This is a perfect school backpack for many reasons. It has a separate laptop compartment in the back with an elastic sleeve that fits an iPad perfectly. This compartment's zipper starts from the top left and continues all the way down to the bottom right of the bag, making it incredibly convenient to grab your laptop or put your laptop away after class. Since you have a separate zipper compartment for your laptop, that leaves a ton of space in the main compartment for your books. Then there is a zipper compartment solely for organization, but unlike most North Face bags it has an additional storage space across from the organizational wall that is perfect for your stash of pens and highlighters (it's mesh so it allows you to find what you need faster). The two, separate vertical pockets on the front are great for chargers and other random items. Another great feature is that only one of the side pouches is for a water bottle (when do you ever have two waters?). The other side has a zipper pocket that's about the same size, but stores items within the bag instead of protruding out like the water bottle pouch. I wanted to add that this bag can be for a guy or girl. The colors for the women's surge II were not appealing to me, but I am small (5'5" 100 lbs), so I was worried it would look stupid on me, but this bag is compact even after filling it. Comparisons: The Router - essentially the exact same bag as the Surge II, but larger (great for a large guy). The Mainframe - essentially the same bag as the Surge II, but the main compartment and organizational wall and laptop sleeve is combined in one space, and it only has one vertical zipper pocket in front. The Hot Shot - essentially the same bag as the Surge II, but it has a laptop sleeve in the main compartment, and it has no small front compartments. The Big Shot II/Billet - essentially the same bag as Surge II, but combines the laptop, organization, and main compartment all together in one space. The Yavapai and Recon - perfect for school; both are compact if you don't want a bulky pack. They have spaces in front for a charger and a main compartment with a laptop sleeve, and a separate organizational zipper compartment. The Borealis - Bestseller, and great for school because it has the laptop sleeve in main compartment and a separate organizational zippered compartment...but personally I think the bungee in the front is wasted space. The Surge - many differences from the Surge II: it has a small zipper pocket at the front bottom of bag; instead of two vertical zipper pockets in front, you have a snap closure + two zippers (harder to get to) that houses extra organization space; the laptop area is harder to get to because the zipper closure stretches only about a 12 inch span across the top; it's longer because of that extra bottom pocket and its bulkier.

I tried 5 different packs in a week and this one won. It's a nice, sturdy pack with plenty of space and good organization for all my cables and widgets. I use it to commute as well as for short trips, and it comfortably holds everything I need. When it's less filled, the compression straps keep it a nice, flat shape. Three minor gripes: The sternum strap slides up and down a little on its rails. Once it's set, it doesn't move while I'm walking, but I have to reset it most times I put the pack on. I tried another pack that slipped constantly, and this one is just fine, but I miss the strap-through-buckle configuration on my old pack (Ogio) that wouldn't even move if I tried. There's no great place to put the waist strap when it's not in use. Depending how the pack is sitting, it sometimes presses on a vertebra. Really I just need to position it elsewhere or even cut it off. The electronics sleeves could be softer. They won't scratch anything, but Ogio's are downright velvety. Everything else is just great. If you're already interested in it, I'd recommend you get it. For completeness and comparison, these are the other packs I tried: Ogio Bandit II (straps slipped). Ogio Renegade RSS (too bulky). Ogio Newt II (2nd place, strange configuration). Osprey Comet (too squishy/formless).

This is a great all around pack. I do wish It was a little bigger and had another water bottle pocket on the other side but, all in all it is well constructed, comfortable and has ample pockets for odds and ends. I really like the side pocket for utilities.

I have had this bag for about a month and love it. It looks a little bigger than other bags I tried but seems to fit a lot more stuff. I like all the pockets and the separate laptop zipper.

It's such a great book bag! It holds so much, and doesn't put much of a strain on your back. It's perfect for graduate students who have to carry a lot of books.