THE NORTH FACE Borealis MINI Backpack

For a recent trip to Paris, I wanted a small lightweight backpack to wear during my long walking excursions throughout the city. The backpack needed to be lightweight and hold a water bottle, light jacket or sweater, umbrella, extra iPhone battery, other small items, and anything else I might need to spend the day away from my hotel. It also needed to be "packable" (which typically means folding into a small pouch that comes with it and may or may not be attached)—or at least not take up a lot of space or weigh a lot. Thus, I embarked on a 3-month long search for exactly the right backpack, spending hours and hours online. However, I kept coming back to this one. This backpack comes in a variety of very nice colors. I considered black—so neutral and goes with everything. But I was really attracted to the “gardenia white” one. Since most of my travels will be, if not during summer, in milder temperatures, the light color appealed to me. It’s actually a warm off-white, rather than a stark white color. The black trim and zipper pulls give it some sophistication, and the total look is very appealing. Having decided on the color range, I then looked at hundreds of backpacks in white, off-white, and beige. Once again, I kept coming back to this one. While I was willing to pay more, this one met most of my needs and just happened to also be very reasonably priced. It has a small, but sufficiently sized, front pocket with an almost invisible zipper (which I like, in case of pick pockets). On the exterior, one side has a stretch pocket that holds a bottle of water or smaller umbrella. The other side is claimed to be a second water bottle holder. However, it is actually a very tiny pocket, which (as others have noted) has such a narrow opening that it is almost impossible to get into and thus useless as a practical matter (and I have very small hands). Ultimately, I used it as a place to store clean, loose tissues that I could quickly access if I needed to blow my nose, because of spring pollen, or needed to wipe something up. The padded top handle is useful and comfortable if one needs or wants to carry it that way (such as on a crowded subway or bus). And internally there is an open pocket and a nice sized zipper pocket with a key clip I hadn’t initially considered it necessary but began to really like the idea of the front bungee system. I could use it for compression. However, I found that the most practical use for it in my case was as another place to store a sweater or jacket. This way, if I acquired items along the way that I put into the backpack, the bungee system could be used to make way for them internally by attaching my jacket to it. Finally, the padded straps and back panel make this backpack very comfortable for all day use. This means that it isn’t foldable, but it’s small and thin enough to simply store flat in the bottom of your luggage. The slight amount of bulk the back panel padding adds is worth it. Backpacks without it means that items inside can protrude and bump against your back as you walk. The only downside is the lack of a true second outside pocket. I do miss this as exterior pocket for an umbrella that can be quickly accessed (always useful when travelling to Europe). But this meets all of my other needs so well that it was worth the trade-off. I’m back from Paris and truly love this backpack. I used it every day, all day. I found it more useful and comfortable than a sling bag would be, especially since I could put a lot in it-- from fruit purchased at a stand to souvenirs to everything needs to stay out for 8 or more hours at a time. Its light weight, along with padded straps and back panel, made it very comfortable. It looked great, with enough of a put together and appealing style that I never wished I’d brought a handbag. For all that it does, it is a terrific value.

i usually never leave reviews but i just had to for this one,, i originally bought it for a hiking trip but figured i could try to see if anything i owned would fit into it. i could fit my ipad 11 inch air into this as well as fit my sony xm4 headphones in front of it, however thats all that could fit into the main pocket. i love that it has small pockets for keys and other small things. i could fit three b5 campus notebooks with a pencil pouch inside, however i would advise using a larger bag for school as this one is still very small despite being able to hold these items.

Freaking love this backpack. It is the perfect size and lightweight for carrying a few things around. I like how flat it sits on my back, and that it doesn't stick out too much. I bought this for a cruise and it was awesome! It fit my Samsung tablet and many other things. It is roomier than it looks. The zippers are great quaily, and it sturdy.

great little bag! thought it was a little pricey at first but after using the bag i think the price is worth it for the quality. great for day trips like the zoo or amusement parks. would be good for hiking too. very comfortable. the only problem is the side water bottle pouch is very small and doesn’t fit most water bottles so if i bring a bottle i have to put it inside the backpack, but it’s not really an issue and does not affect my rating at all.

