Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

i loved the backpack but its a little stiff, i think i need to break it in and use it for a while. the only thing i don't really like is that there are a lot of tassels to tighten the straps. its great for outdoors and hiking but for work or school the straps and tassels get in the way

This is a great backpack!!! - and I'm a tough critic. I shopped around heavily and nothing compares for all-around-daily-use. As a Brooklynite (no car) I use it daily for carrying every-thing for work commute, lugging around workout gear/professional gear, air-travel/weekend get-aways, and getting groceries/supplies. Simply put, it's my man-purse with extra cargo space for business and travel. I use the backpack so much it (they) become too grungy to be "presentable" so every few years I buy a new one - donating my old (after cleaning it best I can). I've gone through 2 and will likely replace my third soon. Owning several generations of this backpack design, I've seen it evolve over time and get better with each version. Still, one improvement I'm waiting for Northface to implement would be making the interior with a "high-contrast" bright colored material (like professional camera equipment bags do) as that the (typically) black interior makes finding things an unnecessary struggle - and as my "man-purse with extra cargo room", you can imagine that finding all those little things fast gets frustrating - particularly in low light environments. - fixing this is easily engineered by using bright "high contrast" colors for interior materials (hint hint Northface). Note: I have consistently busted the front chest strap on all my bags. The chest-strap has an elastic component which makes it more comfortable but doesn't hold up over time - a fix for this could/should be engineered (...) Also note: eventually the zipper will tend to habitually snag on the "rain flap/deflector" for the zipper - which isn't uncommon given the heavy use/wear but this too could/should be engineered better.

I wanted a backpack that was big enough for all my stuff and had multiple organization pockets and this bag is perfect for that! I'll admit sometimes it does been hard against my back but chest and hip straps help aleve some of that pressure when I use them. Overall a good purchase

I am a student and I have had this backpack for 3 years. This backpack doesn't have enough space for many of the textbooks that I use in school, but I can fit a 3 inch binder with a couple of folders with out the backpack geting too bulky. The zippers snag frequently, but this backpack is made out of good material since it hasn't torn yet. All in all, I give this backpack 4 stars.

I bought this backpack to mainly carrry my books, tablets, etc... to work or to study. However, I found it is very comfortable when riding my bike with my gear. Also, the space of this bag allows me to pack for weekend trips. Finally, I have taken out my work and school items and thrown in my 10 essentials, binoculars, camera equipment, and a water reservoir and taken on some day hikes. The only thing I wish the Recon had was a way to lash my trekking poles to it when I don't need them. The Recon is a great multifunctional backpack.

I bought this for my sister who is in college and she loves it.

Got this backpack for school. The color is not as bright and vibrant as the picture indicates which is disappointing but still a good backpack. Even my camera makes the backpack look more vibrant than it really is. The main color is more a darker purple.

Great product. I bought the TNF black and assumed it would be all black like the picture but some of the straps are grey.

I frequently use this backpack for light travel, such as as hiking. It is very lightweight and easily able to hold a full days worth of food and clothes. It is comfortable, but the long straps that hang down are from the tightening clips are unnecessarly long. I would reccomend this backpack for anyone who takes small hikes, commutes daily, or needs an inexpensive bag for occasional use.

Used this backpack for day trips to Disneyland. It is comfortable and holds a lot. The backpack is slightly heavy without anything in it.

I use this product for school and I love it very much. Lightweight and can hold multiple binders. Many pockets for all my school supplies.

Overall I am satisfied with this backpack and plan to use it for the rest of college. However, there are a few things about this backpack that bother me. 1) I ordered the surf green color, in the picture it looked more mint colored, when I got it, it was more of a pastel neon green, if you can imagine that. Overall I was very disappointed with the color. 2) The bag is smaller than I thought it would be. I am a college student and needed a large bag, I find myself having to chose which things to leave each day because this backpack just cannot fit it all. Despite these issues I have been able to continue using this backpack and I would recommend it as long as the buyer is awareness that it is smaller than other bags.

The color is a turquoise color on the website. When I got it, its more of a teal, yes they are similar but I am very strict with my colors, i like things to be matched.

I use this for my commutes to work and school, so I have a lot of my everyday needs in it. I thought the carrying capacity would be higher, but if you really stuff the bag it expands to fit everything, and it stretches out a bit. The bag is super lightweight and comfortable, I just have a few issues with the general design, but they aren't a big deal by any means.

Very comfortable

My daughter is a law student and needed a durable but good looking back pack for school. She has had other brands of back packs but prefers North Face because they will last through Nebraska Winters and heavy books.

I brought this bag for traveling. when lifting the bag its a little more heavy comparing with when you're carrying on your shoulders.

Love it!

I'm a fitness instructor in NYC. This bag totally accommodates my active lifestyle.

Pros - the product is crisp looking, the zippers work smoothly without snagging, its comfortable, the pockets are easy to place items into and pull them out of, the side have large drink pockets which is great for students that take multiple drinks to school with them Cons - its a bit small in terms of storage (could probably fit maybe 1-2 average sized textbooks, a laptop, and a few folders), so if you are the type of student that likes to carry most of your books with you at once, I wouldn't recommend it. Also, there is this lower strap on the bag that rubs your back and hangs down and tickles your legs awkwardly (i suppose i could take scissors and cut them off....) Overall, great backpack with some minor quirks

I'm a college student so I was looking for a bag that's big enough, but not TOO big, like the one I had before. This bag is perfect in size. I can fit everything I need but there's not a ton of extra space either. I can comfortably fit a 15" laptop, 1.5" binder, several notebooks, a textbook, my planner, and a pencil case without the bag looking (or feeling) packed full. Overall, I would highly recommend this bag. I gave 4 stars because I got the grey/fan fare green and the green is several shades darker in person than it is online and was not what I was expecting at all. That doesn't change the functionality of the bag though, which is fabulous.

I bought this backpack to use for college. So far, it's been perfect. Even after I put in my books, it almost feels like I'm not carrying it. I love the style, the colors, and I absolutely love all the different compartments! I carry a lot of things. So, it's nice to have a place for each thing instead of dumping it all into one space like a purse/bag. There are only two things that I'm not thrilled about it. First, the back padding is longer than the bottom of the storage part, which makes it impossible to make it stand up straight when trying to put stuff in it or leave it somewhere. Second, I would love for the storage amount to be bigger. I'm about to start a Masters program, and I'm really going to need a lot of storage space to carry my textbooks.

I like the dedicated pockets; it is very well organized and I can carry all of my my notes for work, tablet and lap top easily.

I really like this bag. I love the bold colors that NorthFace offers. I also really like all of the compartments within the bag. The only drawback to this bag is that I wish it were wider. If it were wider, I would be able to fit more inside!

I like that it has compartments for everything I take with me such as sunglasses, water, umbrella, pens etc...I also really like that this backpack holds its structure really well and doesn't crumple on the floor when I try to lean it against something which is something my old Columbia didn't do. I wish it could expand out more to hold all of my books because I am usually carrying a load around with me on campus.