Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

It's a great backpack. One of the pockets gets in the way of being able to use the other one 100%, but besides that it's really well designed, really comfortable, and still has tons of space so I never feel like I need more

I love my new backpack! This is a replacement for my surge from about 8 years ago. The only reason it's not 5 stars is because I wish it had one more lather pocket.

Not instuative, but love it otherwise for hauling a laptop

Not the biggest fan of the new straps, but they're ok. Good bag, except the laptop compartment does not have a sleeve for iPad. Overall, satisfied.

I downsized and am happy. I feel the big pocket is hindered a bit by the smaller front pocket otherwise would be a 5 star.

This bag manages to keep a low profile while still having a lot of space. Excellent build quality and comfortable to use with the strap system employes The only reason I would not give it 5 stars is because while there are a lot of pockets, very few of them are "deep" pockets and the material on the straps don't feel as durable and could rip

Great backpack for school a little on the small side.

Overall it's a great product but I'd say it's kind of heavy compared to other backpacks. I don't think it's a great everyday backpack for this reason. But if it's for long trips, this is the only one you need!

I really like how comfortable it is but I would like more padding for the laptop compartment

Great backpack for everyday use. Sturdy and durable. Good pockets and organizers for high school use. Wish it had a laptop pouch but overall very happy with the performance so far.

I use this for school. It is very comfortable and helpful

It is a well made backpack for my son who is a high school student, he just wished that it was a lille bigger. thst is the reason for the 4 stsr rating instead of 5. His last back pack had about 3 more liters of space.

Great backpack. Has all the types of pockets I need for various supplies. Only thing I would change is that there are too many straps that hang down while wearing the backpack that are not obvious in the promotional pictures. The straps are also pretty long when they hang. I cut them all off to make it look more streamlined like the picture. But all in all I'm happy with it and would buy another North Face backpack someday.

It's a good backpack but in the big pouch in front of the laptop pouch it is almost impossible to get things down past the top if you have books and things in the big pouch and even just a couple things in the little pouch.

This is nice quality- but smaller than what I expected.

Versatile. Use it for work and travel. Sleek but holds a solid amount of gear.

I use this backpack daily for school & ove everything about this backpack except for where the shoulder straps connect to the actual backpack. I'm on my 3rd Recon backpack now because the shoulder strap ripped away from the backpack on my 1st 2 Recons. NorthFace has always been good with their warranty though.

Good sturdy backpack! The backing of the laptop sleeve does wonders for keeping my electronics safe, and it doubles as keeping good back support for when I carry my bag. I will say that the pocket in front of the laptop sleeve could be a bit bigger. I have a lot of books to carry as a college student, so a little more room would be nice. The smaller pockets work fine and I can fit a lot of things in the front. And the mesh pocket in the front is a super quick and easy thing to use whenever I need to quickly store something temporarily without having to use a zipper. The water bottle holders are a good size, and I can carry bottles in them without having to worry about them falling out.

I like the backpack but the front most compartment when it has a normal amount of stuff in it will squish down and make it harder to get things in and out of the big pouch and it opens up at the bottom which makes it awkward a little sometimes

I use the product for my college classes. I like that it has a variety of compartments and helps me to stay organized with my many classes as a nursing student. I'm confident this backpack will last me years like my last one did!

Great quality as usual from The North Face. Size was a bit smaller than expected with main compartment not as spacious as I hoped for. Also the number of straps is overwhelming for normal use. Half of them could likely be eliminated without affecting the core functionality of the backpack.

It works well; it just has some minor blemishes on the material that expose some parts of the backpack.

I really like the comfort of the backpack. I don't love the pocket placement and size. The small front one doesn't go to the bottom of the bag. As this is where I place all my knickknacks, I would have liked it a little deeper. I also feel the front stretch pocket could get loose after a while.

Overall material is thinner than previous version of Recon. Quality control is lacking too. But good enough and looks cool for everyday use. Won't be using it for hiking though.

I bought this backpack for college, and to be honest I haven't gotten to use it for that purpose yet, and I haven't gotten to test it against inclement weather. But I've used it for a SCUBA trip and for a road trip, and in both cases it has been amazing. It kept all my clothes and devices dry on the boat, and it has ample pockets for all my chargers and toiletries I've needed on my roadtrip. I was in between this one and the Borealis, and I'm happy I bought this because that mesh pocket in the front is so incredibly useful and convenient. Also a very comfortable bag.