The North Face Rogue

Has lasted me over 20 years and over 20 countries.

I bought this pack used from a friend back around 2000, with a burnt shoulder strap support from him having it too close to his campfire. I've traveled with it for 6+ cumulative years backpacking abroad and had it loaded from 20lb-90lb. It does feel a bit top heavy/unbalanced when overloaded, but still manageable.

The burnt strap eventually gave out and I self-repaired it with nylon webbing, as well as the side pockets which I replaced with some small-diameter nylon mesh fishing net in Vietnam. I also cracked the buckle at some point and replaced it.

There's a little "secret pocket" I discovered about 5 years in and started carrying my bankroll there, where it velcros to adjust the back pad, just above the waistline. There is another in the top detachable compartment, where I keep my passport and daily cash or documents to access easily. I have found the side pockets were a bit shallow for water bottles and I would use the straps above to secure, until I repaired them with the fishing net, now they are perfect.

I've used this pack across a fairly wide variety of conditions, with the exception of snowy/ice environments. It's been in jungle, desert, alpine, street/city, brush and scrublands, and done well.

I honestly like that it's not super updated and flashy, as a backpacker in impoverished areas, I don't want to draw covetous eyes to displays of wealth. It's now covered in patches from some of the countries I've visited and I have a hard time imagining replacing it. I'll probably just keep patching it up as it doesn't require much nor often. If I do get another pack, it will probably be a Mystery Ranch.

Background

I have been a wildland firefigher for over a decade, and have spent over six years abroad (actual cumulative years traveling for 2-6 months at a time). I backpack and camp often, and have used other gear.

This pack is fine if you're going out for a few days, but not what I was using it for. I took it on the second half of my through-hike of the Appalachian Trail. It is very comfortable with light and smaller loads, but it's a thin pack so if you pack it full, it fills up high instead of wide, which can make you feel pretty unbalanced if you have precarious walking to do. I have learned not to trust the North Face micro fit pack series. I had the North Face Cascade before this and both packs encountered the same problem. The nylon area where the shoulder straps and the hip belt meets rips apart after about sixty or eventy days of hard hiking.

I have used this backpack for travelling home every weekend, carrying pretty heavy loads. Thanks to the rather stiff hip-belt this was no problem. The shoulder belts are pleasantly thick and distribute the weight very well.

The only remark I have is the internal load fixator, It is placed too high, which results that the cavity which it should create doesn't have the effect it should have.

Overall this is a very pleasant pack which allows me to cary heavy loads over a long distance.

I found this pack to be ok. I took it 26 miles on the AT. With lighter loads it's great, but when fully loaded it's kinda awkward. Still it's nice and simple and when climbing and doing more technical moves it can be a nice pack to have. It can also be hard to find your things with just that one big main compartment that can only be accessed from the top.

Overall it's a simple pack but i doubt i'll get getting another one.