The North Face Daypack

Some info about The North Face Daypacks

If you want some real quality equipment for your trips, you cannot avoid at least considering products from The North Face. This company has had its equipment tested under the roughest of conditions all over the world, from Mount Everest to the North Pole. In this post I will talk a bit about The North Face Daypack and a couple of the options that are available for the customers. First, I thought we could start with a quick history of the company.

The North Face has been manufacturing equipment all the way back to 1968. It was originally a retail store that sold things that hikers, climbers and skiers needed for their expeditions. The two men behind the brand were Douglas Tompkins and Dick Klopp. The reason that they decided on the name North Face was that the north side of a mountain in the northern part of the world is almost always the hardest side to climb. In the 1980’s the North Face added more skiing equipment and a line of camping equipment to the brand.

Today The North Face is fully owned by VF Corporation. They have moved their factories to San Leandro, California. This means that they are close to their competitor and cousin JanSport. Together, JanSport daypack and The North face produce almost half the daypacks on the North American marked.

Now that we have that out of the way we can focus on the daypacks that The North Face produce. They actually produce so many of them that it would be foolish of me to try and give a review of all of them, so I will focus on two; Recon and Jester.

The North Face Recon Daypack

This is one of the best sellers on the daypack market. It is not a coincidence. It has just about everything that you can expect to get from a daypack. It is suited for just about whatever you need it for. If you are in school, it works great as a backpack for carrying books and a laptop. If you are a hiker or hunter, you would also find the spacious daypack to be just perfect. And it would also work great for short sleepover trips in the wilderness if the weather allows you to travel lightly.

The bare facts about The North Face Recon daypack are somewhat impressing. It has a volume of 1850 cubic inches. The material that is used is mainly nylon, the 420D and 840D nylons, and Hypalon. The weight is about 2 lbs 3 oz. It has a built in compartment for hydration packs and the back panel is made from breathable mesh. Recon is also equipped with a safety whistle. The price of the North Face Jester Daypack is about $60 - $75 on leading internet stores.

List of features on The North Face Recon Daypack:

- Tuck away hip belt

- Laminated back panel with mesh fabric

- Two water bottle holders

- Small pocket with water resistant zipper

- Organizer in main compartment

The North Face Jester Daypack

This is a daypack that should be one of the first choices as a school backpack. It has a very big main compartment which makes it easy to fit all your books and whatever else you are bringing to school. The shoulder straps are well padded for comfortable carrying. The back is also very comfortable with its foam padding. Removable hip belt also adds to the usability of the daypack. It also features bottle holders.

Even though it is probably best suited for school, it is no problem to use the North Face Jester Daypack for short trips in nature. The only thing it is missing is probably a compartment for a hydration pack. However, the bottle holders make up for it in a good way. An additional nice feature is the large reflective patch that allows you to be seen even at night. The daypack will cost you about $40 - $55 through leading online stores.

List of features on North Face Jester daypack:

- Front pocket with key clip and organizer

- Spacious main compartment that can fit both books and hiking equipment

- Bottle pockets

- Big reflective patch

- Carry handle on top

- A stitched foam back

- Removable hip belt

More North Face Daypacks

These are just two of a whole line of daypacks that the North Face produces. All of them are top notch when it comes to both quality and usability. One of the biggest advantages of buying known brand like this one is that you will never have any problems if anything is wrong with the product you have bought. Just send it in, and you will receive either a new one or they will repair it. The North Face daypack is something that everyone should consider getting.

Some things to consider when buying a daypack

Daypacks are used for a lot of different activities. They can be used for everything from carrying books to and from school to hiking up the steepest hills. Truly, they are a very versatile member of the backpack family. This also brings with it something to consider. Which daypack is the right one for you?

As with just about everything else, the first and most important thing you have to consider is where and how you are going to use it. By definition the daypacks are small and that will put some restrains on the situations that it can be used in. You would not want to buy a daypack if you were going on a week long walk in the mountains for example. As you can tell from the name they are mainly meant for short trips that last a day or less. (What are daypacks?)

However a lot of people use them to carry books to school as well. Some of the models work perfect here as well. The problem is that you should usually not use the same kind of daypack to school as you use when hiking. The reason is simple. A daypack that you use for school is often a bit bigger than the one you would use when hiking. There are some similarities though.

When you are buying a daypack, the first thing you should look for is a pack that is big enough to fit whatever you intend to have in it. This might be obvious, but it is still important. If you are planning to bring a camping stool you would need a daypack that is quite big for example. (If you don’t know what a camping stool is, check out this camping chair guide) The second thing is almost the exact opposite. You don’t want the daypack to be bigger than you need. There are two reasons for this. Firstly a daypack that is too big becomes a bit heavier, and secondly the stuff you have in it will not lay stable.

The third, and maybe most important thing to look for, is the shoulder straps. They should be reasonable wide. If you have to narrow straps, they will often hurt a lot. Also look for straps that are padded well.

Hope this helps you a bit. I know that I haven’t covered the materials yet, but that is a quite large subject which I will address later.