This is much smaller than the old recon, and I wish y'all would bring back the old!!

I own a Surge and love this bag, I mainly use it for weekend trips because there's so much space and pockets to hold all my belongings. However, I got the Recon because I need a pack to go to and from work. Its perfect. I can stick all my folders, laptop, tablet and there's room for more! Great job TNF on the new straps, I feel I have a ton more movement and love the bigger front pocket to stow my sunglasses and phone. I also like the bigger side pocket, I can actually put my water bottle in it! Thanks TNF!

This pack is AWSOME the one flaw is the designe kinda weird

PLEASE BRING BACK THE OLD MODEL OF THE RECON OR AT LEAST SELL BOTH MODELS BECAUSE I WANTED THIS FOR SCHOOL NEXT YEAR, BUT NOW I DON'T LIKE THE NEW 2015 MODEL

Great backpack! I bought it to replace an older one. It is for casual use like vacations, a weekend getaway, etc. Plenty of pockets for all your gadgets and very easy access to any portion of the pack.

So, this backpack is super cute. But it really hurts my back. I should have gone with the jester as it seems to have more support. I would recommend this if it was cheaper, but for this price, no way. Bad buy.

North Face makes a great backpack for school. It has a number of pockets for supplies, plus can handle books, binders and other stuff for school.

Great backpack. Has a lot of pockets and is perfect for carrying laptop and notebooks. I would not use it for nature trips, it does not seem that durable. More like a city trip/school companion.

I had a Targus Laptop backpack for all of high school and college which would be used for anything from boy scout camp and traveling overseas to the classroom and when it finally started to fall apart this year, I knew looking for a replacement that would match that bag in durability would be a challenge. So far this bag has been fantastic, I carry about 5-6 textbooks and my laptop on a daily basis and this bag has really helped reduce the strain on my back. Much more so than the Targus bag. I haven't been able to test it outside of school yet but if the initial build quality has any indication of its performance outdoors, I would very surprised of any shortcomings. The bag is quite a bit roomier than first glance as it can expand outward a considerable amount. Also, the mesh pouch in the front is really handy to throw things you need at a moments notice. I'm very pleased with this bag and Zappos for their excellent customer service. I had a pricing mistake on this purchase and Zappos was quick to rectify it in a very timely and professional manner. Will definitely be doing business again with them!

Great backpack. Holds a lot of stuff, still sits comfortably. Nice smooth zippers, firm back and cushioned laptop sleeve feels safe and secure. I wish is had a cell phone pocket on the strap though, that is a great feature and it's annoying to not have one. This bag was my carry on across the country and day to day it lugs a bunch of ridiculously heavy books and is none the worse for wear yet!

Great backpack for grad school. I carry my laptop, notebooks, water bottle, etc. every day and it is very comfortable and spacious. Seems very strong and durable and has straps that can be worn around the waist and chest which make it even more comfortable. I like that there are two water bottle pockets on either side, and I like all the smaller compartments and pockets for keeping things organized.

Perfect backpack. It also has a padded compartment for your laptop. Plenty of room for lots of books.

I purchased this backpack for my brother before he left for college because I knew he needed a sturdy and reliable bag for the next four years. He loves it so far, and takes it with him everywhere, not just to class. It even offers added protection for his laptop when he travels.

This is a fantastic, multipurpose backpack. I mainly use it for hauling my giant heavy college text books to class, and it's often hard to believe I am carrying as much as I am. But I also wanted a bag I could travel with and bring all my essentials. It fits a 15 inch laptop, a decent sized notebook, a DSLR camera (which was in it's own padded case) with all it's accessories, a pouch with toiletries, a big clutch style wallet, sunglasses case, a paperback book, light sweater, cell phone, water bottle, pens and pencils. It's only in one size but the sternum strap makes it easy to keep the shoulder straps from digging into your armpits. My only complaint is that it does not have the cell phone pocket on the strap that's shown in the video. Fortunately it will be easy enough to clip one on.

This is a great bag. I got it because I liked the multi color black with the green. I also needed a new bag because my Big Shot broke. I wish this one had two full compartments like that one, but I guess that is why it was not as expensive. First I got the North Face Borealis in the same color, but man that was way too small. It may be good for an elementary school kid, but then again why buy a kid that young such an expensive backpack. North Face should seriously market it as a kid or ladies' bag since it is way too small. With the Recon, the chest strap that goes over your sternum was a little stiff. That is, other bags had it so it slides easily. Mine came way too high and I thought it was going to choke me and I could not slide it. I thought it was permanent. But I guess it is fully removable, if you wish. I like it but I wish it was sewn in with another strap that slides instead of the hard hook like pieces on these. I do like the mesh pocket in the front. It is great for throwing a towel or grooming kit in for a weekend trip and it even discretely holds my iPad when I am on my way to school. The bag itself fits a good amount of gear. Another minor complaint I do have, though, is that after watching the video on the Zappos website demonstrating this bags features I was kind of disappointed. The video says the bag has compression straps on the bottom of the bag. The pictures of the bag however make it seem like they are not there. They are not there. My old bag had them and they do come in handy compressing your bag even more or I used to sometimes put a yoga mat or camping mat down there when I needed to. But other than that, I would say it is a good bag.

This is a great bag. It is built strong and it distributes weight correctly so even a full bag will not hurt your back. The added straps work great for motorcycles, or biking. In my opinion, it is the best looking North Face bag.

I only wish the laptop sleeve had more padding. Other than that, it is a comfortable, spacious, good-looking backpack.