Is North Face backpack waterproof? (Real World Scenario – August 2023)

Looks like you just bought a North Face backpack and now wondering, is North Face backpack waterproof?

North Face backpack rain cover

The North Face Backpack Rain Cover is a lightweight, waterproof cover that protects your backpack from the elements. It is made of a durable, 20D nylon fabric with a PU coating that is fully seam-taped to prevent water from leaking in. The cover has an elastic drawcord closure that cinches tightly around your backpack, and a built-in drain hole to prevent condensation from building up. It is also compressible, so you can easily stuff it into a side pocket or stuff sack when not in use.

This North Face backpack rain cover will certainly put to rest that question, are the north face backpacks waterproof. But read on for more in depth example.

Real world scenario

We will be doing real world scenario and some water tests. So, we’ve got a bunch of stuff here we’re going to see how well we can load it up. You know making it every day carry scenario. Like going to school or work whatever you’ve got going on. Just to see how it fares with all that stuff. So first I am going to put laptop in laptop compartment. Time to open main compartment and then just start piling stuff in here. So, let’s put got some binders, a book, you know normal stuff you would have when you go to school. It might be cold today so let’s put your sweater inside.

I also put my tablet agenda notebook, whatever shove that in there got my pen in here nice and easily. What else? oh gym clothes I’m sure we can fit those. Look at that packed up and we’ve still got space.

So to do a real world scenario of washing North Face backpack, we will be filling it with following items:

1. Laptop
2. Pencil case
3. Water bottle
4. Sweater
5. Binders
6. Book
7. Gym clothes
8. Coat

Test 1 – Simulating Rain to check is North Face backpack waterproof?

All right so we’ve got the water test now and we’ve got a shower head that will simulate rain. Load it with towels to give some shape. And also, that will help us to determine and see if there’s any water inside. This bag isn’t rated for water resistance waterproofing. But I find with North Face bags they don’t say that because the bags that they do have that are water resistant waterproof are amazing. They don’t want you to worry about false advertising. Or have someone come in and be like “oh man I was out in the rain and my bag got wet” so we’re going go through those tests.

I am going to spray shower head on the bag for approximately thirty seconds to a minute. Just to get a general idea of how it does in the rain. Just right on to the bag and you don’t know what kind of rain that is, heavy or light so I’ve got it on a mixed setting here and we will see what happens.

I can see the water is beating off pretty well, but I can definitely see that some is cooling up a bit and being absorbed. It does a great job just look at that all the glistening beads it’s not penetrating. So, you know pretty impressed with that at this and let’s take a little look here to see how this bag did and this is my took first time doing it like this.

Can you wash North Face backpack

It’s best to air dry the backpack. Lay it flat or hang it up with the straps loose. Putting it in the dryer could damage the backpack or cause the straps to shrink.

Don’t use fabric softener or bleach. They can break down the water-repellent coatings on the backpack. A mild detergent is recommended.

So, we’re going to look in the front compartment first. It’s actually completely dry. I’m drying my hand off on the inside. Look at this this little lining right here got a little wet because I just held it right on top of it. Checking the main compartment where you house all your goodies. Again, that got a little wet for me touching it so as you can see the minute I touch it becomes discolored so it’s not even getting that wet in here and I mean this is perfectly dry which you could a hundred percent tell if it wasn’t because look how light it is.

That’s just me touching it causing water to spread alright and let’s look in the laptop compartment which is probably the most worrisome and it’s bone-dry so I mean shower head test I think will give that a big old thumbs up.

So, this test proves that North Face backpack is waterproof.

Water Resistant Backpack North Face

Did you know that some of the features of water resistant North Face backpacks include, Water-resistant fabric, Taped seams, Water-resistant zippers, Durable construction, Comfortable straps and Multiple compartments.

So, if you are wondering, are North Face backpacks water resistant, then the answer is yes most of them. Many North Face backpacks are made with nylon fabric that has a durable water-repellent (DWR) finish. This causes water to bead up and roll off the surface of the bag

Test 2 – Simulating Waterfall to check is North Face backpack waterproof?

I have got the faucet running to simulate waterfall. You know walking along the trail going in the wood and you would think, look over there there’s an awesome waterfall let’s go under it because that’s what I want to do so my backpack should be able to keep me covered.

Now again water is beating off of it which is a good sign.

I just dropped water all through the zippers. I basically just drenched the top of this bag with water on it for approximately 10 to 20 seconds.

When checking pocket 1, towel is a little wet. This might be from me drying my hands on it earlier. When checking pocket 2 it’s also perfectly dry. And there’s not a not a bit of water really in here. It’s out of it although it’s a little wet inside but you can see it’s kind of just beating up.

The North Face backpack waterproof

A hiker got caught in a heavy downpour while trekking the Appalachian Trail with a North Face Terra 65 pack. Despite hours of heavy rain, the inside contents stayed dry thanks to the rain cover and water-resistant fabric.

It’s not actually absorbing it and the laptop compartment again bones dry everyone and you saw completely under the tap right on the zippers oh let’s take a little look in the old pocket oh yeah so the problem with this right here is I’m going let you know this is where a bunch of water pooled up and can almost guarantee it and shut it properly.

Look down here and you will see it gets caught. It’s a bit of a hood that goes over, so it gets a little difficult but overall, very impressed with water resistance because that barely even snuck through to the other compartment. So, they’ve contained it very well. You know divided to keep every pocket individual and separated. What I did was I waited about 30 to 45 minutes. Then stuck a towel inside this front pocket because it was the one that had got caught water got all pooled up here and seeped in. I was an idiot so anyways I’ve left it in there. It’s a bit of time the towel quite wet I don’t know if you can tell probably not because it all looks the same but yeah so towel pretty wet.

This second test also proves that North Face backpack is waterproof.

How to tell if North Face is real

The logo: The North Face logo is a simple, but distinctive quarter-circle shape with the word “The North Face” written inside. The logo should be stitched on evenly and cleanly. The letters should be crisp and well-defined, and there should be no misspellings.

The tags: Authentic North Face products have a red hangtag with the product code, style number, barcode, price, and place of manufacture. The style printed on the tag should match the actual style of the jacket.

The stitching: The stitching on an authentic North Face product should be neat and even. There should be no loose threads or uneven seams.

The fabric: The fabric on an authentic North Face product should be high-quality and durable. It should feel soft and smooth, and it should not be too thin or too thick.

The zippers: The zippers on an authentic North Face product should be smooth and easy to operate. They should not be stiff or difficult to open and close.

The packaging: Authentic North Face products are typically packaged in a sturdy box or bag with the North Face logo on it. The packaging should be free of damage.

Conclusion

Let’s take a look at the pocket now almost back to normal so also dries really quickly which is phenomenal. What I want to say is I know it’s not very long water test that I just did. You have to remember this bag is not rated for any water resistance as they don’t say it on website. So, what I just did shouldn’t have worked but you can see it’s perfectly fine. This to me is just spectacular because this bag is only around $100.

Waterproof North Face backpack is also great for nursing students.

Another important point regarding North Face that they sell bag covers for the rain for all of their backpacks. So, you can buy one of those I think they’re like 20 bucks. So, if you got a $100 bag spend $20 more to make it basically just completely waterproof. Basically, it’s up for submerging. Let me know down in the comments what you think of the water tests. Maybe different ones to improve on in the future to make it more realistic. And let me know any other gear you want reviewed.

Hopefully this article has answered the question, are North Face bags waterproof.