Customer Reviews The North Face Borealis

Did not last a couple weeks. terrible quality.

Absolutely horrified that I spent so much money on this backpack. I bought it about 2 weeks ago as I am a grad student and I spend long days on campus away from home and need to carry a lot. Size is great! Unfortunately, it literally broke within less than a month of owning it while I was away from home for 12 hours. One of the straps completely came unattached. Obviously, I was capable of carrying it on one shoulder all day. But since I have arthritis, my shoulder is now out of commission for the next 2 weeks. Not sure if ableism or extremely bad luck, either way soul crushing moment from north face.

Bought this backpack for my daughter and the side pockets did not hold up at all and ripped after very little use. After reading other reviews it seems that other customers have had this problem as well. Poor design.

This is the third Borealis Backpack I have purchased for two middle school kids. They all start to fall apart after a couple of months of use. I have not been pleased with the quality of any of the 3 Borealis Backpacks I have purchased. The side pockets completely ripped on the first one within weeks. I was offered a credit for the warranty replacement (it was not a full value replacement cost). The replacement pack has different side pocket material but the elastic string ends have come off so it is impossible to tighten them around water bottles. Now the top strap is coming unsewn on the 3rd one.

We are returning this because it broke after the first day.

It was purchased for me as a gift because I wanted a slightly larger backpack than my old Jester and this one advertizes more volume but it has less usefull volume. its design is poor at best. its made for someone whose idea of hiking is walking to the subway to go do some homework in the park. pretty useless even as a briefcase/pack. its ballance is poor and it holds significantly less then my Jester. I used it once then set it asside. I wish I had returned it when I had the chance.

This backpack is so small. It doesn't fit a Nalgene water bottle, bought for nursing school but won't fit shoes, lunch and books at the same time.

Already torn after second use. Will be filing a warranty repair at my next opportunity.

I literally wore it a single time and now see that the zipper string has come off on one side. ONE TIME!! I can't believe it's this poor quality for the price.

I bought this backpack for my son for college. We have owned several North Face backpacks and have been happy with them. The Borealis lasted only a few uses. The strap ripped on about the third use.

Worst bag I have ever owned. The side pockets don't retain large water bottles like yeti well. Additionally the laptop compartment traps in heat, baking your electronics unless you shut them down

Very disappointed. After one week of light use by my son for camp, the top inner stitching of main compartment is all undone. Poor quality, and for the price I am extremely disappointed. My son doesn't want to return it, but I will never purchase from northface again.

Purchased backpack for my daughter as a Freshman, 1/2 through Senior year the shoulder strap broke., essentially did not use for a year because of COVID. Sent back to Warranty would not repair or cover under warranty.

Just a warning to anyone considering this- I bought two of these, one after the other and they both had the same problem. The main straps on the back began to rip and eventually detach. Probably a manufacturing defect because I've had North base backpacks before that performed great, and I do think Northface makes great stuff. In both cases they began to tear almost immediately- and I don't really over pack my backpacks. Anyway not a huge deal, but be prepared for the straps to rip on the back under normal use pretty quickly. I only bought the second one thinking it must've been an anomaly that the first one ripped.

Purchased a new Borealis backpack from store 505 on May 4th. The shoulder strap started stretching from the seems a few weeks after purchase. I brought the backpack into the store where it was purchased - the store manager claimed because I had used the backpack, it was exempt from return/exchange. He offered a solution via their warranty claim service which takes anywhere from 4-8 weeks. They had me transfer my belongings to a paper bag, and said I could either purchase a new bag or wait until the current one completed warranty service. I called 800, and they said E-Commerce provides a 60 day return or exchange 'no questions asked'. Also mentioned, it is store managers discretion not to return or replace. 1 star for store manager being uncooperative and unreasonable in bringing solutions, also for defective gear that did not last more than 60 days without defecting. Inconsistency in return/exchange policies. And for having to operate via a paper bag for an undisclosed amount of weeks or buy another backpack.