The good: Quality made, durable, comfortable, and comes in a wide variety of colors. I chose purple. I love it. I've had to wash it (don't ask, but it involved eggs...it was dumb but what a disaster) and it went through the washer without losing any color. . . which is a bit of a duh because it's nylon and the color is built into the plasticized fibers. The water resistance didn't take a hit either, though, and I was relieved about that. I wouldn't put it through the washer often though. Hand cleaning, had it been an option, would have been a much better idea. Should have hosed it off outside, now that I think about it. I digress. Straps are comfortable to wear, elastic stays elasticky. Interior pockets and exterior elastic web will easily hold my e-reader and a composition sized notebook as well as a light sport jacket for those inevitably *super cold* AC environments one finds in Texas in the summer. There's a nice mesh pocket for keys and a wallet and a key strap to keep track of those hidey little things. I can even fit a re-usable Kleen Kanteen 27 oz water bottle inside with all this business. Which brings me to the bad... The Bad: No, this does NOT hold a reusable water bottle no matter what the rhetoric says in the marketing blah blah. MAYBE a 10-oz disposable bottle. MAYBE. But only on one side. The other alleged bottle pocket on the exterior holds . . . a small travel pack of tissues, which is exactly what I use it for. So limited pockets - a flat pocket in the back to hold a reader or a tablet, a bigger interior pocket for whatever else, which also has the mesh pocket for wallet and keys and whatever other small items you don't want to get lost in the interior, and a large-ish exterior pocket that also has the elastic bands to hold stuff like a jacket or a hat. The end of the usable pockets. Exterior pockets are basically kind of useless for me except for the Kleenex travel pack and the lip balm I carry there. The Ugly: There is no ugly. This bag is cute as hell.

Perfect size for my use, indoor climbing bag. Fits everything I have desired to put into it. She's pretty small so I don't wear it, usually just carry it with the carry handle. Quite durable so far and I'm planning on buying another for hiking and commuting during travel. The shoulder pads are very squishy and comfortable along with the carry handle. This bag sold me on buying the full-size and it's now my dedicated carry-on. Included picture of full size and mini.

It's a great pack and I love it. Very durable, small, which is what I wanted. To be honest I'm not sure how they calculated the size at 10L. It's clearly much smaller than my other two 10L packs. It's in fact about the same size as my 6L Osprey Daylite sling bag. In my opinion it's the perfect size bag for me to use on a daily basis.

I've been looking for a small every day bag for my water bottle, keys, hat, gloves, maybe my Nintendo Switch, that sort of thing. I don't need something large enough for a computer, and I don't want something cumbersome or heavy. This looked like a really great option. Unfortunately... the straps are not nearly long enough for me to wear this. Now I'll be fair, I'm 6'2" and pretty heavy. But I don't have especially broad shoulders, and most of the weight is in my gut. I'm big, but I don't think I'm so big that I should be outside the range that this bag is being marketed for. Especially when you consider how many images on this listing show people wearing coats and jackets, which would bulk them up significantly. My wife is much shorter, and the bag fits on her okay, but the straps still seem a little short. The straps also connect to the bag very close to the middle, which doesn't result in the best geometry. They really did just take their larger bag, and scale it down with almost no additional thought. The other issue is the water bottle pockets. Now I never intended to use those, I want the water in the middle of the main part to keep the weight centered, but if you were considering using those pockets: No, they aren't big enough. You might, with some struggle, get a 16oz disposable bottle into the one that has elastic. But unless you have something more flask-shaped (but still not wide) that's not going to work. That being said, if you are short/petite, or buying this for a child: It seems pretty great! Okay materials, good looking construction, nice padding on the back and straps, etc. Over all, if not for the strap lengths I'm pretty happy with the item. I'm just probably going to have to return it since it doesn't fit on my body. I'm considering maybe modifying it in some way... but I'm unsure if that's reasonable. I really WANT to like this product, and I WANT to use it. It's disappointing, as at this price it's a pretty premium product. Many quality normal sized bags go for this same price, you would think they could have give it another 6-8" of nylon to the straps. They're adjustable after all, it's not like they can make them "too long" - if someone doesn't like the extra dangle, they could always use scissors. I'm contemplating how to do the opposite though. I don't have a sewing machine, but if I could find some nylon straps of the right width that already have loops sewn into the ends, I could probably connect them to the existing ones with carabiners and not have to actually cut or sew anything.