Customer Reviews The North Face Jester Backpack

It was a huge disappointment. If the tags would not have been removed in error this would have gone back so fast.

The bag I received is all red and thin material, not the red and black on the straps and back like the photos. Should have bought from the big online store which was cheaper and showed the all red pic

My daughter requested this one for school. I like the overall design, but for the price, would love to have a little more depth in storage. It's very slim and really doesn't allow for many books/binders to go in there.

This bag is fine for my purposes. However for the size of the bag, the laptop sleeve is very narrow and has no give or protection. I thought I had measured correctly and technically my laptop does fit but only if I really work to get it in there. The main section of this bag is huge, so it is unclear to me why the sleeve is so tight. Also, if you have too much in the front pocket it will topple over. I didn't have much more than pens and my phone and it tipped. TL;DR this bag is great if you are not obsessively picky like me.

The small compartment falls over easily when anything is put inside. Good storage in main compartment fits a lot without being bulky. The straps are a bit too wide for my shoulders

The front portion of the bag falls over easily when anything is placed inside. Good storage, fits a lot of school supplies without looking bulky. The straps are a bit too wide for my shoulders.

Bought For My Son Whose A Junior In High School. It's A Nice Backpack, But Not Enough Room For His School Stuff. I Will Be Returning It.

Purchased for middle schooler. Weird front pocket placement interferes with ability to fill main compartment of bag. Does not easily fit laptop, slim lunch box, 2" binder and 2 spiral notebooks.

Too small. Front pocket only goes halfway.

Wanted to love this, but the straps are horribly uncomfortable if they don't hit you just right. Definitely don't fit my middleschooler. Not sure why they made the straps so hard/stiff that they dig into you if they don't fit right.

The backpack is cute and can hold my notebooks and laptop great, but smaller pocket is annoying. It's half-size and weighs down the top of the backpack when main pocket is open. Wouldn't buy again.

I use it daily and overall it's quite durable. Only complain is the laptop sleeve doesn't match it's advertised size. The width is hardly 10'' and doesn't any laptop above 14'' won't fit.

I used it for work. Good strong bag but the smaller pocket should have been larger. Also side pockets should have a button or sting to close the opening. Things fall out.

Great bag until the ladder lock buckle that holds the strap broke. Used this backpack only for school. Not as durable as other TNF backpacks like the Borealis

I got this for my husband for Christmas. It's supposed to be a brownish color and when I got it, it looked more like the Tx longhorn orange. The color looked better on the website.

Too small for College or High School.

I got this backpack because of the padded straps and back panel. I needed a chiropractic backpack for high school because my Jansport backpack wasn't cutting it. To give you an idea, with 2-3 textbooks, 7 binders, 4 folders, a computer and its charger, a notebook, a reading book, etc. my Jansport backpack weighted ~30lbs and I could fit additional items including gym shoes, gym clothes, snacks, and loose school supplies. It was so heavy that I was having back problems. I have to say, the Jester backpack is very comfortable and the weight of what I can carry now is tolerable. I am happy with its simplicity but the back support is the only reason why I'm keeping it. I can fit a Chromebook, 2 textbooks, 7 thin plastic folders, 1 notebook, and one reading book in the main compartment. I can't use any binders for AP classes because they don't fit. I will have to bring a lunch box and gym bag separately to school, which is exactly what I wanted to avoid. As a busy student who takes everything to and from home every day, I need all of my supplies in one space. There are design flaws as well. Due to the small front compartment for loose knickknacks like pens, there is more weight on the top of the backpack. This means that 1) the main compartment is harder to access because of its bulkiness, and 2) with both compartments unzipped, the front one will fold over and all of my contents will spill out because the mesh pockets are too short and loose. That being said, I like the zippers. They are quality and I knew when I received the bag that the zippers were going to last a long time. There isn't any zipper cover that's going to get stuck or caught. I also like the laptop sleeve, but unfortunately it doesn't fit my older 15" long Chromebook. However, 13" computers will fit perfectly. I like the double water bottle pockets as well. I cannot emphasize enough how comfortable this backpack is carrying between classes. Unfortunately, it is not as useful as I hoped and am going to have to look for something bigger next year. If you are looking for something that will hold the entire amount of contents I mentioned regarding my old Jansport backpack, please look at the Patagonia Refugio 30L!

