Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

Overall, I really love this bag and am very happy with it! It fits everything I need (laptop, charger, two binders, and a small notebook, along with some pens and my lunchbox in the front pocket) while keeping a slim profile. I'm really happy with the color as well; the dark purple is a plum shade and the lighter part is more magenta. There are only two downsides: first, even though it does fit all that stuff it's kind of a squeeze, and two, the bag doesn't remain upright when I set it down. Otherwise, I love it!

I purchased this back pack for my 10 year old daughter. She is in love with it. It is sturdy and fits well around her shoulders so it doesn't seem as though it's just hanging off of her.

I've had this bag for about a month. Got it because my old jansport was falling apart and I experienced a lot of neck pain when carrying heavy books. The borealis can hold a decent amount of stuff and my neck pain has decreased some. The bag is a little heavy but I guess that's the trade off you get for the support. I like the organizational front pocket but wish it was designed slightly differently in terms of zipping. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the bag.

I bought this for my rising 9th grader last spring as a "welcome to high school" present. It is absolutely a gorgeous backpack and really well made. However, months later, having put it to the test of 8 weeks of school, I will say it has some real drawbacks. It is just too narrow. My teen's binder barely fits in and leaves no room for her lunchbox. The front pocket doesn't go to the bottom of the bag, so the stuff in the pocket creates a bulge that makes it hard to put said binder in the bag and blocks space at the bottom, rendering it unusable. She has no room to bring a change of shoes for gym. If you don't need to carry a lot of school stuff and bulky items then this is a great bag. If you are a commuting student or professional and need to sleep stuff I suggest you look at something larger. We had to buy a new backpack by a different brand. My kid is much happier but I feel I wasted money on a pricey backpack.

I was so excited to get this backpack as it was a big upgrade from the one I had been using previously. I love the pink colour and it fits my rather large laptop well! I wish the front pockets went all the way to the bottom of the bag though. Since they don't, this bag ends up being top heavy and won't stay upright if you sit it down on the ground. I've even tried stacking some books to make the base sturdier but it still likes to tip over unless you try to lean it against the wall or something. Great bag but if you're looking for something that'll stand up on its own, look for some other options.

I wanted a backpack for traveling on cross country flights with my kids. The reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because it's built strangely top-heavy, in a way that made it difficult to utilize and access the largest compartment pocket, particularly the bottom half. Pics demonstrate profile of bag at airport, with top part being wider than bottom. This was true even without much of anything in the top. I would have returned it if I had noticed this before using it.

It well constructed and reasonably thoughtful. For travel- it is small and does not expand. So if you are taking extra set of clothes etc, it gets very tight. I have not used it for hiking yet. A softer more pliable daypack is better for travel than this design. But love the outer straps that you can put your jacket on the outside of the pack etc. Just think about its usage.

not a terrible backpack, my computer was just to big for the laptop compartment. the front pocket also made it top heavy. definitely a small bag overall. zipper broke where my laptop touched it.

Ordered online. Was expecting a larger backpack for my weekend travels. Pockets are small and compact, so its hard to put more items into the front pockets. There's no stretch in the bag like it looks with all the elastic bands. Quite disappointed.

I own this same bag in an older model (bought it in 2019 or 2020). The older model is more spacious than this one.

Very long straps.

I love the backpack so much!! However, I've been using it now for a month and I have never put anything in the left water bottle sleeve and when I went to put my 16 oz water bottle (which is thin and small) I noticed that the sling broke. I'm not sure why but I thought it would be more durable considering it was the first time I was going to use it, it broke my heart. I use this backpack for law school and love it but now I am bummed that the durability of the slings aren't great for the price you're paying.

My previous borealis that I purchased in 2014 must've been the men's version because this bag is VERY small. The front pockets don't hold very much, and the middle pocket is shaped in a way that sort of bulges at the bottom, but doesn't really unzip far enough to use all of that space at the top. The side pockets are also a little small for a water bottle over 20 oz. It's well made, though, and I expect it will last 10 years like my last one.

I use the product for school. I really like the design of the backpack because of the colors. I don't like how depending on what I wear it makes a sound while I walk. I wish it was bigger in storage because it feels tight. I don't like the buckles it has on the straps but I know it might be useful for hiking purposes. For the price, I thought it'd be better.

I bought this backpack to use for university / committing in the city on busses and trains. I really like the laptop sleeve and while there is a good amount of space to place smaller things in, it's not the best for packing a lunch and similar sized things in as the middle pocket is fairly narrow. I really like the two front smaller pockets because they're easy to get to when walking. The side pockets are also great for fitting water bottles.

It's a really good backpack. Theres a few things I don't like about it. Like it does not stand up on its own. It also doesn't have a ton of open space. But it's a nice sturdy pack and I really like all the pockets

I loved this color, but the dedicated laptop space was not a good fit for me. If you are looking for multifunctional (for example, I use my bag as a day bag to hike when not in school) then this backpack does not do its job. It is the exact same size as the jester, and my previous borealis felt bigger for the same volume.

My girls are in middle school and this backpack is extremely small . They can barely fit their two binders and have any room left to fit anything else . Just doesn't have a wide enough opening . Wouldn't purchase again

Pros: comfortable size, quite roomy. Cons: uncomfortable while getting on and removing.

Great backpack and well made but not for a middle schooler- just not big enough for books and notebooks and computer. Perfect size for elementary. We just bought the next size up and it was great!

I bought this backpack for my daughter to carry to school for her 7th grade year. The 1st week of school one of her friends slightly pulled on the straps and the strap snapped into. I feel like for the price of the backpack, it should have held up better than this. The color of the backpack is beautiful and the overall quality of the rest of the material is nice.

The backpack is great and we love it! Unfortunately the shipping took way longer than expected! Luckily it still arrived in time! It would be great to announce on the website that 3-5 shipping days are not the exact time, it will take much longer, almost up to 2 weeks!

Cute bag! The color is more two toned rather than the way it looks in the product photo but overall still cute and just the right size for law school.

I love the color. I like how it has so many little pockets and zipper inside. And the strings are great to hold a jacket or hoodie for easy access to it all the time. The only problem.. it needs something big or bulky on the bottom of the biggest department to fill it out. If not the backpack has a really weird shape. Very thin on the bottom and huge on the top. I love the color but I'd pick a different model if I could choose again.

I really like how many different compartments there are and the laptop sleeve. However my only criticism would be that all those compartments/packets are the same size inside the backpack making it look super top heavy and hard to put stuff in the main pocket. Otherwise It fits a lot, looks good and is pretty comfortable even on long motorcycle rides.