The North Face Women's Surge II

I love this backpack.
It has more features than I ever could have hoped for. The front pocket has lots of space for just about anything you could need, spots for pens, earphones, calculator, computer mouse and power cord.
The middle is a nice open free space you could pack a set of clothing, small blanket or anything if you might need on a flight.
The laptop compartment blew me away, its thick and padded and is the first time I have trusted my laptop without having to put it in a secondary sleeve. The bottom also is extremely thickly padded so you don't have to baby it when setting it down. The tablet sleeve is awesome as well. It snuggle fits even a 7 inch and you don't have to worry about it bumping into a laptop or anything else potentially getting scratched.
A few small but much appreciated things I noticed after buying it. There is a small pocket near the bottom opposite of the water bottle holder, its a great small spot for putting a cell phone that wouldn't be a hassle to get out if you got a call. The chest strap is awesome as well, it has some elastic on it for some resistance, it also oddly has a whistle attached to it that took me a while to notice. Warning, I wouldn't blow it unless you have to because it is extremely loud. There is also fabric that goes over move of the zipper parts so it wont get caught on anything and unzip one.
Lastly and most importantly, the back support is absolutely amazing on this. I have a herniated disk and this backpack just hangs in the best position and it really feels weightless on my body, as well as the woman's fit really helps because it doesn't lay straight across your chest making it unconformable. The arms go loosely over your arms and down your sides connected near the hip area. Using the chest strap it hangs just over your chest area before it gets to your neck making it far more conformable than other backpacks I have had.
My only complaint, its really, really petite in size. If your even a fairly tall person it looks really small compared to other backpacks.
Overall, even for the price the quality really shows in this backpack and I think this one defiantly made me a fan of The North Face.

I just recently bought this bag after having used the men's surge two for a year. The men's Surge was amazing, but fit a little wide on my shoulders. After a whole year of being lugged around school, thrown around and even after three hiking trips the bag still looked BRAND NEW! So this year I decided that as I needed a good strong bag for work (I often bike to work) I would get the Black/Blue women's Surge for school and use my old one for work. My new bag truly is amazing. It looks really nice, and I get a lot of complements. The black is a nice, strong black, and the blue is really bright and shocking. I absolutely love the laptop compartment! I can fit my earphones and charger in the tablet pocket and throw my MacBook Air in the laptop compartment and know that its safe. Something that I really love about the bag is that the laptop compartment has a foam log on the bottom, so that when I drop my laptop into the pocket or my bag onto the floor I know its well protected. The back is really rigid and awesomely padded, so that not only is it safe and protected, but the bag is SUPER comfortable. I can have three 2 inch textbooks, a binder, my agenda, my calculator and my pencil case in the one large main compartment, as well as my laptop and charger in the laptop section and yet feel as if there is very little weight on my shoulders. The straps never cut into my shoulders, even when I am biking or hiking with heavy loads. I have spilled many things on the bag and so far everything has wiped off the material easily. The stash pocket on the side as well as the water bottle pocket are convenient places to stash everything from my student card to my snack. There are so many great features to this bag, it really is an overall amazing bag for EVERYTHING. IT is totally worth the money, as it will last at least 5 years easily, which one can really only expect from TNF.

Although this is the most expensive backpack I have ever owned, I have to say that I am happy to have made this purchase. I got the white/grey/pink combo. I love the colors (very feminine), all the pockets, and the cushioning on the back is amazing! I've received some compliments on it, and I have recommended they purchase from Zappos. It holds my MacBook Pro 15" perfectly in its own pocket, and I can also fit my battery in any of the other pockets, as there are so many spacious ones, its hard to choose where to put stuff sometimes. The only negatives I have found are the side water bottle compartment, as well as the top handle. The elastic is not tight enough or long enough, so my water bottle has already fallen out a couple of times, usually when I am pulling it out of my car. Also, the top handle is thin and not as cushioned, making it kind of irritating on the skin to pull the backpack up by the top handle. I was skeptical about the white getting super dirty, but so far it hasn't stained, although I try not to put it on the dirty floors at school. The whistle is not very loud but still convenient if ever needed. The other side pocket on the opposite side of the water bottle compartment, is made up of very thin fabric, and you can't really put much in there without it looking awkward and bulky, and I am also scared the fabric will start to pull. A note to future buyers, the first day I wore this to school, it was a little stiff on the straps, but once they start to take shape to your body, they are super comfy. Overall, I would recommend this back pack, especially if you have back pains like me, since it is the most comfortable I have owned. I am thinking of getting one for my little sister for Christmas, as she is going off to college soon. Thank you North Face for making this, and Zappos for selling it and delivering it the very next day!

