Customer Reviews The North Face Women's Borealis

I use it for school. I wanted something bigger. However, i dont think its big enough since i still cant fit what i wanted to fit also it looks weird when on bc it leave a dent where there is no stuff.

I use this backpack for school. I needed something bigger. However i cant fit most of the stuff that i wanted to take w me and it leaves a dent in places where theres no stuff so it kind of looks weird when its on.

Great quality and color. I should have listened the reviews however as it's intended for a laptop. I was trying to replace my 20 year old North Face back pack, but I chose not the best fit.

This backpack is beautiful and roomy. But, exterior elastic strapping broke while simply packing the pack for it's first use. Unpacked it and back to the store it went. Probably a fluke, but not risking it with a second try.

Would be great but that is not what was sent to me. Want what is pictured- White but got grey.

This is our third borealis. First got my daughter through 4 years of high school. Second was going great for college, she just wanted a different look. Unfortunately the look is really different as the design has changed. She isn't a fan. More "turtle" shape and doesn't stand up well on its own. No more stretch pockets. Really disappointed in the changes.

The front-most large zipper pocket isn't deep enough. It's good for pens and smaller personal items, but doesn't go down the height of the bag it stops half way. Makes the bag top-heavy.

It's a nice bag. Not as big as we thought. But it is nice and great quality!

It looks nice, but it's awkward and doesn't fill properly. When I use the accessory compartment, and put my glasses in the hidden front zipper, the top portion of the pack becomes too "fat". It turns into a choke point, making the larger, middle compartment too tight, even though there is a lot of unused space at the bottom.

I had a North Face backpack that I loved and used for 20 years, from college to grad school (engineering, lots of textbooks), to hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro, to traveling on every continent including Antarctica, to carrying my children's diapers. Even after all that, it was still in great shape when sadly it was stolen from a rent-a-car. As I am starting a new graduate program, I purchased the updated version of the same thing I used for many years to replace the one that was stolen. Unfortunately things have changed. While the quality still seems good, the overall layout of the main pockets is a horrible utilization of space. The drink holders keep the overall depth of the bag small, so that there really isn't a good capacity for books and binders, like there used to be. They must think that women don't need to carry many books! This one fits a binder, a textbook, a notebook, a laptop (and yes, the laptop pocket in back is nice), and some small things like sunglasses, keys, calculator. It's just too small for me. Fortunately my 4th grader doesn't have as many books, so hopefully it will still be a useful purchase.

Doesn't hold as much as I thought. Not a good choice for high schooler. Cute though.

Nice backpack, but the pictures are a bit misleading. Expect six to eight lengthy straps to be dangling from the bottom of the bag. My daughter refused to have that much dangle, so we had to return it.

Purchased on sale because it seemed to fit into what I wanted for a versatile backpack that could be used for some light day hiking and travel, but also be cute enough to tote around campus. Unfortunately, after using this on a short test hike this weekend, I realized how poorly suited it is to what I actually need it to do: (1) The water bottle pouches are very secure, but so high up that I literally have to take the backpack off to get my water bottle in/out of the pouch. Completely impractical for me because I want to easily drink water on the go - walking through the airport, on campus, or on a hike. Stems both from the water bottle pocket being tall and, because it is a hiking backpack meant to sit higher up on your frame for additional stability and less stress, the pocket "mouth" sits even higher. Furthermore, even without the shock cords tightening the pouch, the elastic is pretty strong. I was able to slide my 16oz bottle in and out with one hand, but my 32oz and 40oz Nalgene bottles would need both hands. (2) There are no pockets on the backpack straps or multiple loops for easy attachment points should I want to buy/make pockets. Women's clothing is notorious for not having enough pockets, so if I am hiking with pocketless shorts or walking around in a pocketless dress or slacks, I want a way to easily access my phone and small sundries (small snacks, keys, id card, passport, etc). As this backpack is currently designed, there's no easy access to pockets like that. Again, I have to take off the pack to awkwardly unzip the top pouch to grab any of those items. My current solution is to just wear another bag with this backpack. A cross-body purse or a waist fanny pack depending on the situation. Until I can figure out a way to modify the bag, I'll have to either hold my water bottle or plan on drinking only when I'm able to safely take off my backpack. But, if you don't want to access anything while wearing it, it is a good backpack. Looks like very solid construction, can accommodate larger water bottles although it requires more effort, and I do appreciate the built-in whistle and external shock cords for basic additional safety and storage. This might be a great bag for some, but it misses the mark for me. Unfortunately, I purchased it final sale so I will just keep experimenting with ways to make it work.

The smaller pockets have great organization. The main large pocket sucks. It's hard to fit items all the way to the bottom, making the backpack top heavy. The price doesn't match the design effort.

This bag is super cute, but when it comes to being functional it is not cute at all! The spacing in it is horrible, and it cannot hold a 2 inch binder with a few notebooks, while holding a Owala water bottle. Very disappointed.

I wound up returning this item for 2 reasons. 1- the bag did not have enough volume for all of the this college textbooks I need to fit. I am taking a class with several incredibly heavy books. It should be fine for a normal day bag, good for a K-12 student, but not if you have to carry more that a couple medium size books. 2- the padding in the straps was barely there. 12+ ago i had a backpack from this company that was incredible. It had a silicone grid style padding and the straps were all very supportive and it lasted a long time, until it was stolen from my car. The quality appears to not be the same. I will say that this bag was super cute and the hydration pocket was perfect for my laptop. The backing had a decently ergonomic structure, and the waist and chest straps were nice. It's an ok bag, but not if you need to carry excessive weight or have any shoulder pain issues because the shoulder straps are so poorly padded. I wish I would have gone to a store in person to look at it more closely before I purchased it.

I had a Borealis Backpack years ago, and I absolutely loved it! Eventually it was time to get a new backpack, and I saw this one. I liked it at first, then I noticed I felt pain on my left side whenever I use this backpack. The more I use it, the less I enjoy this version. I can't fit my laptop case inside the laptop pocket is another issue that bothers me. I like to use my case as a holder for my laptop.

This was bought to replace my old 2013 Borealis that I loved to its full death (insides peeling, handles breaking). I've used this for two workdays and I hate it. It's like NorthFace didn't consider any functionality of the product. I brought it to work with my normal: tampons, deodorant, ibuprofen, computer + charger, phone, badges, and a change of clothes for my workout. The extra pockets are such a bad design that I struggled to fit anything into the main compartment and ended up shoving everything in once I changed for my workout. I couldn't find anything in either of the smaller pockets because there wasn't room for my hand to fit. I'm so disappointed, because it was a gift, but delivered late, so it's too late now to even return. I just want the old design back.

It's beautiful, but way too small of a compartment to actually put items in like books for my daughter school.

The backpack was two toned with beige and a light green. Backpack was not exactly like the picture online. Returning the item.

too small for high school student without a locker. oddly big up top and small down bottom

Nice appearance, but quality was lacking. The shoulder anchor strap on the very first use. Compartments are a bit small if you need to carry much more than a laptop and a few folders. If carrying mulitple notebooks, or books etc, it is very tight and awkward.

Planned to use this as my daughter's high school book bag but it's simply too small. Doesn't stretch or have any give like my older Borealis. She can barely fit her essentials in there and no room for anything extra.

literally holds nothing, not roomy at all if you're a high school student.

Daughter loved the style & color, but doesn't expand to fit books & gear like the older Borealis packs do (we have 2). I'm usually a bargain hunter, but paid full price because she really, REALLY wanted it. Too small for school, so unfortunately hangs on a hook now. Good quality, but not a great pack overall unfortunately. Totally bummed about this one.