{"id":20172,"date":"2016-08-24T04:00:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/?p=20172"},"modified":"2021-09-11T05:19:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T11:19:57","slug":"gear-review-the-north-face-fovero-70-backpack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/gear-review-the-north-face-fovero-70-backpack\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: The North Face Fovero 70 Backpack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Backpack
\nThe North Face Fovero 70<\/strong>
\n$290, 70L\/4,272 c.i., 5 lbs. 7 oz. (men\u2019s S\/M)
\nSizes: men\u2019s S\/M (fits torsos 15-20 ins.) & L\/XL (torsos 17-22 ins.), women\u2019s XS\/S (torsos 13-18 ins.) & M\/L (torsos 15-20 ins.)
\nmoosejaw.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Backpacking for three days in Idaho\u2019s Sawtooth Mountains<\/a> with my 15-year-old son and two of his buddies who were taking their first backpacking trip, I hauled up to about 40 pounds, including much of our team gear and food. For that kind of backpacking, I want a pack that\u2019s built for heavy loads and has a high degree of organization. The Fovero 70 rose to the challenge in comfort and has exceptional access for backpackers who like to compartmentalize.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The North Face Fovero 70 harness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With a 2mm, perforated plastic framesheet, spring steel wire perimeter frame, and two aluminum stays, the proprietary OPTIFIT suspension<\/strong> flexes very little on the vertical axis, for excellent support carrying 40 to 50 pounds, while flexing slightly on the horizontal axis, so that the pack moves somewhat with your torso as you walk. (Note: The North Face describes the Fovero as capable of hauling up to 70 pounds, but I\u2019d suggest that\u2019s well beyond the comfort range for most backpackers.) I found the well-padded shoulder straps, back pad, and hipbelt<\/strong>, made with breathable, perforated EVA foam<\/strong>, adequately comfortable with 40 pounds inside, and certainly capable of carrying more than that. The simple torso adjustment has five inches of range<\/strong> for dialing in a good fit, and the hipbelt\u2019s pads are adjustable<\/strong> (using a lever inside the zippered pocket), with about three inches of play on each side<\/strong>\u2014a nice feature for people with bigger waists. While there\u2019s no cutting-edge technology in this suspension system, it\u2019s built for the maximum weight that most backpackers would carry.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The North Face Fovero 70 front.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This top loader has better access and organization than many packs in this category<\/strong>, starting with nine well-designed pockets<\/strong>: on each side of the hipbelt; in the lid (including a zippered interior pocket that stores the rain cover); on the sides (mesh bottle pockets); two roomy, zippered front pockets that are supremely convenient; and a voluminous \u201cbeaver-tail\u201d (AKA stuff-it) front pocket for a wet jacket or rainfly. A J-shaped, two-way zipper runs down one side and around the bottom<\/strong>, giving quick access to much of the main compartment and the sleeping bag compartment. You can unclip the interior divider if you prefer not having a separate compartment for you bag. (I unclip it to maximize interior space.) With the Fovero, whether I needed a jacket, water filter, snack, bottle, or to pull out my tent before emptying my pack (say, in rain), I could do it quickly and easily. With a big pack, I consider that a critical design element. Lastly, the removable lid converts to a daypack with two unpadded, mesh shoulder straps<\/strong> (but no waistbelt or sternum strap) for light summit trips.<\/p>\n

Find your next adventure in your Inbox. Sign up for my FREE email newsletter<\/a> now.<\/em><\/h4>\n
\"The<\/a>
Fovero 70 lid daypack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wrap-around compression straps on top, sides, and bottom<\/strong> (which held my full-length, foam sleeping pad) create superior load control. It has some nice features like adjustable straps for attaching trekking poles or ice axes <\/strong>and a whistle in the sternum strap<\/strong>. With 420-denier ripstop nylon in the bottom and sides and 210-denier ripstop nylon in the front and lid<\/strong>, the pack\u2019s durability compares with many other models of similar capacity and weight. The Fovero comes with a rain cover<\/strong> stored in a zippered mesh pocket inside the lid\u2014not the most logical place, since you\u2019ll want to make sure the cover is completely dry before returning it to that pocket, where you\u2019re likely to have items you want to keep dry.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Fovero 70 side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For backpackers who routinely carry 40 to 50 pounds and like a high level of organization, the Fovero 70 is a winner. A larger version, the Fovero 85<\/a><\/strong>, is $310.<\/p>\n

BUY IT NOW<\/strong><\/span> You can support my work on this blog by clicking either of these links to buy The North Face Fovero 70 men\u2019s or women\u2019s pack at moosejaw.com<\/a> or sunnysports.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Big Outside helps you find the best adventures.\u00a0Subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0to read ALL stories and get a free e-guide<\/span>!<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

See all of my reviews of backpacks<\/a> and backpacking gear<\/a>, including my review of models very similar in capacity and weight, the Osprey men\u2019s Atmos AG 65 and women\u2019s Aura AG 65<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tell me what you think.<\/h3>\n

I spent a lot of time writing this story, so if you enjoyed it, please consider giving it a share using one of the buttons below, and leave a comment or question at the bottom of this story. I\u2019d really appreciate it.<\/h4>\n

NOTE: I tested gear for Backpacker Magazine for 20 years. At The Big Outside, I review only what I consider the best outdoor gear and apparel. See categorized menus of all of my gear reviews<\/a> at The Big Outside.<\/p>\n

\u2014Michael Lanza<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/strong>Hi, I\u2019m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside, which has made several\u00a0top outdoors blog<\/a> lists.\u00a0Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter<\/a>, or enter your email address in the box in the left sidebar or at the bottom of this story. Click here<\/a> to get full access to all of my blog\u2019s stories. Follow my adventures on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and Youtube<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Backpack The North Face Fovero 70 $290, 70L\/4,272 c.i., 5 lbs. 7 oz. (men\u2019s S\/M) Sizes: men\u2019s S\/M (fits torsos 15-20 ins.) & L\/XL (torsos 17-22 ins.), women\u2019s XS\/S (torsos 13-18 ins.) & M\/L (torsos 15-20 ins.) moosejaw.com Backpacking for three days in Idaho\u2019s Sawtooth Mountains with my 15-year-old son and two of his buddies who were taking their first … <\/p>\n

Read on<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[221],"tags":[327,234,2962,2961,916,2583],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/07000820\/The-North-Face-Fovero-70.jpg?fit=640%2C429&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Michael Lanza","author_link":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/author\/michaelalanza\/"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tbo-media.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/07000820\/The-North-Face-Fovero-70.jpg?fit=640%2C429&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paNGJs-5fm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20172"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20172"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47909,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20172\/revisions\/47909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}