Customer Reviews The North Face Recon

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.

Our son wanted this for his school year backpack this year. Since covid, they haven't had a much class as normal 7th graders but the strap tore from it being worn before the first semester was even up. I would not recommend this backpack at all. It looks nice but if the straps break, then what good is it? Def not recommend.

Wrong color that was not shown in the picture and no response to my email to them asking about a return/exchange.