THE NORTH FACE Borealis Sling Bag, Skylight Blue/LED Yellow, One Size

I own the Patagonia Atom Sling and the Osprey Daylite Sling. This has the water bottle holder on the outside in which neither Atom nor Daylite include on their bag. I can fit 2 water bottles on the inside for my partner and I, and one water bottle on the outside for our kiddo. I cannot fit 3 water bottles in the Atom nor Daylite. The Borealis has become our family default bag due to this feature.I really love the mint color with the hunter green accent. It is nice.The Borealis has the front long zipper pouch like the Daylite Sling.The open interior similar to the Atom Sling, and it also includes an envelope style pouch. A mesh inside pocket similar to the Daylite Sling. The inside space provides for a little more interior organization similar to the Daylite bag and unlike the Atom bag.The zipper goes halfway down one side (end at the water bottle holder) and all of the way down the other. This makes it easy to access the inside contents of the bag.I water bottle holder is partially padded and partially mesh. Love this. It's not a huge pocket, but it is big enough to easily fit a Smart bottle of water or similar shapes of containers.The Borealis has a longer zipped pouch for your phone on the shoulder piece similar to the Atom Sling. Lots of little places to clip keys, sunglasses, etc. The back of the bag is lightly padded. It has a bungie cord on the outside for storing shirts, etc. unlike either of the bags. LOVE this feature!All of the features I love individually from each bag is included which overlaps for the features that are deficient from each bag. It is as if the two bags had a fling, and this was their baby. This bag is nearly perfect.The cons:I wish the inside had a small little key clip. Osprey always has the little red key clip. This would have been a great addition inside of the larger opening. There is one located in the mesh pocket, but it's too difficult to access (see comment below). I do not use it for my keys because of this access issue.The front outside zip pocket (similar to the Daylite) is lined with ... fleece? Why would NorthFace do this? When my sanitizer bottle leaks all over the inside pocket because the lid was cheaply made, it soaks EVERYTHING. Also, this will be a pain to dry when I finally wash the bag to remove sweat marks. Why would you do this NorthFace? Just, why? It would have been a much better design had it been the quick dry material of the Daylite bag. The fleece makes it difficult to push items into the pocket and definitely when you try to pull them out. I am able to squeeze less into the pocket too. I LOVE this pockets on my Osprey and hate that the pocket is so small on my Atom. I was really excited when I saw the Borealis included a pocket that more closely aligned with the style of the Daylite. Then I opened the pocket and started to cry. ... Not really. But I was sad. ... This was an awful design decision. If I could change one thing about this bag, this would be it. The zipper (next con) is annoying, but this makes it difficult to keep the bag clean and hard to use. Super annoying.The zipper for the inside mesh pocket zips left to right. That seems like it would make sense, but it is awful for trying to get items out of the mesh pocket while wearing the sling bag. I essentially have to take the bag off so that I can hold the bag a different way in order to get to the zipper. If the bag is empty then this would not be nearly as annoying, but since my bag is never empty this becomes annoying enough that I hate using the pocket. I understand that maybe the design team thought overtime the zipper may more easily open, or it would accidentally get opened if zipped from right to left. However, it seems like they simply did not test the bag's functionality with multiple types of customers. It's pretty obvious that in order to get a wider pocket the zipper needed to go from edge-to-edge. This is nice. Though, I wish they would have made the zipper edge-to-edge, from right to left. I would only need to partially open my bag, while on my person, to grab a quick band aid, my keys, etc.The padding on the back of the bag is awesome if you're tired of sharp, pointy items from inside the bag poking your back. The downside is that it adds a little weight, and it gets warmer faster. It's only noticeably heavier to me because I'm used to wearing the Osprey Daylite which feels lighter than the Atom. Not a deal breaker, but worth noting if you plan on wearing this all day on a bike ride or on an outside walk where you may have sweat marks on your back. I would not wear this to a work event that required my back to stay dry.I just noticed it already shows dirt and sweat marks on the shoulder strap. It has only been worn 3-4 times. Maybe a dark color would hide that better? I have owned the Daylite and Atom bags for years without either showing sweat marks. Those have definitely been worn on hot, sweaty days. Maybe the material on the Borealis is more prone to staining? No idea.This is nitpicky, but worth mentioning in case it is a problem for other wearers. Due to the shape of the bag, it does not sit as comfortably as the Osprey Daylite or Patagonia Atom. If forced to choose, I would say it felt more similar to the Atom, but I find the Daylite more comfortable to wear. I have a petite frame (5'1"), and the thinner teardrop shape of the Osprey is far more comfortable and does not slide down as easily. The Atom's shoulder strap does not fit as comfortable as the Daylite. The Borealis design also tends to slide on me because the weight of the bag is not evenly distributed. Not a deal breaker. However, worth mentioning in case you are comparing between the three bags and you have a petite frame like me.Overall, love the bag. I definitely recommend it.I know I said the biggest annoyance is the fleece lining, but now I am wavering over the zipper of the interior mesh pocket. The benefit of the mesh pocket replaces a deficiency in the Atom bag. The larger front fleece lined pocket also counters a deficiency of the Atom bag. I use this as an all-purpose bag for kid stuff (first aid, toys, snacks, water) and adult stuff (allergy meds, keys, wallet, phone, sunglasses, etc.) and family needs (water bottles, more snacks, etc.). I need every bit of organization I can get. I love the functional details that are similar to the Atom bag - shout out to the front zipper phone pocket - but I need the functionalities that were meant to be similar to the Daylite bag. Otherwise, I am forced to return to choosing between the Atom and Daylite, knowing each having their deficiencies.I hope this helps!

