Customer Reviews The North Face Jester Backpack

I am a female college student with chronic back issues. I purchased this backpack for its durability, comfort, and functionality. I give the Jester a 3-star rating because, although it can comfortably absorb a lot of weight (unlike Jansport), there are some aspects of this backpack that are less than impressive. Given that The North Face is known for hiking and all-weather products, you would think that this backpack would be waterproof, but it isn't. The space inside both the main and secondary pockets is quite limited, making it difficult to fit a two-inch binder, average sized textbook, pens/pencils, and small laptop. Overall, this is a good quality backpack and I am sure it will last a long time. However, simple changes could make this decent backpack just perfect. I am hoping The North Face will release a simple backpack like the Jester, with a larger carrying capacity and waterproof material- I am sure I am not the only one who would purchase and benefit from such a product. I am relatively unsatisfied with the Jester, but do not plan on returning it. Good backpack, just not the best for a college student. If you are a college student, I recommend browsing Adidas products.

Everything was great for the past 2 years that I have had this bookbag but the problem is that one the pockets for the books were to small whenever I would put in my 15in laptop with out a sleeve it would make the bookbag really heavy... and then that on top of carrying binders my back was killing me! (mind you I only carried 2 2in binders, pencil pouch, folder, papers and a metal water bottle in the side pockets.) Also the water bottle packets ARE WAY TO SMALL if you have a 40oz water bottle it is impossible to get the stupid water bottle in the pocket... also if you look at the video provided THE WHOLE ZIPPER BROKE DURING THE MIDDLE OF SCHOOL SO ALL SCHOOL YEAR I CARRIED A BROKEN ZIPPER AND NORTH FACE REFUSED TO REPLACE THE BAG!!! EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID LIFETIME WARRANTY!

I actually ended up returning this bookbag. I bought it for college classes because I loved the look of it and it had the side pockets for a water bottle. I also liked having another pocket on the front of the bag. However, the bag is actually VERY small. It was able to fit my laptop, but not much else. It's very hard to get books in and out of the bag. The way the front pocket is situated, if it is full, it creates an awkward bulge at the top, which inhibits getting into the bottom of the bag from the main pocket and makes it top heavy. If you are using this for something like hiking or traveling, I would recommend.

Ugh. I use this as my daily back pack at middle school. I bought it before the start of the year but now after only a few months the chest clip has pulled off and the water bottle pocket has holes and frayed. I don't think it's going to last a school year!

I got this backpack for Christmas a year ago and have been super disappointed in it. I immediately realized how much smaller it was than my previous Jester backpack. Then as I've used it more and been commuting via bike and walking, I've realized it's hardly water resistant at all. All of my stuff gets soaked whenever it rains. Water just sits in the flaps up front and absorbs into the bottom of my bag, thus my books, papers, and computer get ruined. Really displeased with this bag and it's honestly an embarrassment from Northface. Definitely makes me wonder what your quality standards have become. Absolutely would not recommend this bag.

My bag got stolen a few weeks ago and I tried to find the old style jester and had no luck. This new style jester is to top heavy which drove me nuts. I kept it for a week and returned in. I wish they would bring back the original style that has zippers that went all the way down on both sides as well as a bigger front pocket with zippers that went all the way down and the pocket was closer to the bottom of the bag. Idk if I'll buy another north face unless the original style jester came back.

Nice backpack, just wish the company would get better service.

Bag was extremely small

This back bag is a very nice bag. However it is not a good buy for high school students. This bag is too small for all the books we need to carry and is overpriced for the size.

Really disappointed in this purchase. My past two backpacks have been Jesters and this one just doesn't live up to everything I loved about them. For starters the zippers are awful and constantly getting stuck. Also, the front pocket is so shallow compared to the two older versions I have so there's much less storage. I do love the look and color but I don't think I'm going to get as many years out of this one as my other two.

