Nope! We reuse school supplies, too. My fifth grader has had the same eraser since kindergarten.

No. We buy LLBean backpacks and only bought new ones because they needed larger backpacks. They are well made.

No, definitely not. Their backpack lasts a many years and unless it's beat up, they're not getting a new one.

Yes. They get dirty and broken over the course of the year, zipper pulls unravel, pockets rip, etc. We get new ones for school then use the old ones as sports bags, for weekend trips, or trash them once they're truly too wrecked to be useful.

My 9th grader has had 4 backpacks which seems like a lot to me, but only bought the first one. Grandma bought 1 when he needed a bigger size in 4th. His team all got backpacks that he used for a couple of years. Then Grandma got him a new one last year that he didn’t start using until this year. He wanted to use the team, but it was overloaded and ripped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. My kids keep their backpacks for many years, OP. The longest-serving items are my kids' water bottles. Stainless steel, with screw tops. Unbreakable. They're 19 and 14 and still use theirs from 10 years ago.

Wait hold on, your younger kid never lost their water bottle from age 4 to 14? This is a skill I need to teach my kids 😂

Why are your kids losing things so often?

Anonymous wrote:Ll bean for pre k. Still going for 5th grade. My middle school ll bean wore out after college. Husband still uses college one. These last 10-20 y.

Yeah, we also got LL Bean and they honestly are exactly the same 2 years later. Very very sturdy and well constructed, why would I change them?

Anonymous wrote:No. My kids keep their backpacks for many years, OP. The longest-serving items are my kids' water bottles. Stainless steel, with screw tops. Unbreakable. They're 19 and 14 and still use theirs from 10 years ago.

Wait hold on, your younger kid never lost their water bottle from age 4 to 14? This is a skill I need to teach my kids 😂

My kid had the same backpack from 2nd to 6th. Before that she had a pottery barn one from pre school to 2nd. My younger kids use it now. I bought a high quality backpack and use it year after year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you do with the old one? In answer to your question, no. Same backpack until it dies. I try to buy neutral ones so no characters to outgrow.

We donate the old ones.

If it is still usable (assuming you wouldn’t donate something that isn’t), why do you need a new one?

As kids mature, their taste changes. A fourth grader might not want the hearts and unicorns in pink and purple she liked in first grade. A fourth grader might not like the multi-colored dinosaurs he liked in first grade.

My son is going into 5th and has had 2 backpacks ever. He had a PB one with Cars characters on it for pre-K-1st (but 1st was virtual school so he didn’t need the backpack that year). Then got an LL bean solid color backpack that he’s had for 2nd-4th and will use until it wears out.

So wasteful to buy a new one when you don’t need it. If I could go back in time I’d start w the ll bean one and skip any characters on backpacks. They can decorate w keychains or something easier to switch out as tastes change.

My senior has had four backpacks throughout all of her years of school, and had the first one not been a gift it would have been just three. The gift was a Garnet Hill one my mother gave DD that was too small and only lasted a year in preschool. That was followed by two LL Beans that got her through ES and MS, and a Jansport she's carried throughout HS.

FWIW, we still have both of those LL Bean backpacks and use them for travel, etc. I replaced them when I did because they were a little worn/faded and DD outgrew the patterns. They're both still 100% functional.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. Finally got DS a new backpack in 6th because his ll bean backpack from K, while still in good shape, had dinosaurs on it. Now he uses the Dino bag for travel.

DS still takes his Lands End dinosaur backpack from kinder to high school. It doesn't get mixed up with anyone else's.

Sorry, not Lands End. That place that was next to Bloomingdales in Tysons, LL Bean. Both of my kids' backpacks from there last forever.

No way--I'm majorly pi$$ed that the north face backpack I bought my daughter last year is coming apart and I will be sending it to them for repair/replacement but have to buy one for her to use in the meantime.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I usually buy a new one every 2-3 years, but by year end he ALWAYS reverts back to a pottery barn kids backpack everyone here touted 8 years ago. Yep, he's in 8th grade and his favorite backpack is 8 years old.

I have a HSer and MSer and I have never seen an 8th grader with a PB backpack of any kind.

I had to go check the brand to make sure, because I doubted it as well, but yes, it's a PB kids solid green but I don't see an exact model on the website anymore. He just left for school with a new sprayground I bought this year, but I won't be surprised if at some point this year he switches back.