Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

There simply aren't enough pockets. If you're happy with one big main compartment and one big pocket then this is the bag for you. There is also a space for your laptop.

Used on a 1 day trip for 4 hours and the straps are horrible. The next day i had bruises on my shoulders and could not wear it. The straps are not padded enough and if i could return it i would. otherwire its perfect.

Too small. Same size as my 2016 Borealis but the new design is horrible. Organizational pocket is less than half size of bag. Main pocket would be good if there wasn't a 3rd, separate laptop pocket

This is a nice pack. The materials/zipper are good quality. But I don't think I would call this a "stand up" pack. The front pocket only doesn't reach the bottom of the pack like my old borealis. So if you put anything of heft (in my case a birding field guide) in it, it will tip forward when you put it down. This is not a deal breaker, but it would have been nice if the front pocket extended to the bottom of the pack.

great size for college. however the black cross cord looked worn when first used and broke in 3 days.

I bought this for the second time for my son to use as his high school backpack. No lockers this year due to COVID. The older one a strap gave way due to the weight of his books. I replaced it with this new one. The pull cords on the zipper are now broken.

i got this backpack and not even after a week a zipper breaks. The large compartment dosent have that much space. I did however love the amount of pockets and it was very comfortable.

Great build quality. Let down limited storage for tech and office items. The placement of the only divided storage is high on the packing making the bag top heavy. The elastic webbing is to tight making packing and retrieving items from the main large storage compartment awkward. The back support is nice and sturdy, wish it incorporated a luggage strap for a carryon handle.

Not big enough for HS student . Very narrow and doesn't open up wide enough

Need this product to be able to carry a laptop and a tablet without sacrificing comfort or features and unfortunately this bag falls shorts with the tablet pocket and that is deal breaker as my backpack need to be la nel to carry such items for work and travel (short travel)

Book bag is actually a bit small inside. Could only fit one 5 subject notebook and 1 large textbook. If I had known I would have spent I guess $150 or $180 for a larger one. But of course great quality and will have forever!!

I use the backpack to carry my laptop and files to and from work. My old north face backpack lasted ten years. I liked the pack and longevity. I don't think the borealis is setup well for a working professional. I will likely look at other north face backpacks.

Great Quality book bag for college commute. A good number of pockets in case you need them. The book bag really isn't big enough for a lot of things other than a few textbooks and a laptop. The bottle holders also aren't deep at all, so if you have a bottle longer than like 10 inches its annoying to have it falling out when you set the book bag down. The price is also pretty hefty. 3 or 4 stars out of 5

I bought this to use as an everyday backpack for work and personal life travel. I use it to carry my work laptop, waterbottle, etc, and it is fairly good design. I gave this three stars because I ama career Borealis user, and absolutely loved this pack because of the quality and ease of use, but it seems like the new one is made with cheaper materials, which is fairly disappointing. It is still a great bag, but I am a bit worried that the dip in material quality could be a trend.

I ordered the asphalt grey bag expecting a black tnf and it showed up white. I was very disappointed.

I used this as my daily backpack and the shape is weird with the compression, the organization is a nightmare and the straps are not only useless but super cumbersome.

I am a high schooler. Been using mine for 2.5 ish years. Backpack itself is FANTASTIC! Carries alot. I feel like it would benefit from a small space for something like a power bank. The current pockets are not enough to carry everything. Bungee straps ripped after 3 or so months. Water bottle holder stitching broke after 6 months.

ONLY ONE FULL POCKET. Do not recommend this backpack. the front pocket stops at half of the bag, so the bag is awkward and lopsided. does not sit up on its own due to the front being top heavy. The old version was much better. this is a downgrade.

I use this as my backpack for school, work, and travel. After a month, I noticed that one of the rings securing the elastic bungee cord had come off. Now after about 4 months, I noticed a hole in the space behind the outermost pocket and the middle compartment. Another review commented that the bag is very top heavy and falls over when you set it down, and I second that statement. The only redeeming quality for me is that I love the color. Ultimately super disappointing as my previous North Face backpack lasted 10 years before needing to be replaced.

I use this bag for the gym and work. The outermost compartment does not extend all the way to the bottom of the bag, resulting in a top-heavy design when fully loaded. Bag then falls over when set down.

Bought this to replace my older Borealis I bought in 2019. Compared to my older backpack, the decline in material quality is insane. Flimsier fabric. Metal zippers replaced by cheap plastic. No more vents on the shoulder straps. Less durable stitching. The cost cutting is apparent, sad to see the drop in quality. Returned the backpack in favor of my older one.

I bought this for my highschooler, hoping that it would be the same capacity as mine growing up. The new model of borealis is much smaller. The front packet does not go all the way down to the bottom and the use of space is very condensed.

TL;DR: The backpack felt too flat and not ideal for school use. The water bottle holder got loose, letting the bottle slip into the main compartment. It couldn't stand upright, showed tiny white threads after hanging it, and just wasn't as functional or durable as expectedespecially with school supplies. North Face is great, but this one didn't hit the mark SPECIFIC INFO: The build looked so.. Flat (no offence) but its not like any other backpack, yeah id use it if i were to ever go hiking but that's not the case, When i used it for school i put my water bottle (24 oz Owala water bottle) the part to hold it inside of the bag opened and got so loose that my water bottle could go inside the main packets where i put my School stuff in (I had a 3 inch binder, one composition notebook and 2 folders and a pencil case) inside of the big compartment (that isn't the laptop compartment) don't get me wrong northface is really good but i just didn't seem to like this backpack as much!! One last issue when hanging my backpack on a chair at the top of the straps you could see teeny tiny white threads each time i put it on my chair, and if i wanted to put my backpack on the floor it wouldn't stand up because it was flat in width (and length) but that's really it!!

Great bag but 2 big complaints 1) front pocket I'd zipper is half way up pocket so everything falls out of bag is upright 2) elastic strings get caught on things and are really annoying

Used this backpack only for a couple of months before the embroidery started unraveling. Even if I cut it, it keeps unraveling. Reached out with warranty claim but haven't heard back yet.:(