Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

Backpack is well built except for the extremely weak and fragile water bottle holders. After only 6 months of use, my water bottle holders on both sides are wearing through. Needs a design.

It's a good looking backpack. I have 3 main issues that make it less than ideal. 1. The pocket they show an iPad is is very misleading. It does not fit the smaller iPad Pro or iPad Air making it pretty much useless for anything bigger than a small book. 2. The pocket above the stretch pocket is weirdly opened from the middle making it impossible to put something in it that is anything bigger than 2/3 the volume of the pocket. 3. Lastly, the layout of the bag makes it so that if you aren't bringing many big item, the central pocket gets crowded by front pockets and make anything at the bottom very inaccessible.

This backpack is much smaller than expected. It's billing as a 30L pack is misleading compared to my previous 33L pack. It looks child-sized.

Pretty disappointed with the wimpy zippers when comparing to my old NF Enterprise back pack that I bought in 1998 (and still have). Wanted to treat myself with a new one but think I'll just give the recon to my nephew and keep using my old Enterprise with the meaty metal zippers that will never wear out. Sad how everything is built so cheaply nowadays. I'm done with NF.

I think this is the nicest designed bag TNF has brought out. However it doesn't feel like a northface bag. Very stiff and cheap feeling . Not a comfortable bag

I happily used the old recon for probably 10 years amd then decided to get this to replace it. What a mistake. The design of this pack is completely dysfunctional. If you have even a pencil inside the second compartment it almost completely blocks you from putting anything into or getting anything out of the main compartment. If you have something bulky and rigid inside the main compartment you cant put water bottles into the sides, or if you have a water bottle on the side you cant fill the main compartment. Trying to fit a lunch, laptop, and laptop charger into this pack is somehow an infuriating process of squeezing, pushing and pulling. Forget putting a jacket inside. Every time I try and use it for anything more than a laptop bag it drives me insane.

I got the recon backpack in hopes to use it for my trip but the straps are hard and the padding is very thin. The movement around my arm is limited and the straps are rigid.

Bottom and water bottle pockets do not match the tan/yellow of the nylon and is an ugly brown color. Material very thin and zippers for smaller pockets are get caught in material.

I purchased this product because the last Recon Backpack I purchased was such a great bag, however once I received this item I soon realized the new Recon wasn't built has good as the one from 2011. The newer design seems smaller and the fabric they're now using felt less durable and more prone to tearing; it seems to have lost its stretchiness. The front pocket isn't as deep as the older generation and the main pouch is much smaller than before. It seems the new design has removed valuable space for organizing and easily getting to your items. It also appears they're using cheaper fabric that doesn't feel as soft or as durable. Unfortunately, until this bag is re-designed with deeper pockets and extra room inside, I won't be purchasing another Northface Recon Bookbag.

Details and reviews state this backpack is "water repellent" and it is just the opposite. This backpack draws in moisture and I do not recommend. Contents inside were ruined after walking in the rain under an umbrella.

I purchased a recon backpack on Feb. 2 to use as a daily commuter as well as some occasional hiking and biking. After 4 months of very light use, I realized the sternum strap had ripped (picture attached). TNF used to have great customer service so I reached out to get a replacement sternum strap. Customer service insisted that I send the whole backpack in for an "evaluation" to get it covered under warranty, instead of sending in the defective part only. This is my daily use backpack so it's not worth the hassle to empty everything out and get it shipped off for weeks for TNF to "evaluate". I'm not trying to start a fraudulent sternum strap side hustle here, I just want my gear to function properly. I'm very disappointed in TNF quality and customer service, and don't intend to buy their equipment in the future.

I hate this bag so much. Not worth the money. The company should seriously reconsider their design. Here's why: 1) this bag DOES NOT STAND ON ITS OWN. i tried empty, i tried with only laptop, I tried with laptop and books, i tried with laptops, books, and lunch, filled every compartment and yet will not stand by itself and will face-slam the ground. 2) the compartment of these bags are useless and don't utilize space well. The laptop compartment is so thin it just fits the laptop because god forbid you want to carry the charger too in the same compartment. The main compartment is deceivingly large; if you put anything in the other outer small compartments it takes away space from the main one and make it weirdly wide from the bottom but very narrow at the top because of their bad design. 3) because most space is occupied by the main part, i guess now you have to combine books, lunch, snacks, chargers and anything you have in that mixed bag since all other compartments would not fit. I really regret buying such an expensive bag. I should have replaced my High Sierra with another one.

One strap broke completely off (with little use) and the other one is about to do the same. I have purchased North Face backpacks for several years and have never had a bad experience, but the Recon is definitely an inferior product. Very disappointing!

I bought this to replace a prior Recon which I hiked with for 15 years; this new version has less space and the waist strap pulled off on a minor hike on the 4th use.

Would no recommend this backpack due to poor design. When the top small pocket has articles in it, it leaves no room to put more bulky items in the main compartment.

I have never left a product review before, but I had to warn other customers. The strap fell off after one week. I only carried a laptop and a textbook. Not covered under the warranty. DO NOT BUY!

After about 1 week I noticed a small fraying where the strap attaches to the main body of the backpack. After 2 weeks the strap had frayed so dramatically it was barely attached. I was told normal wear is not covered under warranty. The backpack held only a laptop and two folders so to hear that was "normal wear and tear" after two weeks was VERY disappointing. I replaced (purchased) the women's recon and after a month of use have noticed part of the strap, in a different area, has new stitching coming apart.

Purchased for student. Strap completely came off of the backpack less than two weeks into the new school year. Sent to warranty department (paid for shipping myself) only to be told this is not covered under warranty as it is normal wear and tear. Extremely disappointed in North Face's customer service and how they have handled this. Purchased an Adidas backpack that is holding up great.

It came out broken on one side

The shoulder strap came completely undone after 2 weeks of school. Usual high school student books and gear in the bag. Real disappointment.

Strap fell off after three weeks of use.

I've used Northface packs for 25 years, and this is the first one I've been disappointed in. It fell apart after ONE week of use! The front mesh pocket is super thin material. You might be fine if you don't put anything in the pocket. But if you do, it will wear holes in the mesh. The water bottle pockets are terrible. They don't expand, so to put a water bottle in the bag, it takes up the interior space of the pack. You can't fit a water bottle and a trapper keeper-style binder in the bag at the same time. And if you have a binder, you can't also fit books. The fabric is so stiff, the bag doesn't expand when you add things. Terrible design.

Returned it. Stiff, vinyl side pockets that don't stretch. Zippers don't zip all the way down so hard to open it wide to access everything inside. Most of the storage volume is in the height, not the width or depth. Was going to use it for going to and from class, but it's not for me. I had a Recon backpack before and this one isn't as nice.

I have old version of recon which I liked a lot. I gave it to my son who is in middle school. I bought the new version which is not as wider, good looking and sturdy as the old version. I am disappointed by the Northface product. Especially, I didn't like the material they used for the back pocket. It is looks very cheap. I won't buy back pack from Northface anymore.

Unfortunately, the product was ripped at the shoulder strap so I had to send it back. It was a graduation gift. Once I get a refund I may try to order another one. Not sure yet.