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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Alabama on 2/4/2008
My son needed a new school backpack. His friend already had this backpack so we got one also. It is a great pack with plenty of room for all of his school gear and extras. It is sturdy and durable. I highly recommend this backpack for middle school and high school kids.
It's overall a nice bag but the color shown on the internet is totally different then what it is in reality. On the web its a soft pretty blue but when mine arrived its this blah blue a blue meant for guys. I'm probaly going to end up getting a different color but it is a nice bag.
from murfreesboro, tn on 9/1/2007
over all great product and well worth the money!
from Stuttgart AR. on 8/5/2007
My child noticed these backpacks when we went to orientation for her first year of college. We ordered the red one as soon as we returned home. We had her initials monogramed under the Northface logo. The orientation leaders each carried one. Love the red one. Go Hogs!
from kutztown PA on 2/26/2007
love the backpack
from College Station, Texas on 2/9/2007
I LOVE this backpack. It's perfect for college use and trips.
from Chicago, IL on 11/10/2006
It is all I could have hoped for it to be. I am a North Face freak, so I already knew what I was getting
from Mobile, Alabama on 10/24/2006
The only complaint my son has about this bag is that the flap of material covering the zipper makes it difficult to access the zipper. If the Jester can withstand the test of time as a book bag, then it is well worth every dime I paid for it. We're very happy with our purchase.
The Jester is a perfect size for the day trip, or, I suppose, for lugging those school books around all day. It will certainly hold everything you need, but can it withstand the use you put it through?
My Jester arrived with one defect, and rapidly developed another. The first was a problem with the stitching around the neck of one of the water bottle side pockets. I figured this is only a minor problem. But after about a week of use, the bag also developed at the junction of one of the shoulder straps and the backpack top. Obviously, this is a serious problem. I contacted TNF and they said they would have to inspect the problems before they could suggest a course of action. I decided to exchange the bag straight up and hope for the best with the new one.
The new backpack doesn't have the strap or watter bottle pocket problem. However, I noticed that the stitching around the front pocket is already giving out. This is a part of the pack that never faces any stress at all, so I have decided to keep the pack and hope for the best--I might stitch up the problem area myself just to keep things from dropping out if the hole gets bigger.
The North Face used to be an amazing company in terms of its product warranty and the quality of its products. However, I have noticed over the last 4 years or so, probably as popularity has led to more mass production, that the quality of their gear just isn't what it used to be. It might be time for them to up the terms of their warranty to cover return shipping of defective items.
So those are my concerns, but what about the bag itself? It is a very large backpack, much more capacity than I had anticipated, which is a good thing. The shoulder straps are reasonably well padded, and the removable waist belt is definitely an added bonus. Even the front pocket is capacious enough for real storage, not just pencils and keys! I have never been a fan of the bungee system on the front of packs, the elastic simply gives out too early in the life of the bag, so I have no positive words for those. The "back" of the pack is well padded, but not so cushy that the bag is obscenely heavy.
Aside from the quality concerns that I have with this pack, I would only warn that the bag is big, maybe too big for most people. I am 5'11", and the bag feels too long for my frame. They claim it fits people with torso lengths from 17 to 22 inches, but I would say you want to cheat upwards on this bag--say maybe 19 inch torsos and higher.
Overall, I am counting on TNF's product warranty and stellar reputation for quality to overcome any of the problems that may come up with this backpack--the price was right [...], and the volume is just what I needed.
from belmont, ma on 9/4/2006
My older daughter ordered this same backpack last year, and is very happy with it. My youngest will use the one recently purchsed for school this year.
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from alabama on 8/18/2006
if you are looking for a backpack for school, keep looking
from Piscataway, NJ on 5/30/2006
This bag has everything I need for my school day and all the room in the world for road trips. The straps and extremely comfortable and adjustable and the padding is the perfect amount to make the bag feel lightweight no matter how much is packed in.
[0 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from Birmingham, AL on 5/9/2006
Bought my daughter a backpack [...] when we were in a great hurry. Made the selection and [...] very satisfied.
from Summit, New Jersey on 2/24/2006
Very helpful. 2 spots for water bottles and they always come in handy.