Anonymous wrote:For those of you whose child used the same LLBean backpack for K-3 (or more than a year or two), which size did you buy?

We got the LL Bean Junior. We're in MoCo. The kids are not carrying anything in their backpack except their lunch boxes and a folder that comes home with homework, etc. No notebooks. They do get a recorder in 3rd grade, which fits in fine with the other stuff.

When our son started pre-k he picked out a cheap backpack at Target. It didn't even make it to Thanksgiving. So we we got him an LL Bean one - not the smallest size, but the next size up.

He was swimming in it but is quickly growing into it. It lasted the rest of pre-K, through summer camp, vacations, K and is on its second summer at camp.

I hope this post doesn't jinx its indestructibility. But it was well worth spending more once then buying new and cheap every 6 months.

Anonymous wrote:For those of you whose child used the same LLBean backpack for K-3 (or more than a year or two), which size did you buy?

Don't buy the junior size. I bought the next size up from junior at LLBean. Just picked a solid color and it lasted K-3.

Anonymous wrote:We do a new backpack and lunch box every 3 years. Ironically, the only kids I see with new bags every year tend to be lower-income kids, since it is more accessible to get a $10 bag every year than a $35 bag every three years.

this was me growing up. it was unfathomable to pay more than $10 or so for a bookbag, so mine was always threadbare by the end of school year. My parents bought me a cheap (sometimes cartoon character) bookbag every school year. Dating myself here - I would have given ANYTHING for an LL Bean or Jansport with the suede on the bottom!

We get the cheap $9.88 backpack/lunch bag set from Walmart. It lasts exactly one school year and then the zipper breaks, the arm strap rips, the lining tears, etc.

So, we get a new one the next school year. By then, my kids' tastes change so last year's backpack theme/design isn't what they like anyway so it fits perfectly into getting everyone a new set.

My DCs are pretty rough with their backpacks so we replace every other year. K-1st, 2nd-3rd, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you buying cheap, character backpacks? I bought one from LL bean four years ago, and it still looks brand new.

Eh. DD picked out a Jansport at WalMart and is about to use hers for the fourth year in a row. You don't have to spend a lot in order for things to last sometimes.

m
+1 my kid is onnyear three of the one we bought from staples for under $20. It looks new.

Anonymous wrote:Same - we buy higher quality bags that will last for a few years. I wash them a couple of times each year and only replace them when they have holes or broken zippers. New every year feels wasteful to me.

Yes, this is my approach from now on. I bought a PB kids backpack for the first year that while cute, didn't stand up to one wash. Literally started to fray after one round in the washing machine. This year buying a Lands End backpack that a friend's sons have each for four years and in heavy use.

Op, I remember that as a kid too. We could never afford a more expensive and longer lasting backpack, so I always got the Kmart special. I can afford to buy the more expensive ones that last longer. Plus, my kids aren't into having all of the merchandise for their favorite characters. My rising 4th grader is on his second backpack only because he outgrew the one that I had bought for him when he was in K. I picked a nice LL Bean one and my oldest got to customize it.

No. My daughter had a new lunchbox in first grade bc the one from kg was from preschool and getting worn. We bought her backpack at the beginning of kg. It still looks great, and she's a rising second grader. That's what she'll use.

or this.

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/118983?feat=816-GN1&page=l-l-bean-original-book-pack&csp=f

This will last through middle school -- unless your kids are extra tough on it...
https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/62209?feat=816-GN1&page=deluxe-book-pack-print&csp=f&attrValue_0=Periwinkle%20Sky%20Chevron

My kids always got a brand new backpack every year. It was part of the fun of back-to-school. Once they were in middle school and high school, we stopped getting new ones every year. But in elementary school? Of course! I actually thought pretty much everyone did.

For those of you whose child used the same LLBean backpack for K-3 (or more than a year or two), which size did you buy?

Anonymous wrote:We use them until they bite the dust. Definitely not an every year purchase.

Agree. DD used one from k-1st grade. We got another less babyish one for 2-3rd grade and got a rolling backpack half way through 3rd grade just because the amount of stuff she was carrying was insane, and way too heavy for a 50lb kid to carry on her back. The non-rolling backpack is now used for camp/travel, etc. and both will be used until no longer usable. Buying new backpacks and lunch boxes every year is wasteful.