The North Face  Recon Pack - Women's

Great backpack with just the right amount of compartments, pockets, and dividers to keep yourself organized on the go. Love that it's ergonomically designed for women, so it's noticeably more comfortable than other backpacks I've had in the past. The ONLY thing I wish it had is a secret pocket for your phone/wallet on the side that comes in contact with your back, but other than that, it's a backpack that you can tell was designed with a lot of thought directed towards organizing.

I was looking for a travel pack with some sturdiness to it for airplane trips as well as car travel. Although this one was a bit more expensive than others I looked at, it’s worth it. Smaller spaces for phone, wallet, and other essentials, and a nicely padded laptop space (fits my iPad Pro). I’m impressed with the zippers-very smooth and easy to open the different sections. The water bottle carrier pockets keep the bottles in securely. Nice color, too overall, I’m very happy with this pack.

I love this backpack. I have used a North Face pack before for many years but it eventually wore out. This is its replacement and I know it will last a long time. My only qualm is that it doesn't seem to hold as much as my previous one, but I don't recall seeing any options with larger capacities. Better for my back, maybe, but I got stuff to carry! Regardless, it's well made and I don't regret my purchase.

I have a long-standing rule that no matter how long I travel, I will only take on 30 L pack and everything has to fit in that or it doesn't go. The pack I've been using for about a decade is so beaten up that I had to find a new 30 L pack for upcoming international travel. The North Face women's recon looked good on the web but it's got a serious design flaw. There's a computer pocket in the back (which I need), then a main compartment, a smaller front compartment, a small pocket on the front and several expanding stash areas. The problem is that the main compartment is essentially pyramid shaped. It's very hard to get things into and out of the base of the bag, especially if you have the smaller compartment and front pocket full. So, there ends up being a zone of space that's essentially 'dead' or very hard to use. It might not matter for someone who is using this as a small day pack and doesn't care about easy accessibility to all the space. But, for someone like me who is trying to cram as much as possible into a bag and then have easy access to everything, it's very frustrating. With a good deal of planning and effort, I can fill the base of the pyramid but then it's difficult and time consuming to get things out. This is a serious design flaw. It makes me wonder whether North Face even has people testing their bags 'in the field.' I don't have time to get another pack right now so it's a real bummer to discover what is a really silly and inexplicable design flaw. Why they made the front compartment so short is a real enigma--if it had been full length, it would have had useful space rather than blocking the area in the main compartment. So frustrating!

The straps on the women’s version of the recon are so short that the padding stops at my armpits. I exchanged it for the men’s version which is better. Still I think the padded part of the straps should be longer. Otherwise it’s a nice pack.

I’ve purchased a previous model of this backpack and remember being able to set it down and it would stand up, this version will not. It’s annoying enough that I logged into Rei today to see when I bought it, in hopes it was still returnable, sadly it’s been just over a year. I was hoping it would break in a bit and I would be able to set it down without it falling to the floor, but I’ve used it a few times and it’s clear to me that it’s just constructed differently. Too bad.

Cons: Doesn't fit my short (five foot four) frame - top of back of pack pushes neck forward -- ow! Wide scratchy straps will for sure cut into your neck. Pros: well made, with lots of pockets, so if you are very tall and always wear turtlenecks, this may be the daypack for you.

Unfortunately, the hip belt at its most extended point did not fit around my waist (around 35").

Great backpack for the high school that always has too much to carry. Durable and a great size. No concerns about replacing a backpack Midway through the year.

Great backpack! Super comfy and holds a lot for its size. Also looks very cool!