The North Face Isabella Transit Backpack Review

The North Face’s Isabella line of bags is women-focused, with harness systems and features designed with the female frame in mind. We’ve tested many backpacks in the line, including the The North Face Isabella Backpack 3.0 and the The North Face Isabella Hip Pack, and we’ve always been pretty pleased with what the bags offer. So, we were excited to get our hands on The North Face Isabella Transit Backpack and see how it stacked up to its siblings. (Spoiler alert: we’re still pleased.)

Would a similar design to the Backpack 3.0 and a few more liters and features make this the travel daypack of our dreams? We carried it to work, athletic events, and around town to find out.

External Components

Aside from the fact that we have the TNF Black Light Heather/Burnt Coral Metallic colorway for the Transit Backpack instead of the Lunar Stone Dark Heather/Lunar Stone colorway we had with the Backpack 3.0, the outside of the two bags look pretty similar. They each have a 300D heathered recycled ripstop polyester with PU coating and a Non-PFC DWR finish for water resistance for the primary fabric, with thicker 600D recycled polyester for added durability on the bottom of the bag. It also includes the PU coating and a Non-PFC DWR, as does the front and water bottle pockets, which are 70D washed recycled nylon.

The materials give the bag an aesthetic we like, with the angled front pocket zipper. Like all of the zippers on the bag, it’s from YKK, and we find it a fun design choice as it leads from the taller bottle pocket on the left to the shorter bottle pocket on the right. Some exterior zippers have webbing straps connected to the metallic coral zipper pulls, but the main compartment zipper pulls are flexible plastic with The North Face name on one side and a nubby grip on the other. Regardless of the material, we like the additions to the pulls as they make them easier to open and close, especially when wearing winter gloves, as our tester was when using the bag.

The carry handle on top of the bag is a satiny webbing that’s comfortable to hold, though thin. It extends down each side of the bag to create a daisy chain of seven loops (three on the left and four on the right), where you can connect a carabiner to attach other gear if you wish. The stitching separating the loops is the same accent color as the zipper pulls and The North Face logo on the front of the bag—Burnt Coral Metallic on our sample.

Although the Isabella Transit Backpack has a few extra liters of capacity (26 vs 20), its harness system is also reminiscent of the Isabella Backpack 3.0. The Isabella line is made to contour nicely to the female frame, and this one does, with curved shoulder straps lined with micro mesh reminiscent of your favorite pair of workout leggings, which you’ll also find on the nicely cushioned back panel.

There’s also a sternum strap if you need extra support. It slides along a rail for micro-adjustment, but it’s a different style than we’re used to—the Woojin buckles connect to straps that wrap around a thin piece of elastic cord that reminds us of hair elastics. They can slide anywhere, but nothing holds them in place, nor can you remove them. Also, we worry about how long the stretchy cord will last or if it will go the same way as a favorite hair tie and eventually give out. While the extra support is nice when you fully pack the bag, we didn’t need it all the time, so it may not matter much, but we don’t like to see gear give out due to faulty materials, and we hope that won’t happen here.

Fit Notes

The Isabella Transit Backpack’s added capacity seems to mostly come from its width, and our shorter users are happy about that. We find it just as comfortable as the Backpack 3.0, and we’ll save you from reading that entire review: it’s comfortable. Even loaded up, it doesn’t dig into your shoulders, and the sternum strap does a good job of assisting you with the load when it is full.

It is still a casual bag, but not so casual that you feel out of place carrying it through the airport, to the office, or the gym. It’s a bag of all trades, and TNF Black colorway blends in unobtrusively, although you can always get it in a brighter hue if that suits you. Depending on the airline you fly, it will likely fit under the seat in front of you, though it lacks a luggage pass-through, so you’ll have to carry it on your back through the airport.

Inside The Backpack

There are plenty of places for gear in The North Face Isabella Transit Backpack, so let’s take a look.

We’ll begin with the zipper running diagonally across the front. It opens to reveal a large stash pocket that extends above and below the zipper. We mostly use it for smaller gear, but you can also fit a packable jacket or a notebook inside.

Directly above that is a small pocket for your phone or sunglasses. It’s lined with soft fleece to prevent scratches, and the zipper is covered with a fabric welt to keep out water. However, the zipper often gets stuck on the material as you try to open and close the pocket.

Behind that is a small, horseshoe-shaped zipper that opens an admin panel. It’s quite a large space, extending from the top of the bag to the bottom of the front pocket. Against the back of this area is a large slip pocket for a small tablet, e-reader, or something else. We’ve been using it for our glasses in a hard case. On the face of this slip pocket is a large zipper pocket for small accessories. It has a key clip on a long leash inside, too.

Then, on the face of that pocket are two stretchy mesh pockets for a travel mouse, earbuds, or other gear you want to lock down. There’s additional capacity in front of all of the pockets, too. However, you’ll want to know that overloading this area can make the front of the main compartment flop open (since this is its face). It’s not a big deal, but something to note.

As we mentioned above, there are two bottle pockets on this bag: one tall and one short. The one on the left (as you’re looking at the bag) is taller than the one on the right, so it can hold a standard slim water bottle like a Hydro Flask, while the opposite side works better for shorter travel mugs like the Owala SmoothSip. The right side pocket is very shallow, so taller items can tip out, but we like having options.

Against the back panel is a zipper that opens to the 16-inch laptop compartment. It’s lined with soft fleece to prevent scratches and envelopes our device nicely.

Along with the addition of that top pocket for your phone and a separate laptop sleeve, another difference with The North Face Isabella Transit Backpack when compared to Backpack 3.0 is that the main compartment opens so widely, with a U-shaped zipper that extends in front of the bottle pockets almost all the way down the front of the bag. This makes it very easy to fill with larger gear, and we have no problem wedging larger items to the bottom. Our everyday carry includes a small cooler with lunch inside, an extra layer, and sometimes a book for lunchtime reading. Still, you have plenty of room for packing cubes to pack an outfit or two inside to ensure you have something to wear if the airline loses your checked luggage or to pack in this alone for an overnight trip. Shoes and gym clothing are another great option; the possibilities are (not quite, but seemingly) endless.

That’s why we’re digging The North Face Isabella Transit Backpack. It’s great for travel and daily use for various users, comfortable to carry, and easy to access. It seems to go in and out of stock often, so snag it when you can, especially if you’re looking for something that adapts easily to your curves and life’s curveballs.