Happy happy Friday ! My soon to be 7th grader is needing a backpack for next year. What are some good brands that won't tear up within 2 months and the zipper holds up ? We have tried a couple of different ones and one that I bought last year at Academy didn't hold up very long at all. He isn't rough with his stuff but he is a boy ! I'm willing to pay $50 or so for one that will last. Thanks for any ideas !
Thanks for all the great ideas ! I will start taking a look at them and see what we can find for school.
Angela - Thanks for the information. As far as I know those restrictions are not in place for the middle schools but I will definitely check into that to make sure.
LL Bean - they are the BEST and stand by their products FOR LIFE. They are a bit spendy but always have stuff on sale. Highly recomend them..... www.llbean.com I believe they ahve free shipping too.
LL Bean. My kids have had theirs for years. They wear like iron.
i always did jansport, they're $30ish, but if they break, they send you a new one.
my kids are very little, so i like that i can monogram the ll bean backpacks, that's what they have for now... we did have a zipper break, they sent us a new one in under a week, monogrammed and all, completely free.
Northface!! Okay so when I went to college I would have six classes in a row. Trust me I looked like I was skiing that backpack weighed so much! Four years of that torture and it was still in perfect condition. I handed it off to my son at age 11 for middle school, he is 13, that backpack is still kicking! At this rate I think it will make it all the way through high school, maybe his college.
So I vote for Northface! Sure they are four times as much as the Wal Mart backpack but those things last about two months. This is six years!!!
Oh plus Northface bags are cool. :)
I stopped buying store backpacks years ago, and only buy from Land's End or LLBean. I haven't needed to replace anything I have purchased from either of them since. Now, my kids may have decided they wanted something else, or something that is a bit different in functionality, but my son still has the backpack I bought him when he was in 4th grade. (He will be in 9th grade this year). I used it 2 years ago to take my daughter on an all day field trip on Cumberland Island. And he uses it for camp every summer, too. Still in great shape!
I've also bought them lunchboxes from there. Same thing. My daughter's lunchbox from 1st grade is still fabulous, and she starts 6th grade this year.
We bought a Swiss Gear backpack from Staples a few years ago and it has been one of the most durable backpacks we've ever used. We love it. It's also comfortable and very functional. This is the kind we have: http://www.amazon.com/Wenger-GA-7305-14F00-SwissGear-Comp...
I always buy Jansport backpacks. If anything breaks on them, they'll replace it...even years later with no receipt.
Once our daughter was in middle school, we started taking her to Whole Earth provisions to purchase her back packs. Totally worth it.
You can go online and look at their backpacks. See if there is a store around you, it is worth it to let him try them on.
I swear by Billabong. I buy brand new ones on Ebay. Mine is nicely padded and also has an area for a laptop. Super durable. I use mine for traveling and the beach.
Jan sport or north face.
LL Bean has very good backpacks. Good quality and it lasts.
Many different colors and styles.
My kids have LL Bean bags.
It still looks new and has never broken even if they are not gentle with it.
My daughter's has lasted now for ab out 3-4 years.
And you can monogram it.
And it is warrantied.
If it breaks etc., you send it back and they send you a new one for free.
I got my sons at Staples last year and it was the first one that lasted all year and didn't have to replace it! I can't remember what brand name it was but I think it was on sale for $20, originally $40. Maybe Jansport. But you can tell the better quality ones when you are looking at them. Good luck!
The suggestions here are great, but be sure to check with the school to see if there are any restrictions. I teach at a high school in your area, and our school requires students to have clear or mesh backpacks. We have issues with weapons and theft, and the ability to see into backpacks deters students from bringing weapons or stealing. At least that's what administrators hope.
I agree with LL Bean!!! I used Discover points last year to get an $80 gift card for LL Bean. I bought 2 backpacks and 2 lunchboxes for my boys, in the end I paid about $10 I think. Best decsion ever. Their backpacks were used the entire past school year and look brand new, so do the lunchboxes. I can't say enough good things about them.
