Customer Reviews The North Face Women's Surge Backpack

I use this for work and my laptop. It is very visually appealing but will not sit upright at all. It can't support how top heavy it is, and is quite frustrating when you want to put it down on your desk.

I am returning this. I ordered the purple one and online it looked amazing but when I received the colour was so blah. Not vivid at all. It looks quite sad actually. Like a sad grey bag that wants to be purple. I like the design of the bag but disappointed that it's not what is shown online.

Nice backpack. Looking for a smaller commuter backpack and I thought a woman's size would di the trick. It's still too big so I am returning it. Also the zippers aren't as good quality as other manufacturers.

Bought this backpack for my frequent traveling. Spent about 11 hours walking all over Manhattan shortly after I bought this backpack. This thing has an insane amount of space! Looks beautiful, and even the dark colored option is highly visible when light is shined upon it. My only gripe with the backpack is that the shoulder straps are severely lacking in comfort. The back support is incredible, however, after walking all day with this (and walking all day with my other backpack the day before) I had gotten extremely sore collar bones, to the point where they are still bruised and swollen. I haven't had this with my other backpack which had excellent shoulder straps but so-so back support. If this backpack had better shoulder straps I would never buy another backpack model as long as I lived. Solid 8/10 overall. 10/10 for looks 6/10 for comfort.

love this but mine has zipper issues now and some wearing from use :/ the quality has gone down. the worst part is that I think mine is an older version and it dented my new macbook pro because the laptop section does not have padding. this is a horrible design as my other backpacks had this padding.

If you want to be able to use this backpack with any weight at all without having bruises from the shoulder straps then I highly recommend you get the guy's version of this backpack. I bought it for law school and carry heavy books to and from class every day in my backpack. The size and roomy feature of the surge attracted me to it and I loved every aspect of it besides the straps. I returned and bought the guy's surge instead. I haven't had any more issues, VERY comfortable!

So I was starting the school year and loved the color, style, and the comfort of this bag but after a week I started to see the top of the strap rip little by little. Then by the 2nd week I was walking down the corridor of my school when the whole strap just completely ripped. I was furious, because of the money spent on the bag and it didn't even bring me through the 1st month of school. If you need this bag for school or anything that has a little bit of weight on your shoulders, this bag is not recommended.

Great pack for all your gear, but beware the weak attachment points for the shoulder straps to the bag. They fall apart within a year. Disappointed in the quality of this expensive pack. Stay away from it if you need a workhorse bag that can stand up to your lifestyle.

This bag is cute but I have only had it for a year and it is already ripening in the water bottle pocket and the handle has started to tear. I have just been Using it for school for a year and I doubt that I will be able to use it next year.

I am a 35 yr old female student that has 5 more years left in the medical field. I recently invested in this backpack believing that the quality would be well worth my investment for a backpack to get me through the next 5 years of school. I CANNOT take another week with this backpack before I end up with a medical bill to fix my back. I love everything else about this backpack unfortunately it can't be worn. When I called into customer service at The North Face Company, I was told it was meant for a woman and their suggestion was buy another one even though this one is only 2 months old and wasn't willing to just replace it with another one. I am a woman and I sound like a woman so I'm not sure what they were trying to imply, but needless to say, I was highly insulted!

Almost never write reviews, but had to share my experience - Had the 2015 Surge, but in a bright color. Recently decided to upgrade to a more professional color scheme for a meeting. Wore the backpack around a conference center for 3 days, walking approximately 5 miles a day, loaded with a 15" MacBook, plus some basic supplies (wallet, light jacket, phone and extra battery, etc.). By the time I put on the the backpack for the trip to the airport on Day 4, my neck and shoulders were screaming in pain and it hurt to turn my head. Never had pain issues like this with the original bag, but the straps on the new bag seem to be attached in a much narrower configuration, with little ability to pivot around the counters of my neck and shoulders. Returning the bag this week and now I'm on the hunt for an original Surge, even if it means I need to find one used. Please fix these straps, TNF!

after ten years of heavy use, it was finally time to replace my old TNF backpack ("Heckler", long since discontinued). I'd had such a good experience with that bag, so I wanted to stick with TNF backpacks, and the Surge looked like a great fit - all the features that I wanted, plus I love the dark grey with rose gold accents. the Surge is thoughtfully designed, the organization is exactly what I want, it has a hundred little features that I love, it is perfect in nearly every way...but I hate the shoulder straps. Seriously, they're AWFUL, they're stiff and narrow and dig into your shoulders. I haven't really loaded it up but even a little weight (computer, two books, water bottle, wallet) makes it even more uncomfortable. I love the bag's organization & colorway, so I'm trying to get used to the straps. But honestly my 10-year-old backpack is far more comfortable even when I'm carrying 2x (even 3x) more weight. At this price point, I'm not sure it's worth keeping, especially since I plan to have it for a while. Unfortunately I haven't seen another bag that I like even half as much or this would be easy. I really can't express how much I hate these straps. The quality feels terrible, and the contrast with the rest of the backpack is utterly bewildering. They absolutely ruin an otherwise stellar bag...if I had the skill to rip out the shoulder straps on my old backpack and sew them into this one, I would.

I bought this bag for a 2 weeks vacation overseas with my young family, primarily to stow jackets and toys for my toddler kids. Once the backpack is filled, obviously it's heavy at this point, the curved strap dig into my collar bone and I had to endure this during the first few days of the trip where we had to travel quite a bit. I tried on my uncle's surge backpack with regular wide straps and that felt much nicer. I will most likely get that pack when I return this pack.