I have tried several messenger bags (Osprey, Haiku, and Sherpani) and one backpack (High Sierra) trying to find one that will hold everything I need while on campus and is still comfortable to carry. I am a student and I live an hour from campus, so I need to make sure I have everything I need, which makes for a heavy backpack! I did a lot of research before ordering this one. It was the largest The North Face offered with the most organization. I also ordered a Patagonia one that was comparable in size. I think it was their 32L one. The Surge II won hands down. Tons of space for all my books, laptop, cell, lab coat, hairnet, pens, calculator, highlighters, pencils, wallet, feminine products, and the list goes on and on. To top it off, it is so comfortable. My last backpack aggravated the problem areas in my back and neck, but this backpack doesn't just hang off your back, it becomes an extension of your back. I didn't even know it was approved by the American Chiropractic Association until I got it. I was unsure of paying this much for a bag, but my last one was $80 and only lasted a few months...bummer quality costs so much, but if you can come to terms with the price, you will not be disappointed! Fantastic bag! No wonder almost everyone on campus carries a North Face bag of one type or another! Thanks North Face and Zappos!

I really love my new backpack from NorthFace. I had shopped around and looked at many different alternatives, and this was the best functionality and design I could find for this price range. I love the multiple compartments, especially the separate laptop compartment with a sleeve for a tablet as well. I have never owned a NorthFace backpack before, and was nervous that there would be something that would make me regret purchasing this bag- but I have been pleasantly surprised and only have two complaints about this bag. The first is that the front pouch has a curved zipper design, which I have found troublesome to get open at times; the zipper gets stuck in the rounded edge and I have to come at it from another angle to get it open. If I didn't have this problem, I would have given this bag 5 stars. The second complaint is a lack of professional color choices. For the women's fit they only had black, purple, pink, and white color accents. That was kind of a let down as I needed this bag to look more professional and had to get a boring black/black bag to achieve that look. Just because I want a women's fit backpack doesn't mean that I want a purple or pink bag and I wish NorthFace would figure this out. All in all, a great backpack that I would recommend to anyone.

Just got this book sack in Brook Blue / Graphite Grey and i absolutely love it! It feels great on and is super cute! There are tons of pockets which is a really good thing. A few things that i didn't notice when buying it that are good to know are that: the two vertical zippers on the front are actually two different pockets that overlap each other, there is a small pocket on the bottom of right side of the book sack, perfect to store a few things such as your phone, which gives you easy access to reach it without having to take off the whole book sack (if you look closely in the bottom left hand side of the second picture you can see it), the laptop pouch has a cushion at the bottom so that whenever you slide it in the book sack or put the book sack down it doesn't hit the floor, and the bottom waist strap shown in the picture can be tucked away and you can't even tell it's there! it has plenty of room and the material seems like it would be water resistant. i am in love with this book sack and can not wait to start using it this year for college, it is definitely worth the money!!!

Love this backpack! I have looked at so many backpacks for school this fall, but none of them were exactly what I was looking for, except this one. It's feminine, made for a women's body, very good size and it's comfy too. It easily fits my 15.5 inch laptop, in a separate pocket from everything else, which is a must for me. It also easily holds a binder, notebook and 2 books and more! I love the color and it's very sleek it holds a lot, but it doesn't stick out a mile or look super huge when all loaded up! I also love that it Has a middle pocket so its really easy to keep all your things organized. Kind of pricey, but worth the money if you want a bag that is feminine, can fit your laptop, books and more! So glad I bought this bag!

I own the original Surge pack, bought back in 2007. I've used it a lot, and while it's worn in places, for the most part it is still in very good shape. The only holes I have are small and in the mesh where I put water bottles. I also own an old Recon, which is 10 years old, and is still in great shape. I bought this for my girlfriend who has to carry a heavy bag every day for grad school. She fits a laptop in the dedicated compartment, plus books, lunch, umbrella, and various other odds and end. There are a nice variety of pockets that allow for good organization. The straps don't feel very padded, but they are very comfortable and last over time. Well-worth the money. These bags last and last.

This backpack is the most amazing backpack ever!! The colors are awesome and there are so many pockets to put things in. I can fit 2 textbooks, 2 binders, and 2 notebooks into my bag along with a pencil box and a large notecard holder. This item is great quality and I would definitely buy this again. If you need a backpack bigger than the Borealis, I would strongly recommend this bag. Even though it is higher up in price, you get what you pay for (an awesome bag). Bottom line: I would recommend this to a friend and buy it again. I have been raving about this backpack to my family and it is truly amazing. Good job North Face, you have the best backpack on the market.

The first thing that caught my eye was the color. This pack is rated for women, it works fine for men as well, and I'm a big guy. I use my pack for transport of weekend trip gear. It stores clothing, toiletries, and all my computer gadgets with plenty of room to spare. There are spacious main sections as well as enough small, secure pockets to be a small apartment! It is well made, comfortable to carry with a load. With its straps correctly set, there is no lateral shifting. This pack was well designed. I do wish, however, that the main straps were a bit more heavy duty. I think the Surge II and I are going to be good friends.