We have an LL Bean Junior sized that has been used everyday for either school or camp since for 3 years.

I put it in the wash occasionally inside out. It gets at lot of use - hung up at beginning of the day, on the floor for aftercare, I assume a big pile at camp.

I have never had an issue of not finding it in a sea of LL Bean backpacks.

My daughter has had a Garnett Hill backpack for 2 years and it is still going strong - looks brand new.

FYI - the guarantees from LL Bean and Lands End are not that it will never ever fail - they are that you are satisfied with the product and how long it lasted.

I would say that is a backpack ripped - and there was nothing that the child did to cause it - for example cut it, get it stuck in something then it did not live up to expectations.

Our LL Bean lunch bag is starting to get a few holes on the inside liner. These appear to be fork holes. I am confident that my child took a fork that we send with lunch and poked holes in it. I do not expect LL Bean to replace it b/c my child used it in a way that it was not intended.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always buy Lands End for the durability. As a safety measure I am careful never to have my children's names monogrammed on the back packs. I have the initials put on them instead.

OP here. I originally bought LE for both my kids. DS's backpack is in great shape and he will be using it for a 3rd year. DD's backpack has tears on the front and the straps are in bad shape. The piece that clips the front pocket also fell off. Since DS's backpack is fine (same brand but different style LE than DD's) I'm assuming DD is much harder on her backpack.

Thank you to everyone for the LLBean recs. I'm going to try that for DD this time.

I would call Lands End and ask them to replace the ripped backpack.

Our LE Backpack is still going strong after 4 years of daily use.

OP here. I called LE last night. They WILL NOT REPLACE the backpacks. They WILL RETURN the backpacks for the purchase price I paid 2 years ago. I can then repurchase a backpack from them if I want to. The rep said I can decide if I got the amount of wear/use I feel is appropriate for a backpack. If I choose to I can return to Sears or send back to LE.

If I return I honestly do not know if I will repurchase from them. Honestly, I feel that 2 years for a backpack (not using it for camp as well as school) is not acceptable (for a brand like LE that is supposed to be better than the backpacks I can find at Target, Walmart etc...).

Certainly, that's up to you. Still a pretty good deal; I imagine you wouldn't be paying very much for the new backpack.

As I said, ours looks perfect after 4 years. We'll switch next year for middle school just because he needs a bigger backpack.

DD's PBK backpack is in great shape!

Northface...last forever. We had bough several cheapie versions and they always wore out. These north face ones are more expensive on first glance, but when you amortize the cost -- they're cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always buy Lands End for the durability. As a safety measure I am careful never to have my children's names monogrammed on the back packs. I have the initials put on them instead.

OP here. I originally bought LE for both my kids. DS's backpack is in great shape and he will be using it for a 3rd year. DD's backpack has tears on the front and the straps are in bad shape. The piece that clips the front pocket also fell off. Since DS's backpack is fine (same brand but different style LE than DD's) I'm assuming DD is much harder on her backpack.

Thank you to everyone for the LLBean recs. I'm going to try that for DD this time.

I would call Lands End and ask them to replace the ripped backpack.

Our LE Backpack is still going strong after 4 years of daily use.

OP here. I called LE last night. They WILL NOT REPLACE the backpacks. They WILL RETURN the backpacks for the purchase price I paid 2 years ago. I can then repurchase a backpack from them if I want to. The rep said I can decide if I got the amount of wear/use I feel is appropriate for a backpack. If I choose to I can return to Sears or send back to LE.

If I return I honestly do not know if I will repurchase from them. Honestly, I feel that 2 years for a backpack (not using it for camp as well as school) is not acceptable (for a brand like LE that is supposed to be better than the backpacks I can find at Target, Walmart etc...).

EVERYONE suggested an LL Bean backpack to me (like the PPs on this thread!) and while I have no doubt that they're durable, I wanted something that would be easy for my child to find. So I bought him a bright color Jansport with the suede bottom and it's been very durable and it stands out in a sea of LL Bean backpacks!

DC's Miu Miu backpack seems fine after 2 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I always buy Lands End for the durability. As a safety measure I am careful never to have my children's names monogrammed on the back packs. I have the initials put on them instead.

OP here. I originally bought LE for both my kids. DS's backpack is in great shape and he will be using it for a 3rd year. DD's backpack has tears on the front and the straps are in bad shape. The piece that clips the front pocket also fell off. Since DS's backpack is fine (same brand but different style LE than DD's) I'm assuming DD is much harder on her backpack.

Thank you to everyone for the LLBean recs. I'm going to try that for DD this time.

I would call Lands End and ask them to replace the ripped backpack.

Our LE Backpack is still going strong after 4 years of daily use.

Another vote for L.L. Bean. They are incredibly durable. I have bought backpacks just before kindergarten, sixth grade, and college for my three and all of them were still usable, so I gave them away, except for one backpack that was frayed at one of the straps. The only reason I got new ones was that they needed more space for books once middle school or college started.

As for your question about the size, I don't know the dimensions of the original. We have always gotten the original plus, which has been more than adequate, but easy to handle. I would call LLBean or access the website and ask about the dimensions on the original, as the customer service people are very courteous and knowledegable.

We've had one Lands End bag from K-3rd. For fourth grade I'm giving DS a new bag, not because anything happened to the old one, but it's just too filthy from getting thrown in the dirt at camp or on the playground after school.

My other son has had a LE bag for pre-k and K and I'm buying him a new one. Nothing is wrong with it, but I accidentally bought the smaller one and can barely fit one folder in it.

OP here. For those of you with LLBean experience, how much different size wise is the original vs. the original plus backpack? DD will have a lunchcase to carry daily. In addition she will need to store coat, boots, etc... and I want to make sure it's big enough but not to big for her to handle.

Thanks.

Childrens Place - dd's backpack has held up much better that DS's Lands End version.

Another vote for LL Bean
AND
I second the tip about not having the child's name on the backpack, for safety reasons.

Anonymous wrote:ll bean-my oldest is 10 now and his little brother is going to use the junior for K this year-perfect condition. So all three kids use LL Bean and have yet to rip.

meant to say my youngest will use the same backpack his brother used for K this year. sorry

ll bean-my oldest is 10 now and his little brother is going to use the junior for K this year-perfect condition. So all three kids use LL Bean and have yet to rip.