I am rewriting my original review that said this bag is too small to be useful. I have figured out how to make it useful. I also own both the Patagonia Atom and the Osprey Daylight Sling and all have their pros and cons but the Borealis comes closest for my very specific needs.Pros: The bag is small and pretty light for day use.The main compartment has two zips so it can load from the top or from the side which is very handy. I use it for a 16 oz Zojirushi thermos and a few other small things. There is a mesh zip compartment inside the main compartment that I use for cash, band aids, tissues, credit cards, etc. I could fit some sunglasses and other things into the main compartment as there is still some room.It is comfortable to wear and, since I wear it mostly in the front, easy to access and use.The smaller front zip compartment is handy for my phone.The tiny compartment on the strap is handy for keys.The side compartment is really narrow and fits some very small items like a tiny umbrella.ConsI do not know how anyone fits a phone into the strap compartment. It you want to jam one in there because you will not get it out often then I guess it works since it is stretchy.I do not know how anyone fits any water bottle into the side compartment. If it was all stretchy material with a rigid velcro or adjustable strap to keep it open then it would work well.YMMV since some people manage these things.It is a well thought-out bag that could use a few tweaks here and there. A dark grey/white color would also be nice.

It's a good pack, BUT... It's just not for me. Not because the pack is bad, I just don't like sling bags. I really tried to work with this, as it really is the perfect size. It fit a Kindle Fire 8 HD, a small med-kit (more of a boo-boo kit), keys, wallet, and has a pocket for my phone. Though the pocket I used for the phone is probably for sunglasses, as it was lined with this really soft material that made it difficult to get my phone in and out of said pocket. The phone would fit better if there was no case, but who's rocking an iphone w/no case these days? It's also just a touch too small for a iphone 13 pro max in a Otterbox Commuter case. The pocket on the strap that's meant for a phone DEFINITELY won't fit the iphone 13 pro max, but WILL fit a small can of pepper spray. I'm not sure what kind of water bottle they had in mind when they made this bag, but the "water bottle pocket" perfectly fits a full size CAT tourniquet. So that'll tell you how small the pocket is. Sure, there's more room, but not enough for even a typical 20 oz. drink bottle.