The backpack was very well made. However, we had to return it. My son planned to use it for college and it was too small.

Great back pack but the computer pouch could have at least been padded and had a microfiber layer over on the inside of the pouch. Still a great pack but expected better from you guys (The North Face).

Having used this for a couple weeks - Pros: Price/Value Taller water bottle side pockets Positioning of smaller pocket leaves more large compartment space at the bottom Love the look of it Cons: Smaller laptop pouch forces me to have to really wrangle my laptop in there and I'm worried about wear and tear Visible threads along the seams before even the first use but not too noticeable Not as comfortable shoulder straps/weight distribution/etc as old jester, shoulders got sore quickly even when half as full as I would fill my other backpack Overall happy with the purchase and backpack but will likely test out comfort on the next backpack purchase as I use this a lot.

This is going to be long so for summery: don't get this bag for school. I also attached a video explaining my issues if that works better for you. After many days of shopping for a backpack that would last me 4-5 years, I came across this one. I was really excited when I received it, thinking I had found the best bag out there. Unfortunately, I immediately encountered a major flaw. The backpack is too skinny! It is designed to perfectly and snugly fit a 13-inch computer (max size nothing bigger is getting in there) but as someone who really cares to preserve my things, I have a computer sleeve case. Because of this sleeve, the computer is very difficult to take in or out. Now, this may not be a problem for a lot of people, but if you don't own an ultra-thin laptop that is smaller than 13 inches, this backpack will not work to hold your laptop. This is not the only problem created by the skinniness of the bag. If you have regular-sized binders, the width (so the thickness won't affect this. It won't matter if it's half an inch or four inches) of them will stretch out the bag and make it hard to remove or put in your binders. If you pair your binders with any standard water bottle, you won't be able to put your bottle in the side hold that is SPECIFICALLY designed for holding your bottle. The bag is simply too skinny that the holders are taken up by the stretch of the fabric. Furthermore, the backpack is not very deep (as the space from the computer holder to the jester logo on the front is too short). I cannot fit a decent amount of notebooks combined with a binder or two. Not being able to use my computer sleeve, having slow access to my binders, and not being able to bring a water bottle with me makes this bag useless to me as a student. If you read all of that, I hope it helped, and please do not buy this as a student unless you don't like binders, water, or your expensive computer :)

I like the new front w/o that pocket at bottom that only collected debris. Also, the big, centered logo is nice. Other than that, NF should bring back last season's version. With this year's, the zippers and too slippery, the H20 bottle pockets need to be elasicized like last year's, and that 2nd handle is unnecessary and gets in the way of the main zipper. I'll keep it 'till next year hoping they make these changes or I'll give it away and get something else.

I bought three of these for my kids to use as backpacks for elem and middle school. They have always used Jansport Right Packs. There are some major practical problems with the Jasper. It is top heavy because the smaller outside zip pocket is at the top of the pack, not the bottom. Thus it tips over when the main zip is opened. There is no skid resistance on the bottom (the Right Pack as suede) so it topples forward onto it's front. This is especially noticeable when I put the kids' lunchboxes in - once the main zip is open, the top smaller/front pocket tips the pack forward and it slip slides while I'm working the lunch in. Jasper is also narrower inside than the Right Pack, so when notebooks, lunch boxes, pencil pouches are packed, it becomes very tight (it's a true rectangle, no extra wiggle room at the base) - and even the exterior mesh pockets are difficult to use. The silicone boots on my kids Hydroflasks pull off when they take their water bottles out of the mesh pockets. In all, Jasper is a backpack that tips over, won't stand up on it's own, and is too tight inside to be practical for school use.

The small pouch in the front isn't convenient. If you put anything in the pouch at all it the front over if you have your bag open. It also hides anything small you might put into the main component of your bag so just be aware of that. The design is great and I still will be using it. I just wish I knew this before buying it.

It is a very small bag. My 11 year old son has had it since 2nd grade. The water bottle cages ripped immediately. I do not recommend this bag.