Let me start by saying the last North Face backpack we got is still in great shape and we got it during a gift exchange over 14 years ago!! Both my husband and son used it for everything from camping to shooting practice (filled with heavy bullets). There isn't a tear or scratch on it and it's been stuffed full many times. With that being said, my son was starting his first year of college this year and having used the same backpack his entire high school career, it was time past time for a new one. As our other TNF backpack had lasted so long, this was an easy choice, even though we normally wouldn't spend this amount on a backpack. We bought the black patch one and I will say, it's the cutest backpack I've ever seen. I purchased it at the end of November, gave it to him for Christmas (he loves it), and as he didn't start in-person classes until around February, he saved it until then to use. When he finally did use it, it was only for a couple spiral notebooks, writing utensils, maybe a few protein bars and possibly a textbook (although I'm not sure if he even had one at the time). Anyhow, it was nothing too heavy. After using it for about 3 weeks, the seam on the inside top of the main flap began to seperate. It's nothing that is noticable from the outside, but it's definitely something that will get worse, quickly. Even though he only used it for a few weeks, we are outside of the return window. So now, my options are to just ignore it and use the backpack until it's completely falling apart (which wont be too long considering where the issue is), or spend around $20 to mail it in for (possible) warranty work. If it was a year from now, I wouldn't be too upset about it, but after three weeks of mild use?? There's just no excuse for that. It's such a shame, I'm left feeling as though TNF just isn't the same quality it used to be.

Poor quality product. The first time I used it a zipper loop broke and a front seam started popping out. I was going to use the warranty but they want me to pay to ship it in and then possibly pay even more money for repairs. They stopped e-mailing me back when I asked why I should have to pay to send it in. Since I refuse to dump more money into a poor quality backpack, I guess I'll call this a loss and lesson learned.

I'm normally reluctant to purchase expensive backpacks, but I decided I'd trust in North Face and I'd purchase something that hopefully lasts. This bag, without a second's doubt, has become the worst bag I have ever purchased. I will begin by saying I liked the design, I'm a taller guy and the vertically longer design is better for my back. The style and color are nice as well. Immediately I realized the bag is not structured to hold anything but air. If the zippers are not completely closed, they will fall down and everything will spill out. The front pocket, while seemingly larger, cannot have much added to it because the front pocket falls inward and the zippers fail. Multiple times now, I have had the front pocket simply unzip by itself and everything (my pens and other smaller items) come spilling out unexpectedly. Also, no matter if this bag is empty or completely full, it will not stay up straight. I try to set it down and it will just fall forward. No matter if I give it this extreme incline against the wall, it will magically rock itself forward and fall over no matter what.

Top heavy. If you are not wearing it, it falls over. Not enough space in the main pocket. Space is very cramped. They have cut down size to make it more cost effective for North Face. It is very cramped. Never had a back pack in 30 years this small & tight. Great for just a lap top & nothing else.

Backpack strap is ripped in two months

Too small, Not wide or deep enough, too stiff, too heavy, cup holders worthless.

Did not like the style.

Some of the interior lining that separates compartments has slowly come apart. It was defective when it arrived but the issue was minor and it has progressively worsened with normal use.

I used this product for about 5 months. It was my daily carry, typically holding a laptop, notebooks, sweatshirt, water bottle, etc. After 5 months, I noticed that one of the shoulder straps had begun to tear where it meets the top of the pack. I hopped online and, after chatting with a customer service rep, was encouraged to ship my bag to the warranty department at my expense. I have now been told that the torn shoulder strap is not covered by the warranty. This is disappointing: my previous TNF backpack lasted 8 years, and I deliberately purchased this one directly because of the warranty. I will not be purchasing directly from TNF again.

Pack is too small for my middle schooler. Store in South shore plaza Braintree wouldn't let me return even though all tags were still on and hadn't been used. I had it the day before but lost the receipt.