The North Face Surge Rucksack (2017)

If you are looking for a compact, functional and reliable laptop daypack/rucksack the new North Face Surge is the ‘gift of innovation’. I travel weekly on a combination of trains, buses, subway and occasionally planes and I can’t fault the bag in any travel situation.

It fits an amazing 33lts and manages to do so still looking fairly compact. I had a Swissgear Rival backpack, it looks at least 1.5 in size when compared! The following are worth noting:

1) Weight of the bag: The dead weight of the bag itself is just over 1 kg.

2) Build quality: Typical North Face sturdy construction. The clips are of high grade ‘heavy’ plastic and the straps etc. feel very ‘sturdily’ built. The zips are heavy duty and very smooth operating.

3) Pockets / sections: The bag has numerous pockets. There are 5 sections. One quick access pocket in the front. The 2nd pocket functions well for stuff like stationery, mobile, visiting cards etc. The 3rd is big single cavity to keep binders/notebooks (1.5 times A4 size) or at least 2 days worth of change of clothes. 4th is an exclusive and very very well padded cavity for your up to 17” inch laptop. The bottom (5th) section safely tucks all your power cords and any small bits and bobs.

4) Straps: They are numerous! And all are very easily adjustable. The compression straps at the side and bottom really pack the bag to a very compact size and despite a full pack it barely expands beyond .75 of its full size. The padding on the main carry shoulder straps is exceptionally comfortable. In summary I’d like to say that if you have a budget of up to £50 for a Laptop bag/daypack/rucksack … please spend the extra £20 and get yourself this marvellous piece of kit.