Help me pick backpacks!

[Heavenly]

I want to get some good quality backpacks because the ones I keep getting don't last long enough. I am looking specifically at Lands End www.landsend.com because I've heard they are good, plus I am in Canada and I know they ship to Canada. I would like some recommendations on which ones would be a good choice for each child.

Child # 1 is a boy, age 9.5 years and going into 4th grade. I would like the backpack to last at least a few years. He needs to be able to carry a lunch bag, a water bottle, homework and library books. Also in the winter it would need to fit any winter clothes he needs to take with him.

Child # 2 is a girl, age 7.5 years and going into 3rd grade. Pretty much the same description as above except she loves to read and will often cart around extra books. I don't think they add much weight or take up much space though.

Child # 3 is a girl, age 4.5 years and going into junior kindergarten. She needs to be able to carry her naptime towel, her lunch bag and library books. Also any winter clothes.

I do not want anything with characters. Child # 1 likes most colours, just not "girly" blues. Child # 2 usually goes for pink. Child # 3 is partial to purple but sometimes pink. She also likes prints. I'm also considering whether it would be worth getting their names embroidered so as to avoid backpack confusion (we had a problem with that last year).

[emilysmama]

When my dd started K last year, I bought Lands End, because a lot of MDC mamas raved over it. To be honest, I was disappointed. The backpack that arrived was the perfect size (not too big), but the material looks thin and cheap. It did last the whole year without a problem, and we will continue to use it next year. However, the Jansport ones are much better quality. (I still have my high school and college back packs, and it has been two decades since I graduated from college. Jansport has a really liberal lifetime guarantee.) I later heard that Jansport makes a minibackpack, and I wish I'd known, because I would have seriously considered it. I think I saw Jansport at Office Max, so maybe you can find it at a local vendor.

[Heavenly]

I just checked and it appears LL Bean ships to Canada as well so if anyone has recommendations that they like from LL Bean as well I'm all ears!

[texmati]

I wanted to add another rave review for jansport. I carried mine all through highschool college... I think I could still dig it up at my parents. I used my husband's black one from college for business trips up till last year. Now it's our designated diaper bag. They last forever!

[St. Margaret]

I have a Jansport backpack I bought my first or second year of college, and it's still going strong! Just starting to get some threads fraying inside a bit. That's like 11 years! Love it. Never would have guessed when I bought it that I'd take it to Italy and then carry my DD's dipes in it!

I'm going to replace it soon (or at least have two) b/c when we go someplace nice I want a nice bag, but I love having a diaper bag that's a backpack. I've been looking at Lassig products b/c they have no PVC, lead, etc. And they are purdy for going to a nice dinner or the fancy shops around here They do make a bunch of kids' sizes.

[Drummer's Wife]

I've been happy with the LL Bean junior packs for my younger boys. They are just big enough to hold a standard size folder, yet still smaller and more ergonomic for little bodies (my DS's are 7, 5, and 3). DD (age 9), has a full-size jansport that has held up well - though, she rotates with a few other bags depending on her mood. Really, since they ship to Canada, I don't think you can go wrong with the Bean!

[whatsnextmom]

I just checked and it appears LL Bean ships to Canada as well so if anyone has recommendations that they like from LL Bean as well I'm all ears!

We're an LL Bean family. I got my first bag in 1990 and it's still in fantastic shape through college, travel back and forth across the country, camping, diaper bag and now is DH's gym bag. My DD got a "critter" back pack she used for 4 years only replaced when she needed a bigger bag. Same with DS. They left bananas rotting in it but a run through the wash and it was like new. DD's 2nd bag has taken her from 5th to 8th and she's taking it to high school. DS is getting a larger size too for 5th. The old bags are still used for sleep-overs, carry-on's ect. Plus, they have a lifetime guaruntee and they will replace and fix your bags for free if anything happens. The kids like the styles and the ability to monogram them. They are currently 20 percent off and less than 40 bucks for a book pack.

I will say that their matching lunch boxes don't hold up quite as well. They don't tear or rip but they lose their shape after a few years and lots of washing.

We do have a Jansport that has held up well. My only complaint is that the fabric tends to hold stains whereas our LL Bean bags come out clean.

[laurabfig]

I second the LLBean recommendation. I've always had packs from them and they last FOREVER. Such great quality. Can't go wrong with them.

[sunnmama]

We got dd an LL Bean Original last year (3rd grade), and it looks new--just a little dirty . It is roomy enough for her books, folder, lunch bag, AND coat when necessary. I only wish it had an outside holder for a water bottle, but her water bottle fits nicely in an interior pocket inside the front zippered-section (separate from the main compartment). It is very reasonably priced, too, compared to bags in the store that are destroyed in a year.

