Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

I should have returned this when I had the chance. I was too caught up in the hype of a brand name backpack. It is so bulky It falls over every time I place it down. It is so heavy all on its own. I absolutely hate it. It frustrates me so much. It can barely fit everything inside it because the front pockets invade the bigger one. I got it, because I have back problems and my other backpacks have exacerbated those issues, and this backpack is supposed to be good for support. This backpack feels like a straitjacket.

Super cute backpack. I use for working as a nurse as it has many functional pockets. Doesn't stand on its own which is quite annoying and tends to cause spills

My daughter got this backpack at the beginning of the school year (2020) and it is already falling apart!

The support piece in the back is way too stiff and uncomfortable. My daughter is a college student. She gave it a chance thinking it would loosen up with use and it never did. She inquired about returning and wasn't able to. Loved the look of the bag but gave up and purchased a Jansport for the second semester. . Sorry

It seems like a perfect bag. It's large. Stylish. Good design. But using it further, it doesn't stand on its own which is awkward. It has a weird shape. It doesn't have as much space as it seems. When the middle compartment becomes full, it takes up space in the main compartment and you can't put much in it. I can fit maybe one textbook in there. Not good for fitting a bunch of stuff. And it has been bad for traveling. It looses shape and becomes very stiff the more stuff you try to put in (even if it's not a lot). In a way, I guess it's good for a small amount of stuff but not anything longer than a day or a night.

the mesh pockets have HUGE holes, and it doesn't stand on its on which is pretty inconvenient.

I love the design, but not only does it not stand on it's own, but it's hard to pack because it will slide out from under itself. You have to pack it flat.

After less than 20 uses the strap is breaking. The material has split. TNF will not issue a refund because the bag was bought >60 days ago. The warranty repair takes 3-6 weeks. Need a backpack for school so will need to buy a replacement. Poor quality and service from TNF.

Its so pretty and i really wanted to love it but... the straps are way uncomfortable, and hurt my shoulders. The padding on the back sucks because it bends if i try to prop the backpack up against something so its not on the floor, because it doesnt stand on its own! The smaller pockets are weird and also keep it from standing on its own or even being proped against something. I own an old northface backpack and just thought its fine to get a new one but I honestly regret this purchase.

Backpack doesn't stand alone. The straps are uncomfortable. I do like the color and space. I wish North Face would bring the heckler backpack back.

I have the old version of borealis that I purchased about 3-4 years ago and the design is much better because there's more room. I don't like how this new version is. The separate pocket for laptop is useless and takes too much space.

This backpack was purchased less than 5 months ago. It already has rips in both cup holders, the borealis embroided word is coming undone. There is not a lot of room and in order to make the backpack not fold in, I have to stuff books in there, which adds a lot of weight, it also doesn't stand up alone. These same problems have occurred with about 5 of my other friends. I do not recommend this backpack, it was a waste of money.

I love the look of the backpack but it has terrible quality and is not very attractive when you put items in the backpack.

I had the Borealis backpack from 2014, and it lasted five years, until finally wearing out. I loved that backpack, and decided to replace it with the recent, updated version, but the design has been altered. The front pocket makes the backpack very top-heavy, causing it to fall over when it's sitting on the ground, or opening the larger pocket completely when trying to take out supplies. The design is not practical, and is frustrating when I'm in a hurry, or just trying to get a couple things out of the backpack. I'm extremely disappointed, as I was excited for this backpack to last another 5+ years. I do love the colors, though. I use it for classes, but it seems like it would be great for adventures as well.

Bought this backpack for my 12yr old daughter. She uses it everyday for school, and always packs a hydro-flask. Holes wore in the water bottle pockets in first 20 days of use. The material NorthFace uses for the water bottle pockets is thin and non-durable. Many water bottles these days are metal and quickly wear through the thin material. My daughter said once holes appeared in her pockets, she started to observe the NorthFace backpacks her friends have and noticed many of them all have holes in the same place on the water bottle pockets. It's a flawed design.

As a graduate student I knew that I wanted a backpack that fit all of my books, a computer, lunch and water bottle. I normally buy a Patagonia but I heard a north face back is just as durable. The bag does fit most of what I need though it take a while to organize it right however the side pocket quality is horrible. I carry a Hydroflask water bottle and within the first two months the mesh has medium size tears already. It looks tattered and worn out just after 2momths! I am very disappointed in the product. I will switching back to Patagonia.

I ordered this backpack because my friends swore by it and said it was really great for walking around campus with all of our books and laptops for class. But then again, I didn't think of how it would fit on a girl who is considered as plus size while my friends are the typical small girls. For my bigger girls out there, I don't recommend this backpack for you, the straps are too short for a long torso and they dug into my collarbones and shoulders. The weight was also not distributed well throughout the backpack and made my back feel like it was on fire after carrying it around all day. The straps overall were too small and the "for a woman" design is aimed towards smaller girls that this backpack can fit on their frame.

It's a good backpack but it's more orange than pink. I wouldn't really call it coral lol.

The backpack was literally black and blue. Didn't look grey at all!

This was an impulse purchase a year ago after falling in love with the Black Melange color in-store, eyeballing the features, and trying it on. The first two hold up: it is still very beautiful, and the pockets are plentiful all with a durable build. I used it for travel to Egypt/Tanzania/safari. What I dislike so much about it is its shape! The pockets in the front compartment are great in theory, but when actually utilized and filled up, you realize that the depth of that compartment is shallow and so bulks up the upper half of the backpack. So when the main compartment is also reasonably filled up, and you try to sit the bag upright, that top front compartment weighs it down forward. In order to attempt to even this out, you really have to fill up the very bottom of the main compartment (aka shove them deep down in there lol), but that makes those items so difficult to access. The straps as well are problematic. They are so incredibly stiff! You try putting it on, but the shape of the pack forces you to wear it high on the back like the model in the picture, so you need to tighten straps once it's on. If your pack is quite full and heavy, and you try to take it off without loosening the straps first, you will struggle, and maybe even hurt yourself like I have... bruising and scraping my arm. Also, it keeps this shape conforming to your back bc there is apparently a sheet of metal in there, which explains why it's such a heavy backpack for its size when empty. The straps were stiff when I tried in the store, but assumed they would break in a bit - never did. Overall truly hate but cannot return. For the money spent, I do still try to use, but only if I know I'm not going to be actively taking it on and off.

I was very excited to buy a new backpack for school and I have had good experiences with North Face stores before but when I ordered the backpack online it came in and looked nothing like the advertised picture.

i use it for college. i'm a commuter so it comes in handy.

It's a very pretty design and good quality material, but it falls flat on its face and cannot stand up, the big and small pockets are way so tight I can barely get my folders out no matter where I put them, and the back straps are very rough and uncomfortable and they scrape my skin whenever I put my backpack on. It's a nice backpack and I was excited when I got it, but for such an expensive product I was very disappointed by how extremely inconvenient it is to use.

the backpack shipped fast; however, was disappointed that the backpack had stains and was not true to color. returned it a little over a week ago and still haven't been credited.

I bought this backpack in October (2018) and use it daily, to carry whatever I need that day. I am not doing anything special just walking to about 10 minutes in the morning and at the end of the day. However, the side pockets, for water bottles, is already breaking and these are huge holes. Soon I won't be able to carry my water bottles. Additionally, it's pretty tall for a women's backpack. I'm average height, 5"3' and it's so tall with the laptop pocket that I find it digging into the back of my neck. I am really disappointed that I paid so much for a backpack and can't even make it to year. Please don't waste your money.