How many school years can I get out of a Land's End backpack?

[Pooh93]

I broke down and ordered Land's End backpacks for dd's this year, because I've read such great things about them. Will I be able to get at least 2-3 years out of them? Anybody had good or bad experiences?

 

[stinkerbelle]

not sure - but I've been using an LLBean back pack as my gym bag for the past 4 years...I think I got this bag 97/98 (when I was in college)...showing very little wear and tear.

best $30 I ever spent.

 

[tkd lisa]

My kids have gotten two years out of their combo lands end backpacks and they're still going strong. I'm guessing they'll get another two years easily. And my kids are VERY hard on their backpacks. The ones I got them had a matching lunch box which clips onto the front of the backpack. Now they're too cool to take their lunches, but they still use the backpacks.

I swear by Land's End stuff. It lasts and lasts and lasts!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

The backpacks will most likely be just fine after two years --

but your kids will want new backpacks anyway.

 

[Az Pirates]

Originally posted by Toby'sFriend
The backpacks will most likely be just fine after two years --

but your kids will want new backpacks anyway.

Exactly what I was going to say.

I've bought the Land's End backpacks before - they hold up really well, but the kids usually want something fresh and new every year anyway.
Last year I bought a sale backpack at Target for $6.00. It lasted all year, but will not be donated to the local backpack drive as our others have been - it went right in the trash!

 

[m&m's mom]

I had ours momogrammed etc. so they better get more than 1 year out of.
After 1 year it still looks great, hardly even looks like it was used (and abused) so I would think 2-3 years is reasonable.

 

[Pooh93]

I had ours momogrammed etc. so they better get more than 1 year out of.

Me too!!! But I'm thinking at least 3 years!

 

[CEDmom]

I had one that got me thru 4 years of college and beyond.

 

[RitaZ.]

I bought a backpack for my older DS from LE when he started 5th grade. One of the seams came apart. I called LE and asked them if there was anything they could do, they sent me a new one and also a prepaid label to mail the defective one back to them. Are they a great company or what?

Anyway, the second backpack is doing great and he will be using it for 7th grade.

 

[BrerMom]

How many years can you get or how many will they tolerate? You could probably get four; they'll rebel after two. "old" backpacks become sports bags and library bags and ....

DS once asked if we could NOT get his backpack from Lands' End so he'd get to choose a different one the next year. LE could use that in one of their ads! We ended up getting the LE one with wheels. He has to walk several blocks and the books are getting heavier each year.

 

[swanmom]

You'll get at least three (maybe four years) ......... just beware, if you order the 'cutsey' ones (bright flowers, little embroidered critters etc.), the kids will want new ones sooner. We ordered a basic sky blue and silver and DD is still using it after three years because it didn't become 'dated' so fast.

 

[christinou]

My girls have used theirs for 2 years now, and they still look perfect, so they will use them again next year.......
Poor kids having to use the same backpacks 3 years in a row...

 

[crazelion]

L. L. Bean Bookbag has had page since high school and it's still going strong and 10 or more old.

 

[Barb D]

I don't know if Lands End has the same policy as LL Bean, but with LL Bean you get a lifetime warranty. I bought an LL Bean book pack for DS when he was an infant. We used it as a diaper bag. It got a lot of use for 11 years, and held up fine. Eventually, though, the rubberized lining started to disintegrate. We took it back to LL Bean and they replaced it FREE. After all that time and use. I'm an LL Bean customer for life.

 

[Cindy B]

I bought my kids two LL Bean backpacks, and they better last!

FWIW, my DH got a Lands End duffel bag back in 1978. Up until last year, we used it all the time. The only reason we don't still have it is that my basement flooded and it got moldy.

So from 1978 to 2003.

 

[aprilgail2]

You may get more than one year out of it but that doesn't mean your kids will want to use it more than a year. We have always gotten new backpacks each year even though the others were still good...new clothes and new backpacks for each year of school. The old ones become beach bags or vacation bags, god forbid they are seen using the same backpack two years in a row LOL!

 

[Pooh93]

Thanks for all the great replies! I've told the kids they have to use them at least two years. Let's see if I can squeak that 3rd year out of them. If not, they will be "retired" (the backpacks, not the kids ) and put to some other use.

Happy School Shopping Everyone!!!!