Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

I love my new backpack for college. I really like that is has a safe place for my computer and room for my big binder! glad I chose this bag!!

I purchased this bag after years of refusing to use a backpack style bag for work. Thinking it wouldn't be professional enough, I lugged around a tote/messenger style bag and finally decided it's just too awkward and hard on my shoulders for the amount of items I need to carry around with me. I spent an embarrassing amount of time researching my options and settled on the Recon in the copper melange color, which keeps it feminine and pretty while still being functional. I used this bag on a recent vacation and it was great. The support kept the weight off my back and the shoulder straps are narrow and padded enough to keep from rubbing on my neck or digging into my shoulders. The laptop compartment is entirely separate and large (as opposed to a sleeve inside the main compartment) and has great padding. The bottom of the compartment stops just slightly higher than the bottom of the backpack to protect from drops. I also love the fleece lined phone/sunglass compartment, and my favorite is the open pocket on the front which is very convenient for items you want to easily access. It was great for park maps and other travel guides on my recent vacation. The back panel is very stiff and inflexible, like there is a piece of plastic or cardboard, which I suppose is what helps protect against back strain. I wish it was removable for casual use, but it's not a big deal. I have only one real complaint about this bag. The body of the accessories pocket protrudes into the main compartment and its depth is only halfway down the length of the bag. So the space in the top half of the main compartment has to be shared with whatever you have in the accessories pocket. It gets in the way and is super annoying. I didn't realize this until I actually used the bag, but the durability and other features make up for it and I'm still happy with it, but that's why I gave it four stars. Overall it's a great, durable bag with many positive features.

I'm a highschool student lugging around textbooks and such, and it's a great backpack but not as much room as I inticipated. Make sure your read the product description before buying. Other than space the comfort and style is wonderful!

Good quality, a little expensive.

I love this backpack! It has tons of compartments for all my stuff like makeup , pens, phone and electonics. We took this pack to Italy twice. It is big enough to hold all of my stuff and comfortable to wear all day!

I use it for school and traveling.

I've owned several of these backpacks and my only complaint is that the bottle holder rips away from the elastic after a while. It's unfortunate because the rest of the backpack is still in really good condition, but I can't use it anymore because I absolutely use the bottle holder every day.

i use this backpack for school i bought my first recon 5 years ago and loved it so when i purchased my new one i thought it would be the same style and size but they have made it much smaller

Fits all of my school things (which is a lot) and is not too heavy. Perfect for school or travel. Computer pocket is perfect and protective.

This backpack is a great backpack for school. That being said, compared to the previous styles, this backpack does not have an actual laptop sleeve; instead, it has a zipper compartment designated for a laptop. Also, in the front flap, the compartment is not as large as the styles from before.

I use this product for my both personal and office use. It is good.

Still early in use but the quality is there. Not sure if it will be an everyday bag.

We bought this backpack for my daughter who is in college. She needed a backpack that could carry her 15 inch laptop safely. This backpack is perfect for that. The laptop has its own sleeve and doesn't reach to the bottom of the pack so it is less likely to be damaged if she plops it down. The back support is great, too. The only drawback is the chest strap which seems to hit around her neck area. But by adjusting the shoulder straps more snugly seems to fix that issue. Great returns and quick shipping. Thanks Northface!

It's a ok.

I use this backpack for work mainly. Has plenty of pockets. I like the zippers the most because they seem high quality just like everthing else with this backpack.

I've had this backpack for over a year now and use it primarily when travelling for business. I love the abundance of pockets for safely transporting laptop, iPad, kindle as well as tiny connectors and cables that get lost in other backpacks. I dislike that fact that it has a rounded bottom and will not sit properly when put down. It is always falling over. I thought I could live with this when I bought it but it is extremely annoying. Also a slight inconvenience is the fact that there is no comfortable way to carry this on your suitcase. It would be awesome if there was a strap or sleeve that would allow it to attach to your carryon handle. I know it's a backpack and can be worn properly but when travelling in a suit jacket and getting on and off airplanes it would be nice to have an option. Overall it's a good backpack.

I love the amount of storage available, I use it for school and for short trips. It is very sturdy and I can tell it is long lasting. I also LOVE the front pocket that is lined with soft material for my phone- that is one of my favorite parts. The only not so great part is that I do often get back pain from all backpacks, so I feel that North Face could work to make the backpack a tad bit more comfortable, especially for people with back pain.