I recommend the LL Bean! I know they have a junior size for little ones, too.

[Heavenly]

So it sounds as if LL Bean would be a good choice. I was thinking these ones - http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62852...19-tn&cat4=816 - for the older two but what for the youngest? She is 4.5 but big for her age. She's about the size of any average 5.5-6 year old. I don't know that the smallest pack - http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62855...19-tn&cat4=816 - will be big enough to hold everything. She needs to fit a water bottle, lunch bag, in the winter there will be other clothes, and library books and such. Also I am really hoping I can get 4 years out of it and I don't know if the junior one would last through 2nd grade. Would this one - http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62856...19-tn&cat4=816 - be too big for a 4.5 year old? Thanks for the help!

ETA: Monogramming? Yes? No? I was thinking yes but then I thought, what if I want to pass it on to someone, even my younger daughter? Obviously I can't pass an Eliana backpack to someone named Emma! LOL

[whatsnextmom]

I'd go with the "Critter pack" or the "origional" backpack before going with the "junior origional" size. Both my kids used the Critter Packs through 4th grade before they really needed to upgrade to a bag that could fit more. They are bigger than the "junior" but still work well on a small frame. Plus, they have nice side pockets which was nice when the kids were little and always had little toys and things they wanted to keep seperate. Of course, it's 10 bucks more which makes the origional attractive. I really don't think the origional would be too big for her to manage either.

My kids really like the monogram. We just do initials because I didn't want my kids names so openly displayed on it for safety reasons. Some of the initial styles look more like a logo than initials. There is also the option of just putting a big last name initial. It's handy when other kids have the same bag but I will say that we've never had a duplicate bag of theirs at school (only at activities.) If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have let DD pick out a pink back pack and then could have used her bag for DS too!

[Drummer's Wife]

I did the monogramming, and am glad I did - the boys' first names. I'm not really worried about passing them down, b/c een if they got new bags for school, they use them for car trips, etc.

[sunnmama]

To decide which LL Bean pack, I measured a pack dd was already comfortable using and compared the measurements to the LL Bean packs (you can see the measurements if you click on "details" for each pack). I thought I'd get the deluxe until I measured and realized that the original was already a few inches larger and deeper than the pack she'd been using.

eta...wrt monogram, be cognizant of the bag color/monogram color. Some of the negative comments refer to the monogram being too close to some bag colors, and nearly invisible.

[St. Margaret]

You can always get a patch made with another name on it, and stitch it over the monogram, if you want to pass the bag down someday. I think you'd want to ID the bag in some wayy-- I've seen people use sharpies. I sewed a big bright flower patch onto my backpack in college and only had to restitch part of it once, back in college, and it's still on there! Or you could always monogram some other word on there, but it sounds like if you are getting a couple of similar bags, having their first names on there would be useful just for you all to keep them straight!

[lactivistmama]

I love the Pottery Barn backpacks! They are really cute!! And you can get them monogrammed

[Heavenly]

I think we are going to go with the LL Bean Deluxe packs for the older two and the Original for the younger one. I actually like the fact that it doesn't have the mesh water bottle holders on the outside because I've found they get wrecked first by the kids dragging them and it makes the backpack look old. There is only one real "girl" colour but my older girl has agreed to go with a nice turquoise blue. Little girl is getting pink and boy chose red. I think I am also going to go with the water bottle. They are going to a much bigger school this year (340 kids) so I don't want any backpack mix-ups. Thanks for all the tips!

[lauren]

We just ordered bpacks from LL Bean too. Love them.

[lilyka]

I just got backpacks from Landsend. The quality is nice and if anything does go wrong they are warrentied up the hooha. BUT there is no way they will carry as much stuff as the catalouge says they will. My dadughter got the bioggest one without wheels (we are not allowed to have wheels) and her binder will not fit in it., granted her binder is huge but it is not even close to fitting. it has a lap top sleeve but nothing bigger than a netbook is fitting in there. I expected them to be much bigger.

[laurabfig]

Anyone have thoughts on the wheeled backpacks? Yea or Nea?
My dd is so set on getting one for the new school year. I can see where it would be great to protect her back in high school or whatever when she is carrying TONS of heavy books...but 3rd grade? And if she gets one, then you know ds will want one too.
I just think they are bulky. I could see how it would be good when traveling though so they could wheel their stuff around. But we only travel about 1 time every two years!

[Polliwog]

Are wheeled bags allowd at their school? Many districts prohibit them.

We have, and love, Lands End backpack. The quality is excellent and their return policy is terrific. My son's looks brand new even though he used it for a full year of kindergarten.
His has his name embroidered on it.