Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

I ordered ZINC GREY HEATHER/POWDER BLUE, thinking from the picture that parts of the backpack are slightly black, and others are grey. It came in the mail and it is all grey. Don't let the pictures fool you, its grey, not black at all. So as long as you're okay with a grey and blue backpack you're good. I was just very disappointed to find that the picture did not reflect the product at all (except with the blue) still over all nice backpack for school though.

This was bought for a middle schooler. It is way to small to hold all of her binders and books. I like the looks of it but it is way to small!!

The backpack does definitely feel well-built, but the sizing of the pockets was disappointing and definitely worth the money. There is no pocket for a laptop sleeve and the second pocket is way too tiny. The outside pocket also feels as it it were placed in a weird spot

After much debate between this version and the men's/unisex design, I've decided to test both more thoroughly and simply return the other. For starters, I love the design of the women's over the men's - and the elastic cord in the front appear more appealing for my uses. However, as a broader-shouldered woman, I find the straps to be WAY too short, unless you want the backpack to be above the bottom of your neck. The backpack itself sits much too high for comfort especially if i'm not doing anything active. It's also incredibly annoying that the back support paneling is so incredibly tall; it makes the backpack impossible to stand up on its own. The pockets and organization is great- but there are some key design flaws which prompted me to return the backpack.

What I love about it: it's big and holds a LOT. I can stuff 2 textbooks, jackets, all my school stuff, water bottle, laptop, etc. It's kind of a black hole where I can just about put anything. The organization is also great. I used this as a overnight camp counselor and it was great for stuffing the random stuff I needed for hikes, etc. What I don't love: it's HEAVY and kind of clunky- maybe because I'm 5'4, but this backpack just doesn't sit well. It feels too long and sticks up too high and too low- I'm not a fan of how it looks on me. And somehow the weight gets weirdly distributed so I end up feeling stooped.

Good backpack, it is comfortable. Though it does not have a lot of room at all,

I was looking for a travel backpack and found this to be too heavy and bulky. I thought I would love the two tone color scheme, but the front straps are red-orange and just look silly when buckled. For school this pack would be great, but it just didn't fit my need and will be returned.

There needs to be more colors!!!Like blue and purple, pink and black, and all other cool colors!

The backpack is very nice. Material is excellent but it is too small. Not relative to its picture size at all :/

I exchanged this for a surge II , even tho I loved the quality and colors. North face really needs to design a 32l pack for women (or offer 32l packs in women's colors) . They told me that women's packs are smaller because womens torsos are smaller, but that's just silly: women need to carry just as much stuff as me , if not more, so have your engineers figure it out. Right now 27l isn't enough for work+workout+shower toiletries, let alone overnights.

I wish the inside pocket was bigger. I can hold about 3 text books in that section. I love the computer and tablet holders!

My daughter and I perused the North Face website trying to get some advice on backpack size. She is a HS freshman this year. This backpack seemed like a great choice for her -- but it is way too small. She really likes the bag and wanted to use smaller binders so that she could use the bag, but it doesn't make sense. I wish the NF website had some recommendations on what can fit (e.g., for those going to school, this backpack fits maximum of 3 1.5" binders.).

I loved this back pack. It was roomy enough for my binders and comfortable.

This bag was true to description given. A lot smaller then Men's versions. Good for light load carrying college students. Durable & comfortable fit.

I just got my backpack in METALLIC SILVER RIPSTOP / TNF BLACK in the mail. In the picture it looked like a light grey, but it is a very shiny metallic silver. I'm sending it back for another color, so that I don't blind anyone on my college campus. I can't wait to receive a new color, because it's very comfortable and has lots of pockets!

ok, so I will be an 8th grader next year, I will be carrying 5 binders between 1-1/12inch. I heard this backpack is amazing for highschool students because they have a lot to carry. I will probally not carry all 5 binders everyday to and from school, but I do have a lot to carry. Its a bit pricey but people tell me it will last a long time so its worth it, should I get it?

Love the handles which are certainly the most comfortable I've ever owned on a back pack. The curve is perfect, not allowing to dig into your skin. The color is beautiful. The only negative is the inside cushion, takes up too much room and makes the bag too stiff. I guess I shouldn't buy back pack with Laptop holder inside doesn't work for me.

I bought the black/jaiden green color. It looked beautiful in the picture, but once I saw it in person, I was disappointed. The jaiden green was waaaay too bold when seen in person. Unfortunately I will be returning it for a different color.

Too small to hold textbooks for college classes. Tips over forward due to design of front, Difficult to access items inside, feels like it would need a lot of breaking in. Looks great, beautiful colors - I got the dark grey with purple accents. Feels great on your back, but is that because it holds less? If you only have to bring notebooks and folders or a thin text for one or two classes at a time, it will be great. Mine has to go back for something with a bit more capacity.

I like this backpack, it's weightless when I put it on but the opening is so narrow. Whenever I try to put my textbooks or laptop inside I have to take everything out and rearrange it. Its hard to barely fit a three subject notebook, a small text book and my laptop in side, I don't know how i feel about this backpack. I wish there was a bigger gallon for womens fit.

So when I received this backpack it did not look like the picture online. I bought the colour in Moonlight Ivory/Miami Orange, and the organizer pocket was not in fact, orange, it was gray. Also, something not pointed out is that the laptop sleeve, though padded, does not reach the bottom of the backpack. It is suspended leaving an inch of unusable space at the bottom corner of the backpack. Another feature that North Face should have added was to make the padding removable. Because the padding isn't removable but rather sewn in, there is very little room to fit my notebooks and textbooks. Although this guarantees the laptop having space, it is obvious that the sleeve is designed for Macs, not bulkier laptops like a Dell. My school Dell laptop stretches the fabric of the sleeve. Also, the backpack is heavier than I anticipated, and although still very light, not as light as I would have liked. The front of the backpack slouches down in a very unattractive manner, giving the backpack a "beer belly" of sorts. Organizer pockets are nice, they fit everything I need but I feel like they should have been sewn with a little wiggle room, because when I put my Ti-84 calculator and math set in there the math set gets squished and everything feels tight. Organizer pocket has enough room to fit a whole notebook or a few novels. Overall for the money I feel like I could have gotten the Jester II and been much more satisfied. But since the return process for me is too complicated and school is almost starting I will be keeping this backpack and will try to learn to love it.

I ended up returning this backpack because it was too small for my needs. I take the train to work every day and I wanted a backpack that I could fit a change of shoes, my lunch box, umbrella, wallet, and my jacket. I could barely get that stuff to fit, so there was no way I could get my laptop in there. That being said, I liked everything else about it. It is cute, comfortable to wear, and has great pockets for organizing your smaller things like iPod, book, gum, etc.

The smaller pockets have great organization. The main large pocket sucks. It's hard to fit items all the way to the bottom, making the backpack top heavy. The price doesn't match the design effort.

This bag is super cute, but when it comes to being functional it is not cute at all! The spacing in it is horrible, and it cannot hold a 2 inch binder with a few notebooks, while holding a Owala water bottle. Very disappointed.