Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

I bought this for my daughter for school and she absolutely loves it. It seems very durable and holds all of her stuff.

My favorite thing about this model is the simplicity. It's has a good number of compartments/pockets, but not so many that I lose things in them.

My daughter loves it! Very sturdy and roomy. Comfortable too

I use this backpack for two full size MacBooks, several notebooks, books, and supplies. Everything fits really well, and there's room leftover to spare for personal items.

Beautiful and sturdy backpack with a lot of fashionable options for book bag. HOWEVER, it is a little on the heavy side (for my teenage daughter), not a big deal. But the deal breaker for us is that it doesn't sit flat on the ground when she's filling or getting into it. Sadly, back it goes.

At first, I wasn't so sure about this backpack. It seemed extremely stiff, as though there was cardboard behind each compartment. I also thought the buckles were very annoying and that the compartments weren't as roomy as I expected. However, after breaking this backpack in, I have slowly come to love it. The stiffness of the back compartment somehow makes it extremely easy to carry on the back, no matter how much or little is in the backpack - I never feel pulled down. The buckles aren't things that I have a use for, but I realized that they don't look that bad just hanging down. The compartments actually are very roomy, more than you might think from just looking. The best part of this backpack is how stylish and trendy it is. Since I wear or have a backpack with me for nearly 8 hours of the day, it is vital to me that my backpack looks appealing. This backpack definitely reaches that mark!

I love this backpack. I bought it for my mother as I already have one for 2 years now. I use for school and traveling. It's super comfy and has lots of room in different pockets and I like the design which is classic. I do have to say I prefer the previous version of the borealis which has a softer pocket for a laptop (same fabric as the small sunglasses pocket). My bag is a little worn out inside which is a bummer. I hope the new version is more durable

I got this backpack for high school and I couldn't have picked a better choice. The black color is so nice because it doesn't look dirty at all. Two very deep side pockets that hold water bottles perfectly. The straps are very supportive and have a waist and hip strap to take the weight off of your shoulders, which was especially helpful for me when I took this backpack on my school hiking trip where I was carrying heavy supplies for miles. The computer hammock sling is so protective of my computer, which was a very important quality for me. One big pocket, a slimmer one with great organization, and a small one in the front for my phone. I have wondered what people actually use the elastic on the front of the backpack for? 20/10 would recommend for students.

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

Wish the backpack had one or two more zippered storage pockets. The main storage compartments are deep and roomy enough for school supplies, computer, folders and notebooks. There isn't enough room though for two or more textbooks. The backpack can handle the weight if I did need to pack the books. Overall, very happy. The zippers on my last backpack broke and this product was recommended. Zippers on this product are very sturdy.

Purchased as a gift for my niece's 1st year in college. Love the color and quality

I use this backpack everyday for school and it is so comfortable. I love that there was a wide selection of colors to pick from and that it is a women's style backpack. I have only ever bought North Face backpacks before and this is by far my favorite style that they make.

I am currently enrolled in Nursing school and we have about 10 text books we used in the quarter, along with our laptops, notebooks, and binders. I had purchased another companies backpack, which did not hold up. After receiving the North Face backpack, I could tell it was a lot more durable. I had a small manufacturing defect where the material behind "The North Face" stitching was bleached out, but North Face gave me the option of returning and exchanging or getting 20% refunded. All in all, I think this will work for my needs in school as well as if I ever want to go day hiking,

I really like this product. It has a great compartment for laptops. It's very roomy and has so many pockets. I hope it lasts for the rest of time at college.

I bought this after my Swiss backpack broke (after six years of use) and seeing it on campus a lot. I liked the pockets for organizing all the personal things I keep in my backpack (pencils, pens, calculator, hand sanitizer, chapstick, hair ties, phone charger, ect) However, I was immediately disappointed when I saw how putting things in the front pockets limits and crowds the room available in the main compartment of the backpack. I don't even have my front pockets close to full, but it still makes it impossible to easily pull out things from the main compartment. I have to sit the backpack down, hold it upright, open the compartment all the way, and then dig around and push back the front compartment in order to pull out anything from the main compartment. I also hate that the backpack doesn't rest in place like a normal backpack does. It's so hard to hold it in place to pull anything out because it keep falling forward. The protective sleeve in the back compartment is too stiff and too long, so no matter how much weight you put in the front, the backpack always falls forward when you put it down. This is a huge pet peeve because, again, it makes it hard to pull anything out. I hated the protective sleeve so much that I actually tried making a small cut in the area to see if I could pull it out. You can't. I just feel like I spent way too much money for a below average backpack. I probably wouldn't have bought this if I'd known what a hassle it was to put things in and pull things out of it. Really not worth the money. Probably better off getting a $60 backpack from Swiss or Jansport.

I used it to travel, the front strap broke the first time I used the backpack. Cheaply made and kind of upset that I paid this kind of money for something that broke so easily!! Now I'm reading that I have to pay for shipping and for it to be insured to get it fixed! North face should have to pay for shipping on its own defective product, not the customer. Will never buy a north face backpack again if this is my end result with customer service.

I'll never need another backpack! I feel like this will last forever and is great for a million different uses.

I use this backpack for school. Generally, it has enough space for what I need but if I try to put in a textbook it gets a bit difficult. I love the water bottle seatbelt, it's super convenient and the side pockets are a great size. The backpack is really cute and seems durable though I've only had it for a few months. The only problem is that when I set it on the ground next to my chair, it ALWAYS falls over on its front and doesn't stand upright like I wish it would.

I love that it has Separate pocket for just a laptop sleeve. It has been very convenient. It also has straps for your water bottle which is very helpful. I use this backpack for school and work.

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.

Love the design and colors, especially the lap top pocket

I had to send in my bag after the strap broke but the warranty process was very simple and easy. And the new bag is much bigger and seems more durable.

I use this backpack for school. It's great, I can fit everything in it and it carries light. It also looks super cute.

Wanted a backpack to use for carrying books and my laptop without feeling pain in my back. The load still is heavy but with this backpack I feel like it's focused closer to my center of mass, and that makes it much easier to walk around. I feel like I can walk straight with this bag and don't need to hunch over to offset the weight imbalance. Also being that it's specifically for women, the straps are much closer together so that the bag is again closer to the center of my body and not resting on my shoulders, and this makes a HUGE difference for me personally. Though I originally got the black & reflective details as a style choice, I now realize it's also great for safety, they make me much more visible to cars from behind (photo attached). The amount of space is decent. I personally wouldn't want anymore than it has because I don't want to carry around more weight. Material feels VERY durable and what I would expect from the price point. Looking forward to using it long term!

This backpack exceeded my expectations and continues to do so. I had an Eastsports backpack since 8th grade forming a hole and giving back pain. I kept being recommended this backpack by every classmate I asked. I caved and thankful I did. My 15 inch laptop fits in like a glove. All my books fit without hurting my back! It even fits my tall 24oz water bottle in the side-pockets perfectly. Only thing I would say negative about the backpack is I had to get it worn in as it came a bit stiff but now seems to have formed to my shoulders.