Great review. I picked up the Surge a few weeks ago and was totally shocked at how much the two front pockets hold. I’ve got a Vanquest 5x8 trauma kit in one of the front pockets and it’s a great fit.
My wife just heard your voice and said no he didn’t! This comes after purchasing the Go Ruck GR-1 Heritage and having the Able Carry Max and yes the Mystery Ranch Urban Assault 21 “I’m in time out” haha great stuff great to see the channel growing, have a great weekend everyone.
I’m likely in minority but I think NF ruined this bag. I have the previous version & have taken it on countless trips, domestic & international. I can fit a 13” wide ThinkTank Retro 7 in the bottom of it (previous version) holding lots of camera gear and it’s my personal item on planes. I’ve stuffed my ski helmet into it no problem with room to stuff more on top. The new one tears easier, is smaller and I had zipper issue within days. Returned it. Am thankful for all these reviews you do!! Just sharing a perspective.
Thanks for putting this video together. I’ve been in the market looking for a work, travel and personal EDC pack and narrowed it down to Surge and Recon. I wish the Surge offered a luggage pass through tho. Still weighing out my options. Thanks again for your work and reviewing this bag.
I have the Surge and Borealis 2022's, have been travelling extensively with them and can tell you this, the Surge is absolute crap as the straps are too stiff and dig into you even with light loads, I would absolutely avoid it. The Borealis' straps are super, better than the old Borealis which is amazing, however the bag has this annoying top heavy (even when empty) front top pocket, that will always make it drop down. In my opinion go with the Borealis (don't know the Recon so cannot comment) but beware the high centre of gravity, I will try and post this on most Surge videos to warn people about how crap the straps are, a lot of the review videos say it is OK, it absolutely is not!
Great review! Looking for a new bag as a truck driver. On my breaks I long to venture away from the truck and checkout coffee shops wherever I'm at. Gonna go see if my REI has one.
I've thought, after research, the Recon is thee best N.F. small pack. I like that it's a bit bigger than other N.F. small bags. Been perfected over the years.
I checked this bag out when I was looking at school bags for fall. It fit most of my stuff but it was so strange, it felt like the stuff that was placed on the front outside pockets are up all the space in the main compartment, made it hard to fit everything. I ended up with a 27 liter fjallraven raven which fit everything more comfortably. But 27
Nice review ... I noticed the shoulder straps connection to the main body of the bag at the top are a new design ... wonder if they are more robust than the previous Surge.
Great video! Thank you for your review! 😀 I just bought this backpack, the women's version. I already have a Recon 2017 (this one goes to my husband) and I'll use the Surge now. Can't wait to see if this is as good as the Recon.
If you love G2 pilots, try out some pentel energels. They’re a newer thing but from what I’ve heard and seen they are a little bit better and sell out faster than any other pen at the Target I go to
George awesome review on the 2021and 2022 surge… I’m a collector of the surge. 2015 best surge backpack ever own. I also purchased a 2021, 2022 TNF Surge and I have to say I love it for different reasons it’s a lot lighter. My only gripe I wish the 2015 surge Yak Zippers on the 2021 2022 Surge.
Awesome vid, George; keep the reviews coming! I'm looking through your vids and wanted to ask, any recommendations for EDC first aid kits? You likely have a review but figured would be worth an ask for latest/greatest from ya.
Very informative video, well done. I agree with you for the logo. It is quite big, I dont like it. Other than that what about rain coverage? Is it durable against heavy rain? Thank you!
I have one crucial question though: - what exactly shall I wear in my urban backpack on daily basis to utilize its 31L capacity indeed?! Do I really need all this stuff with me during one day in the urban jungles before I return home at night?! Even when I have 1 day hike in the wild and pack smart: - 24L Osprey Archeon is sufficiently enough to supply all my hiking needs for 1 day, including couple extra layers of cloth, first aid kit, lynch box, thermo bottle, multitool, flashlight, powerbank, ipad and so on! Lets imagine I have business trip for 2-3 days?! Well, I definetely would prefer my 44L duffle bag aka Thule Crossover for all my cloth days ahead as a cabin luggage for this matter plus small(!), up to 18L laptop backpack max as personal item for all the gentle electronics and papers I have to bring with me on business trip! In urban environment, even when I go to the gym after office, medium sized 25L backpack is more then enough to swallow my laptop plus change of cloth for the gym! So why the hell do I meed 31L for daily EDC?! I just cannot imagine real life scenario when do I miss whopping 31L of capacity!!! It's quite an opposite indeed: - 80% of all urban EDC when I don't need to have my big laptop or change of cloth for the gym or A4 office papers with me, small sling up to 8L like Patagonia Atom or even better, 4L Tomtoc Compact EDC Sling are covering all my needs to have mandatory stuff to grab and go into urban! Rest 20% = small backpack up to 20L is enough, medium sized 25L is too big most of the time and wearing half empty!!! But 31L for EDC in the urban?!?!?! For the sake of fucking what?! It's nonsense and bullshit, try proof me wrong!!!
These are great questions and points. I have this bag and I don’t over stuff it. But I do use to carry my first aid, trauma kit, electronics for work and lunch. Trust me in these days and times I love having the extra space for my big bandaids 😂😅😊
The Borealis is smaller, can handle a 15"laptop. It has a external system by wires to secure a T-Shirt or jacket. That's less secure that what's in place for ex at the Recon bacgpack. I don't like that straps, it's less secure, I nearly never see somebody using that feature.
Thank you for the video review. I've found both this video and the one you did for the Osprey Nebula to be very great. The one question I would ask you is that based on your use of the Nebula and the Surge which one do you find to be the best? As I'm in the market for a good EDC.
It was about time North Face overhaul most of their popular backpacks. Some of these newer NF backpack can finally stand up on their own now xD But I'll stick with my 2020 Router.
I had this bag, and the new Recon, for about a week each. They CAN stand on their own if packed right, but don't typically stand up. The old ones...those were impossible to stand up.
Can you recommend any larger capacity EDC that can fit under an airplane seat AND that has a trolley sleeve/strap so you don't need to haul around a heavy pack while traveling?
i got the surge from like 8 years ago. still going strong but ive grown up now and need something more professional. the straps flopping around looks messy so maybe the kaban is the answer. but worrried its too small. sometimes i like to pck it up w handout materials etc. surge has been great for that.
