Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

Nice backpack bought for school. Still yet to use it. Only con would be the price.

Only complaint is that the side pockets were torn within a year. They should really look into making those out of different material. Otherwise, best back pack I have ever owned

It's a great gift for engineers who carry laptop everywhere.

Pack seems roomier than it is. Lots of non-partitioned space for big or bulk items. Pretty good organizational pockets as well. Looks great, and lots of color combos to choose from. The pack does tend to slide or fall over very easily on its own, especially when the top and front-side pockets are full and nothing is in the larger mid-pocket. Would be nice if the laptop portion of the pack had a dedicated soft sleeve for the laptop so other thin items or accessories could be stored in the same pocket, but kept separate from the laptop.

School use

This product is very durable, lightweight, and comfortable. The back is flat and not as flexible, which helps maintain its shape. On the downside, it is not as big and roomy as I would like it to be. I bought it for school use and later for studying abroad, studying abroad was great, but for school it could not carry a ton in it, which was depressing.

I love North Face backpacks and this one is almost perfect. All of this season's backpacks seem to have a very top heavy front/accessories pocket. Had the compression straps been located slightly higher, they would keep the front pocket from falling forward so far when there are things packed in it. It would also be nice if there was a pocket to store a charger in the laptop pocket at the back. Otherwise it's great and the material is fantastic.

Good product. Good quality and a lot of storage space. Works for my 14 inch laptop. The only complaint was that the color in the picture was very misleading. I chose the zinc color and in the picture it looks very light colored like a very light gray. When I received it, the gray was very dark. I first thought I was sent the wrong color but then realized it was correct.

i just wish the straps were black and they are super stiff as well

Good backpack. Small, comfortable, and has good supports if you decide to take it hiking. I use it for cycling, overnight trips, day hikes, etc. My only complaint is that it's slightly smaller than expected, and it could have another small pocket or two for extra organizing.

This product is very useful to work and activity.

I use this for school. The middle pocket does not go down all the way, so it becomes top-heavy and does not stand up on its own.

I didn’t like the color (Storm Blue/Vintage White) as much as I thought I would. In hind sight I would have preferred an all black pack, but I didn’t like how the logo was in white.

I purchased a Borealis pack two years ago as a backpack that I would use to get through middle school. I have used it for hikes in the woods, biking, and travel. With 28 liters of space, it is plenty of room for a hike, perhaps too much. This pack loses some of its comfort when it isn't loaded up fully. It's a combination of the back panel flexing and the weight being carried further down your back. The model I purchased has one big pouch opposed to the new 2 smaller ones. I like this simplistic design. The two pockets appear to make it harder to fit the same large items I have gotten away with in mine. I tried cycling with this pack, but it also didn't go so well. It was too large for the things I needed to take for a few hours out and it also flexed around too much. The many straps to get it into place worked decent, but would often block my cockpit area. It would be more stable if heavier duty hip belts were added. This pack does a good job with ventilation though. In the sub zero hikes I like to go on, it acted as almost another windbreaker and layer of insulation for my back. When hiking through the desert of the southwest I had no problem with my back overheating with this. The Borealis pack is the perfect size for me when traveling. I can easily fit enough clothes and necessities in the large pouch for two to three days. This pack is also quite durable. With all that I have put this bag through in the past two years, all I have done is broken the rope around the main zipper and broken part of the hip belt clip. Both have been easily repaired with some ingenuity and are still running strong. I really like on the previous model the two pocket system and especially all the nifty pockets that come with the smaller one. Great pack, only reason I didn't give it five is the lack of comfort when the pack isn't completely full. Perhaps add a stiffer back panel or make the side straps pull the load in a bit better.

Great for storing a laptop and a notebook or two. The two bottle holders are very convenient and the overall style is nice.

This backpack is excellent for carrying organized and categorized contents. The only negative I can think of is find significant areas to lighten material to reduce weight.

Great product for the price and quality.

You can pack so much into this bag so you always have what you need for school, travel, camping, etc.

It looks great and it look far better than other brands. I like how it's made. I am replacing an old Borealis that refuses to die. The front compartment doesn't reach the bottom and the zipper doesn't allow to open completely. The old Borealis had that compartment going all the way to the bottom. Still I am looking forward to enjoy this one.

Great backpack for the gym

Love this backpack. I used to have the older Borealis version and decided to get a new one just because I wanted a new color. I love the new design. There are some similarities to the older version, but a lot of new stuff. I love how I can tuck my jacket inside the strings on the front of the bag in case I don't feel like holding it anymore. Plus, they have a new pocket that is specifically for my laptop... too bad its only big enough to comfortably fit a Mac type laptop. It's not roomy enough for my bulky PC. Other than that, I love the backpack!

Bookbag is great once you get used to it. Would totally recommend if you need a great bag, especially one with lost of room!

I have enjoyed using the previous model of the Borealis and loved the full sized zippered compartment in the front along with the mail compartment with the laptop section. I only with that this newer version had a full compartment instead of the half one, but this is a very good backpack overall.

This backpack is smaller than my previous North Face backpack the Surge Transit, however this is my only complaint. The backpack itself looks amazing, and is made out of high quality materials. It has a great variety of pockets and a great space for laptop/tablet storage. I use this backpack to hold all of my college text books plus my computer and it always feels comfortable with great weight distribution.

I really really like the pockets and there accessibility