I'm writing this in case I can help someone..
Pros:
-The bag is aesthetically and design-wise the most beautiful thing I have seen, 5 stars..
-Practicality of the compartments and tremendous capacity

a)with an improvement in the side pockets for water, which are incredibly spacious and durable, compared to the mesh pockets that I had before and would tear in a year..

b)also, the amazing front mesh pocket, which can hold a lot, as if you have another bag... I wonder if it can withstand without tearing, but they seem to have taken precautions, with plastic along the edge of the mesh.

c)Hidden front pocket with fleece for glasses, phones, etc.

d)Small organizational pocket is decent but nothing special. The main compartment is quite spacious.

e)Straps at the bottom of the bag to attach and secure other items such as tent accessories, yoga mat.

-Nice soft and cushioned handle for lifting, ergonomically placed in the center of the bag.

-Amazing zippers!! Silent, fully functional, and can be operated with one hand.

-First batch of North Face bags that stand upright, if weight distribution is done correctly (if you have a full water bottle/thermos in one compartment and leave the other one empty, it will fall).

Cons: (which apply to the entire new line/series of North Face backpacks, unfortunately)

-The bag is rectangular/elongated along the back, but very uncomfortable... It doesn't conform to the shape of the back at all, and it feels like you have a mattress or a piece of hard wood against your back... It doesn't spread on the back, doesn't open up to distribute the pressure to all the back muscles... It puts pressure in the wrong places, especially in the lower part, for reasons I will explain below... If you lie down with the bag somewhere in nature, it might be good for that, but not for walking upright.

-The shoulder straps start 2 fingers below, so no matter how tight you adjust the straps, there is a gap between the shoulder and the bag, and even if you manage to eliminate the gap... due to the thin strap (the gap we mentioned earlier) before the main straps of the bag, it ends up resting on the lower part of the back instead of the shoulders.

-The laptop compartment, although sturdy with the padding it has for protection against the back, stops almost at the bottom of the bag internally, instead of stopping half a palm or 1 palm before the bottom of the bag... It's a shame if they did it to accommodate all laptop sizes.

-And finally, with something like a hard plug cable around the perimeter of the bag's back, where you have the rigid panel for the panel. It also has the unacceptable straps that even if you tighten them to the maximum, they still move, because the main straps are not directly connected to the bag itself, resulting in slight oscillation and tilting towards the lower part of the back... And at the lower part, you end up with this tight cable rubbing against your spine and lower back, which can be quite annoying on long hikes, making the bag prohibitive for those with lower back problems...

I will ignore the fact that it is approved by the American chiropractic association, in terms of the shoulder straps and the perimeter cable... But that rigid panel, when they showed it to them... Did they try lying on it?

If you wear a jacket, you will feel like you have a small table on your back, due to stiffness not weight... if you don't wear a jacket, things are dark.

3 stars and not 2 or 1 because if it fits someone's back in an incredible way, the bag is amazing... All the above structural back problems are the same with the Surge, maybe even worse because it is longer.

-Returned-