Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

Material is not good. Its too thin. Seems like if i want to stick a pin it will just damage too much. Not like the other north face backpacks

One of the shoulder straps broke off only a week from when I purchased

Bought this version abut 18 months ago . Zippered separated from bag and the cord is constantly an issue. Not as well made as previous bags purchased.

This is a heavy backpack and doesn't seem to be flexible for a school. My daughter loves it but it is not my favorite for a high school kid.

It's very comfortable on my back, but the Borealis always is too top-heavy no matter how little I put in the top pockets. That's a bag malfunction in my opinion. I use it for work, but I can't carry much in it, so I switch it out often.

Love the look but build quality is terrible. Purchased the Surge pack and the arm strap tore after a year. Purchased this one and the inner lining separated less than 6 months. Yea I'll go elsewhere.

I don't feel easy to pack items in the bag, kind of not user friendly. I feel more tightness to fill in the bag.

the bungees on the side water bottle pockets were unadjustable, and too tight on top/too loose on bottom. the shoulder straps were also uncomfortable and rubbed against my neck.

I use this for school and I can't fit all my supplies in it. It needs to be bigger. I regret my decision to buy this.

This backpack has been used for 1 1/2 weeks at school and the inside is tearing apart at the seams.

I have the Borealis bag three years now. Maybe North Face redesigned it since then, but mine doesn't/can't/won't stand up on its own. I read reviews that informed me of this, but I bought the bag anyway. It's a durable and nice looking bag, holds enough but I find times I wish but we're a bit bigger. But this bag helped me appreciate the value of a backpack that can stand up on its own and doesn't need to have to be set against something. That design feature is easily ignored, until you can't just set ithe bag down. I'll never buy another bag that doesn't stand up on its own

Love the color options and look of the bag. The bag itself is super heavy before you even load it up with school books. Definitely not very room inside either. Would not recommend this particular bag.

I use it to go to school and work every day throughout the year. I've only had this backpack for a little over 2 years and my backpack is already very worn. Both pockets have holes that make my water bottles fall out. My last backpack from North Face did the same too. I really liked the inside pockets and design but some of the quality of the backpack are just not able to last. Stitching is also coming undone.

The shoulder straps failed after about nine months. Got a replacement, and now the shoulder straps are failing after just a couple of months. Disappointed. I expected better from The North Face.

Not as durable as the previous model bought 5 years ago. Not the best quality. I use it every day for school. The third pouch in the front is smaller than previous design. Hard to fit a lunchbox so I actually returned it. The first pouch is fine for computer, the second pouch is good for notebooks and the third pouch held my lunchbox in the older model. New model doesn't have a large pouch extending down to bottom so I cannot fit my lunchbox. It is only a half pouch which is very disappointing and the reason why I am returning this backpack.

New design with recycled materials not nearly as good. Water bottle pockets are too short, and my 24 ounce metal water bottle constantly falls out. Bag feels thinner and lower quality overall. If you put anything in either of the front two pockets, it leaves a large lump sticking out. The drawstrings feel cheaper and come out.

Why does this have good reviews? This is hands down the most uncomfortable backpack I've ever had. The straps bear down and have no support, making the backpack seem heavier than it should. The backpack is very thin and bulges out at the top if you put items in the first two front pockets. For such a thin backpack, the weight distribution is awful. I only carry my laptop and small miscellaneous items.

I needed a new bag to replace my old '06 Borealis - the rubber on the bottom is finally starting to degrade. I thought I'd replace it with a new model. To be honest, I'm very disappointed. The front pockets only go down half the length of the bag, making it extremely top heavy. It also falls over on its front, constantly. No matter what is in the main pocket, no matter how full it is, it will fall over on its front. I can't stand it. It feels like a downgrade from my old '06 model, and I do not recommend it to anyone who is looking for a functional school bag.

Love our old backpack, but this one leaves a lot to be desired, mostly in regards to the smaller pockets and the lack of a lower front pocket... major design flaw!

This bag has been great for school, work, and travel. It has been great for some longer hikes as well. However, this bag does NOT perform well in the rain. After walking for about an hour in a small rain storm through the city, contents in ALL pockets were water soaked or wet. Wish the design was better for all weather.

Bag has excellent build quality and design, but was too small for what I needed.

I was leaving on a long trip and got this bag for that reason. I absolutely can't stand this bag. It looks great, the straps are comfortable, but the bottle holder is the pits! My bottle is constantly falling out and clanking all over which is super embarrassing. The only thing that has helped is tying my water bottle in the bag with a shoe lace which doesn't look good but it functions. Absolutely do not recommend this bag at all. Because I left for an extended time I can't return it either. It also makes me think the next time I buy something I will get it from a place which honors their products more and stands behind it longer, so I will make my next purchase with the competitor. Extremely disappointed here.

Poor quality, water gets through, bag folds over, and worst of all the straps slide off my shoulders each time I wear them no matter how I adjust the bag. Not very user friendly.

Received a damaged backpack and had to ship it back. Cost of delivery was over $40 and NorthFace would not compensate for time/money lost.

Received the bag with a tear in it (covered under warranty). The price of shipping back was $50, North Face wouldn't cover. Refund takes weeks to process. No compensation for the time/money lost.