Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

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.

My middle schooler has been using this for over 2 weeks and I'm ready to throw it out. The backpack is extremely top heavy due to the front pockets only being on the top portion of the bag and the inner pockets hold very little gear. The front strap system is also throwing the entire bag off balance. It looks like a nice bag but performance wise, this is not it.

This bag has constantly let me down over the course of my time using it. My biggest complaint is that the design is extremely poor, and the bag constantly folds over itself when I put anything in the second largest pouch (see photo). Additionally, there's holes in both water bottle holders that make water bottles slip thru every time. Overall disappointed with the quality and would recommend a different bag for anyone.

I bought this backpack this summer, and my son did not use it until the school year started. It's the 3rd week of school. My son just picked up his backpack, and the shoulder strap ripped off.

I ordered this product online however when I got it there were so many fraying edges and straps that were stiff and crinkly.

the elastic straps have snapped twice, its not even worth trying to get them fixed. the backpack is incredibly comfortable when packed ~Just~ right. arguably the most comfortable backpack I own. but overstuffed? Terrible. not completely full? Terrible. I frequently keep a blanket shoved in the bottom of this backpack to keep it from feeling floppy. putting the two small pockets up high means putting anything in there makes the backpack so top heavy. and these are exactly the pockets where I put essentials that are always in the backpack, so its always an issue. cant set it down on the ground upright. cant open the main pocket without it spilling over. its so frustrating, it feels like they made this thing upside down. Maybe it works great in Australia. suggestions to TNF: replace the elastics with some straps. switch the top pockets to the bottom so they help hold the backpack up. add compression straps to the side (these can hold the water bottles in place) detach the bottom compression from the back cushion (using them currently turns the backpack bean shaped which is uncomfortable) if you have a bored designer who wants to call me you have my email. TLDR: great backpack to wear, Terrible to pack and open. Bad build quality.