Customer Reviews The North Face Surge

I use it for college and keep books iPad MacBook and my pouch I for daily use

I really like the size and the upgraded features. There is some string sheikh came loose a week after I bought it bot otherwise such a great purchase

I bought the Surge since North Face describes its "ability to stand unsupported". It does not. The backpack keeps falling. This is a deal breaker for me. I was looking for a backpack that can stand and wouldn't have bought the Surge if I had known that I will have to find a chair or a wall for it every time.

I dearly loved the previous version of this backpack. I'm disappointed that this one has less actual volume and less usable volume than the previous model.

A buckle already broke on the first day.

Sure, here's a revised version of your review: I've had this backpack since January 2022, and I recently had to return it for warranty repair. As a high school student, I found that the backpack performs adequately for my needs. It features a spacious, lined laptop sleeve that accommodates large laptops (15-17 inches) and notebooks. The plastic backing adds rigidity to the laptop compartment, and the two quick-access compartments have additional lined areas to protect delicate items from scratches. The overall organization is effective, allowing me to neatly separate various chargers, jackets, pencil cases, and other school materials. However, the design and storage distribution have some issues. The main compartment is too narrow to comfortably fit thick books or additional clothes for colder seasons, making it challenging to organize and fit everything. Once packed, the backpack becomes quite tight, and I noticed the seams starting to tear, which is why I had to seek a warranty repair. The water bottle holder is generally adequate for a Hydro Flask, but the mesh material started tearing after just four months of normal use, indicating poor design. Given the price, I feel that The North Face could have engineered the main storage compartment better. On a positive note, the backpack is comfortable and sleek, and stains and dirt come off surprisingly easily. For the average student, this is a fine backpack. If you plan to frequent trips and destinations, reconsider this backpack, although it has help up to my travels worldwide.

Too small for highschool student

I like the pockets, but a big issue with this backpack is that you can't really fill all of the pockets. Once you put a laptop and notebook in the first compartment and then fill the front pockets the ability to use the main large pocket is drastically reduced. I can barely get a water bottle to squeeze in. I wish they would have kept the old Surge backpack design from a couple years ago, that worked much better

I purchased this for travel, however I found more suitable bag. It is a very well constructed backpack. Perfect for school use.

Primarily a commuter, backpack and for graduate school. Although it has a phenomenal compartment for things like a laptop and a tablet, the main compartment seems a bit limited. also, the shoulder straps keep bunching up, and I know it's only a matter of time before they start degrading. I just get the sense the material and design is gonna start wearing down faster than previous models.

I was looking for a large capacity backpack to use when traveling and bought this. My luggage didn't fit as much as I expected.

I needed a backback large enough to carry a full size laptop (Razer) and my clothes and supplies for overnight. I cannot even get the laptop into the backpack, let alone clothes for overnight trip.

Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed in this backpack. I don't always utilize the outer pockets but they are ok. Maybe too many. The placement of the the pockets is very weird. There is no quick access to a phone from the side pockets and neither of the J-zip pockets are not even fleece lined. The main pocket is wider toward the base and makes it a struggle to fit things comfortably. The fleece pocket is too big for what it's made for and has a awkward space above the zipper that is really hard to use. It takes up more space than the front compartment. They should have just combined the two. Also, the thing hardly stands up on its own, and in multiple configurations. I use it as daypack, travel bag with laptop, snacks, etc., and for clothes and toiletries. Overall, not bad and it is still useable, but it did not meet expectations.

I ordered this because it has great organization and several useful pockets. I like the look of it better than any pack I've seen so far. I bought the asphalt gray standard model, not the Women's Surge, because I could not get the neutral gray color I sought. It is stylish and it's easy to access all the pockets. I love the easy-to-grab zipper pulls. When it arrived, I found that the back panel is quite stiff, the pack is heavy even when empty. I'm 5'4", and the bottom of the pack, when the straps are properly tightened, sits a full 3" below my waist. The Women's Surge pack is only 1/2" shorter, not different enough to adjust to an average 5'3"-5'8" woman's frame vs a 5'10-6'3" man's size. I weighed it with an accurate luggage scale: 3 lbs. 1.5 oz, not the 2 lbs. 12oz listed on the website description. My goal was to find a replacement for an old 18.5" tall, organized (non-Northface) backpack that weighs 1.5 lbs. Northface, I would love to see this same pack in a 15-20% smaller, 40% lighter version with the same amount of organization. I need my travel pack weight to be primarily my laptop, books and other items, not the pack itself. Disclaimer: I am a retired luggage/pack designer who travels several months a year, so am uber-sensitive to the style, organization and ergonomic details of all my travel products.

Bag design was average nothing very special or unique about it. Seemed overly bulky and cumbersome for the size and likely use.

A laptop and a few clothes the bag feels over stuffed.

I use it for work moderately, not too heavy but would average 10lbs there about. However after a few months of wearing the strap is ripping and I will need a new bag soon. Really don't want the same quality, as I would like something that lasts a little longer.

The backpack looks great with all its compartments and storage but in reality it's a bad backpack, the main storage compartment is very small even for a freshman in high school! It's so small I can only fit three 1 in binders with no extra room. The other north face backpacks are a much better choice for high school kids.

Bought the Surge for work travel in early March - it's July 30. 5 months, 5 business trips. As of today, the seams are stretched/ripped on several pockets, like the very top one and the laptop sleeve for some reason. And - despite the huge capacity - you can't access the things in the biggest pocket, which means you have to unpack the bag to get anything out of it. Disappointed to say the least. I expected more of THF. Will be looking at alternatives.

I had my north face borealis backpack for about 15 years and used it almost every day. Other than some normal fading, the backpack stayed in great shape. I decided to "upgrade" to the this pack, and within 6months the stitching on the backpack strap began to separate (see picture). I would like to think this is a fluke but I think clearly the quality of north face has declined tremendously.

Second bag, second time it has ripped.

This bag did not meet my expectations! Plenty of pockets for storage but as you fill each pocket it got tighter and section kind of invaded the other sections space. The laptop storage, thank god I did not bring my laptop or iPad with me. A day out in rainy condition the laptop storage was wet inside, I'm guessing from the zippers? The rest of the bag seemed to shed off the water well. Wish there was a suitcase strap to put in the carry-on bag while at the airport. Bag was kind of heavy with the thick padding for the back and made the bag feel heavy after a few hours. Even worse when it got wet.

1 no size in order site, and 2, it can NOT fully open. yes, it open, for top 1/4 , so if you have couple of pan and shirts, try hard to stuff into whatever you have , after destination, you bid, no more wrinkle free.....

Bought this backpack for my high school son. Within a couple months, one of the straps started to rip. As a result, he had to start using the other strap. For the cost, I'd expect better quality.

I have used surge 2 daily for 13 years until I changed to new one because of color fade and oldness. Well this one didn't last so long. After two years the straps started to break and because of the reflection parts straps hits the part in my shoulder the fabric broke and it is bad quality. I don't recommend this anymore. If you go then go for surge 2. Somehow the backpack does not fit so well the stuff I would want to put in.