Very stiff and bulky

I had a north face backpack for 17 years before I finally decided that it was time to get a new one (it's still in good condition but has seen better days). I was really excited about this backpack and ordered it to take on my honeymoon to Australia. I love the design and all of the compartments but I was so disappointed in how small it is inside. My husband and I could barely fit what we needed for a day out in Australia and spent much time trying to reorganize everything in the bag to make it fit - or finally we just left stuff behind because there was not enough room :(

I bought the Jester backpack in August of 2018. By February of 2019, I noticed the rip in the very front pocket. I was disappointed in the quality of the backpack since I've always heard great things about the north face backpacks

I recently got a new Jester backpack to replace my old one, which lasted 6 years! Needless to say, I was excited to get another. However, I found with the new model, the side pockets are very deep and inflexible, and it's difficult to reach my keys while wearing the bag, as they fall to the bottom and my arms can't bend that far down. I also don't like how the front pocket is now half the size of the bag, instead of the full length like before. It makes for a weird weight distribution, and now theres an awkward puff of empty space at the bottom and a huge lump at the top of the bag. The material is durable and the straps are comfortable, but I am disappointed with the new pockets, which may seem like a small detail but have quite negatively affected my experience.

The small outside pocket is located at the top of the bag so when you fill up the small front pocket and then you open the big pocket behind it, it is so tight at the top that you cant easily put things into the big pocket. There is so much space at the bottom of the bag that you cant get to because the small front pocket blocks the entrance into the big pocket behind it.

I ordered it expecting it to look like the one on the website. The zipper went the plum color, the light grey wasn't on it like the pictures, the string is unnecessary longer then needs to be.

I bought this bag for my first year of college. it is okay with storage and actually quite comfortable even with all my books. my only problem and the main thing i cant get over is how no matter how full or empty this bag is it doesnt sit up. it slides face down onto the floor in the middle of lecture because of the stiff back and frontal pocket. ive had it for over 2 months now and i cant stand it. im in the process of looking for a new backpack, disappointing considering the price of this bag.

It's a nice design but I had to return it because it just wasn't big enough to carry school stuff.

I bought this backpack for high school. I wanted to be able to carry 2-3 binders, laptop, lunch, water bottle, gym shoes, and some extra items. Unfortunately, the backpack was far too small for my needs.

This backpack is quite small with one large compartment and one half sized compartment. Because this half compartment is located on the top half of the backpack rather than the lower half, it is constantly topheavy and topples over. I have only pens in the top compartment and it is constantly falling over, often times spilling what's inside if I haven't completely zipped it close.

The front pockets need more depth and the zippers shouldn't have run into the pockets on the sides

Ordered this because it looked great and was larger than last year's, but the straps are so stiff and hard and large that it is very painful to use after three days back at school. So disappointing - would not recommend unless they pad the straps and make them more comfortable

The backpack is nice and clearly well made, but the one I received is different from the one I ordered. Online, the backpack has white zippers and white accents, but the one I got in the mail has black zippers and black accents. The only white part is the North Face logo. Not too big of a deal, obviously, but I wanted to call customer service just to let them know. The person with whom I spoke was neither polite nor helpful.

This bag was too small for school, I had to put my notebooks in the laptop section because the main pocket wasn't big enough for my lunch bag and notebooks/books/folder. Lunch bag barely fit and the bag can't stand up on its own! Every class I had to lean it up against the desk or it would fall over which was super inconvenient. The side cup holders were small and I had my water bottles fall out multiple times. Didn't even have it for a year and one of the straps broke and needed to be sewn back on.

I use this backpack for saily commuting, trips to the grocery, and as my carry on luggage. I got it to replace my jester backpack that was well used and loved. I like this design but don't love it. The nearly unbareable part is that in the summer I wear sundresses. The material on the indersise of the straps is so uncomfortable it nearly tears through my skin. I don't know how I am going to get through the rest of the summer. I know the winter will be better, but I use this backpack every day. I just took this on a trip to Virginia with my elderly mother and what should have been one of my most useful tools for the beach, trips to the grocery, etc. had to stay mostly on the table because I couldn't put it on my shoulders. I am really disappointed. I waited a long time to replace my Jester and to now be stuck with this for the rest of my lifetime is a little sad. I do love the color.