Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

The backpack looks great, is cute, and is very functional. Only complaint is that the straps are a bit stiff and I'm having a hard time getting it to fit right. It also could have a bit more storage capacity.

I love the product but wish the front pocket was deeper!

Almost perfect. Love the look. Very comfortable. A little heavy. Would be perfect if it had a simple inside flat pocket in the inner most compartment for a wallet or passport

I have used this backpack for school everyday this year, but it is sometimes difficult to fit everything into the seemingly really big pocket that seems to stretch out. I sometimes have to shove everything in, but it does fit a lot and has a lot of pockets which I really like. It is good quality and the color is lovely.

I already have the men's Borealis; have had it for close to 5 years. I was hoping for much of the same, but this one fell short. For starters, the overall volume is smaller. Understandable, as it's configured for women's anatomy, but larger volume could be achieved by increasing depth of the backpack, which would not affect the anatomy much. Second, the new bottle pockets on the side are made of non-stretchable nylon or whatever it is, as opposed to stretchable mesh in earlier iterations. This makes the pockets much more durable, but much less voluminous. As the result, it's difficult to fit many water bottles that are not very slim. Lastly, I am not a fan of these backpack straps, as compared to previous versions. They are more stiff, less cushioned, and less breathable than before. Step in the wrong direction, in my opinion. Other than that, it's the usual high quality of the North Face, and I like the colors. Materials are also well picked, with good feel and seem to be very durable.

This is my travel backpack. It's great for bringing my laptop and essentials on the plane. I would probably like it if it was a little larger but it was on sale for a good price. It's well made and I expect I'll be using it for years to come.

This is a great high qualify backpack, a little small in storage capacity. Great laptop compartment. Best to see it in person to gauge storage capacity.

The backpack was just as pictured and has lots of room for books, laptop, etc. I use it for college and love it! Mine came without three of the tassels for the main zippers, but otherwise GREAT!

love this bag! only thing is i wouldn't recommend the white color because it gets dirty very easily! other than that love the bag though

I use this for school, and it's really sturdy and comfortable. The only issue I have with it is that it's a little smaller than I thought. I can fit everything I need, but it's pretty tight.

I use this product for school. While I do love it and its functionality, the string on the outside broke after about 2-3 months of use. I think it just came out of the hole that is in the inner part by the water bottle sleeve, but to pay this much for a backpack and for that to happen is a bit annoying.

It's great and holds a lot of space and is very adjustable, have mixed feelings of the soft fabric inside however it's a great purchase!

I got this backpack right before I started school. It has held up well and I love that it has a padded laptop pocket and organization pocket! (I put my kindle in the pocket that is supposed to hold an iPad) The only things I would ask you to change is the two pockets farthest away from yourself is hard because if you put something chunky in one of the pockets it is hard for you to put something in the other one like keys or something. Maybe other people would not have a problem with the keys part because I have a lot of keychains on mine :). Also, I don't really use the bungees... seems like they are just there for show? But I have seen people put lunches and stuff in there. Otherwise, I love this backpack and would totally recommend!

Love my new backpack! The White Metallic Melange/Mid Grey color is so nice. I'm glad NF upgraded the side pockets to fabric vs. the netting I had on my last backpack. The netting always tore and ultimately didn't work. Pocket could be a little larger to fit my larger water bottle. Overall, I am very happy with the product

This backpack is well made and durable. My 4th grader uses it as her school bag and it's just big enough. It was the one she wanted so I got it for her but I would have preferred something a little larger.

i got the borealis for academia. it was surprisingly stiff at first but after wearing it for a while, it feels more comfortable. it's light design makes it easier to carry laptops and books and the material feels durable.

So Far so good.

I love the color but the 3rd pocket from the back is just weird. It makes the backpack really top heavy. And the inside of it also kind of sucks. Inside is a big pocket, then on top a zipper pocket and a smaller pockets. I wish the big one had a zipper because when you open up the big compartment it is just stuck open and it's hard to get to the smaller pockets that are on the side of it. I hate using the third compartment and the small pockets for lip balms and etc bc everything is so hard to get to. I don't understand it. I also can't for a lunchbox in it. It is super inefficient and annoys me daily. Other than that I like how it looks in terms of color. If the jester in this color comes back into stock I will probably just get that.

Seriously! Why is it so small? Take it to school and all your stuff gets smushed together from lack of space. Takes you a million years to get anything out because it hardly fits in the first place!!!

My daughter uses this bag for 6th grade. She LOVES it! As a parent, I'm on the fence. It is narrow and deep, meaning that you can get a lot of stuff in there, but you have to think strategically. The deep water bottle pocket is nice. Running shoes can fit if turned sideways and pushed to bottom. Her school is using a large 2.5 inch binder for organization and she cannot easily get that in and out. It *could* fit, snuggly, but to save the trouble since she uses it each class, she just carries it. Soooo, she carries her backpack for basics, then holds her binder and clarinet.

I love the water bottle pocket and the ability to fit so many things inside it.

Greta size and stylish. I love the quality of the north face products.

Very nice backpack, however the smaller female profile makes it hard to fit computer, folders, and books for school.

I bought this for high school and it's very tall and spacious. The bag is pretty and feels like the material would be good in rain. The organization pocket does look bulky if you fill it and sticks out into the main pocket a bit. I try to fill the awkward space at the bottom with snacks. It wouldn't be a problem for someone who doesn't use the organization as much.

I use this this backpack to commute to work several times a week. I can fit a 16" laptop, notebook, packed lunch and snacks, travel mug, and other small tech odds and ends, this backpack has great storage with all of its pockets. However as others have mentioned, the front compartment doesn't expand, creating some rigidity in the second compartment and making it hard to fit bulkier items. The laptop compartment is excellent and very secure. With the amount of storage and padding for the laptop compartment though, this backpack can get very heavy and a bit unpleasant to haul around.