Recommendations needed: High quality, durable book bag brand (Other than L.L.Bean and Land's End)

[fly girl]

Another vote for Swiss Gear!

 

[Kestryl]

I used my last Jansport in college and grad school (and still pull it out today occasionally). My previous Jansport lived through middle and high school. Maybe I’ve just been lucky.

 

[Ellie008]

Mine is Swissgear. It seems to be what all my colleagues use for work travel.

 

[MsChristy12]

I'm commuter on public transport to work, and I am currently using an Aer Day Pack as my work backpack. It is very durable, sturdy and water resistant. I am not sure how many books/binders your kids will be carrying, but sounds like a lot and they will be heavy! If they really need their bags to be spacious, you can look into Aer's travel collection, they are a little roomier than their regular backpacks.
Backpacks – Aer (aersf.com)

Another brand I like is Timbuk2. I love their designs and it is also durable and water resistant. I only stopped using it because mine is buckle closure not zipper, and it's not as convenient.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'd say to look at Ogio packs, too. I have an Ogio gym bag that will last my lifetime and probably the next owner's, too. Very durable.

 

[luisov]

Sorry for reviving this one. But didn't see mentioned here leather bags. Want to buy one for myself.

Are they as good as they say?

 

[Genie+]

Another vote for Swiss Gear!

Here as well - Swiss Gear.

 

[bookgirl]

https://www.jansport.com/ has a lifetime warranty and https://www.swissgear.com/ has a 10 year. I've used both and my Swissgear is still working great even after the warranty has expired.

I had a Jansport for 10 years before it began to fray. I replaced it with another Jansport that I still own. It's about 25 years old.

I recommend Jansport

The only reason I don't carry my 25 year old one now is it's so old it doesn't have a waterbottle pocket. But the new ones do. I love that they are just one big pocket with a zipper pocket on front. A dozen pockets and zippers just means I'm going to forget where I've put my keys.

 

[bookgirl]

Sorry for reviving this one. But didn't see mentioned here leather bags. Want to buy one for myself.

Are they as good as they say?

Leather is only as good as it's weatherproofing. It's also heavy.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I got one of my sons friends a Case Logic when they graduated high school going into college and around 8 years later it is still going strong.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

We have had good luck with Nike backpacks. There's a red one floating around somewhere that my oldest (now 21) used in kindergarten that still gets pulled out for scout trips. I've got one with laptop padding that I've used as my travel bag for almost 10 years, still looks new.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

My son is entering college this year and we need to replace his book bag. Most of my life I've been a fan of L.L.Bean book bags and their lifetime guarantee. Well, it seems back in 2018 they changed their policy to only guarantee it for one year, and I happened to purchase his backpack just two months AFTER the policy change. He'd only used it two months before half the stitching came out of the top of one of the straps. I was very disappointed that it started degrading that fast, but I procrastinated on replacing it since it was still usable (thinking it still had the lifetime guarantee and I could replace it anytime). Well, here I am well past the first year and just found out I can't return it. I wasn't quite happy how fast it was breaking down anyway (the second strap started ripping and a zipper broke), so now I'm ready to try another brand that is known to be of a high quality, I just don't know any. I thought about Land's End, but there were only a few men's backpacks to choose from (unless I was searching incorrectly), and for one of them that had 4 reviews, 2 of them were saying how the thread started unraveling and rips started occurring, both in a little over 3 months, pictures were included.

I'm willing to spend a little more to get a rugged, durable book bag, but I need recommendations on where to look. I feel like I can't trust Amazon since there are so many knock-offs, and now the only two brands I thought were pretty solid choices don't seem to be as high quality as they used to be.

I'm looking for a relatively spacious adult-size bag, that has a spot for a laptop and multiple books and binders (will be getting one for my 8th grade son as well, and I know he will have a ton of binders and such). Thanks for any help you can give!

My daughter is heading to college too. Got her a North Face backpack from the NF website months ago (I've been shopping for college for over a year). It was about $130 and got it for $68. They were have really good sales. In high school she used a Herschel for 4 years. It looks brand new to this day. Color hasn't faded, not tears, nothing broke. Recommend.