Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

PLEASE BRING BACK THE OLD MODEL OF THE RECON OR AT LEAST SELL BOTH MODELS BECAUSE I WANTED THIS FOR SCHOOL NEXT YEAR, BUT NOW I DON'T LIKE THE NEW 2015 MODEL

I still have my original Recon that I bought back in 2005! (When they were good quality products) I got it to go on my first hike in Yellowstone. It was perfect! A great backpack for hiking! I love that it has the straps on the bottom for sleeping bags or jackets!!! However I wanted a new one thinking it was still going to be great for hiking! Boy was I wrong. This new backpack is for someone stuck in a concrete jungle! Sorry but who needs a laptop pocket while hiking the backwoods of a national park?

I was a Recon evangelist having taken this backpack as my only form of luggage across the country, to Europe and South America. It was one of the most bombproof pieces of gear I had ever owned. Recently it was stolen from my vehicle and I ordered a new one with much excitement and anticipation. When it arrived I compared it to my sisters who had the same one I used to. This is where disappointed set in strong. No more drawstring side pocket, no more straps on the bottom to hold jackets or sleeping pads, no more zipper pocket on the inside of the big pocket, the laptop sleeve is not even across the top making it hard to get contents out if you??re not reaching in from the right direction, no more plastic d-rings or knife pocket on the front straps, the front stow pocket??s buckle is now affixed to the front of the backpack reducing capacity and making it harder to buckle. The only change that I see as an improvement is a zippered pocket in the second largest compartment. I immediately searched Recons on eBay and other sites to try and find one like I had bought years ago and it looks as if these changes have been gradual as there are many models between my original and the current, however it seems as though each version has become cheaper and has sacrificed the exact reasons, as small as they may be, that the Recon 5 years ago was a bombproof piece of outdoor or traveling gear that had huge value. I can only hope that this helps to generate discussions to build a better pack like before. Unfortunately, anyone that has bought this pack in the past few years doesn??t know what he or she is missing. If these changes were to be fixed I would certainly become an evangelist again, until then I will remain disappointed and return my new Recon.

My old recon was finally falling apart so I convinced my mom to buy me a new one for school. We sent it back because it was SO much smaller. It was also heavier when it was empty. Why fix it if it's not broken!! The new style/size didn't fit all of my books and lunch. I'll have to shop other brands now. Frustrating....