I love the look of this bag. The pockets are great but I couldn't reach my water bottle while wearing the bag... but that might be a personal problem. The one thing that bugs me is the hard back of the bag. It makes it where you can't sit it down on its bottom which makes it really inconvenient... it didn't bother me while wearing like I thought it would.

This is my second Recon bag. The first is still in daily use after 5+ years. The design has been updated to accommodate laptops making the back hard for protection but, the bag does tend to tip over. When used on the back, not an issue and lightweight. If you have an older design you will notice less space in the main compartment. However, the additional lined interior pockets more than make up for this.

I am very happy with the initial quality of the pack. The materials seem rugged as well as the sewing and the zippers are very adequate and smooth. I received it about a week ago and immediately took it on a camping trip where I managed to pack a wool blanket, full size towel, toiletry bag, 32 oz water bottle, extra shirt, Bose mini SoundLink speaker, knife, bug spray, sunscreen, extra cash, two pill bottles, deck of cards, headphones, boonie hat, and headlamp along with more small nick-nacks like a pen, lighter, eye drops and nail clippers. I didn't even use the front stash pocket. It is deceptively large, nice looking and comfortable to carry. Although, I identify two potential problems. 1) the plastic back panel that gives the pack rigidity seems a bit long (shown in pictures). With repeated use and setting the bag down I can see the material wearing out exposing the panel. 2) there are two types of mesh on the front stash pocket. There is a stretchyand a more porous, rigid one that the compression straps are attached to with no reinforcement. With repeated use I could see the mesh ripping. With these potential issues I am still very pleased with the bag. The North Face claims their bags are built to last and if this one doesn't I am certain it will be because of one or both of these design flaws.

Its more of an orangey red colour, but overall still a very good backpack

I am a college student using this backpack strictly for school. Pros Love all the pockets and awesome internal organization pockets Nice big reinforced bottle holders Cons The plastic back support makes this backpack uncomfortable and bulky and not easily manageable, I cut mine out and the backpack is 10x more comfortable and sits upright without falling over now

I bought mine in 2006. It was stolen 2 days ago. In between it served as my every day carry (EDC) pack to work (construction) and computer pack, overnight bag for travelling, to the library, to the shooting range, day hiking and as a second bag when kayaking/camping. One of the lanyards for the zippers wore out a few months ago - well after 11 yrs what did I expect? :) Temporarily replaced it with a large paper clip. The front nylon mesh gets used a lot but the elastic wore out right away. It was a great place to put something damp - like a rain jacket. It was just a tad small for my 17" laptop but it fit. Also just large enough for my collapsible .22LR to take to the range. I put tools on the side cinch straps for ready access and my survival/first aid in the small pocket. The side mesh pockets are straight up instead of angled forward (this may have changed in the newer version) and were great for storing everything from a water bottle to misc. items. It had a lot of small pockets inside the second main pocket for items like pens/batteries/cords, etc. Most of them were superfluous for me. I may buy again or look for a slightly larger bag for my needs.

I really like the colors of this bag. I love all of the compartments. I've been using this backpack for school and some light travel for just over a year. There are no tears, fading, or any damage whatsoever, it is very durable. When I first got this bag, I noticed it was very stiff but was hoping it would loosen up but to this day, it is still stiff in the part against your back and in the shoulder straps. The padding is still stiff and I don't notice any benefit with the FlexVent. The bag itself is light, but once you put a notebook and a pencil case in it, it starts weighing more. The computer sleeve is slightly too small for my HP Envy laptop but with a little wiggling, it slides right in just enough for the bag to zip. Once you add a computer, the bag gets extremely heavy and can hurt your shoulders. For me, on a regular school day, I will have my laptop, chargers, one spiral notebook, a pencil pouch, odd things that I keep in my bag (gum, snacks, hair ties, etc.), and a water bottle. If I try to put anything else in my bag, I have to push and shove to get it in there. It seems very tight considering I only have a thing laptop and one spiral notebook. If you need to take a lot of textbooks to class, you will end up carrying them. One thing that really grinds my gears about this bag is that it has the hardest time sitting up on its base. I will have it full with everything I need for the day but it will not sit up on its base by itself, it always needs to be leaning against something or just laying on its back. Mine always ends up sliding and falling onto its back, even when I am putting my items in it! Really annoying, especially when you are in a rush and the bag is not participating. It gets the job done, though. Great quality and color.

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