Nope. My son has my college backpack. It’s EMS...not sure if they are still around, but it is a good bag. Lunchboxes do get lost, so I’ve replaced a couple. Ditched the Thomas the Train one at 4.

Anonymous wrote:No. First, buy quality. I bought them from Land's End and Pottery Barn. Second, wash them. I wash the lunch bags by hand or in the dishwasher every week. Don't try them in the dishwasher. The backpack less frequently. DS has had the same backpack for almost 3 years. It even has a tiny hole in it on the bottom. I put a little bit of duct tape on the inside and its held up just fine for almost a year.

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we've gotten ours from PB and attempted to wash them but they still just look grimy and bad.

Anonymous wrote:Nope. They get replaced when they fall apart.

This. The lunchbox zipper broke last month, so I had to replace that since we use it year-round for camp as well. The backpack should be good for quite some time, it's an LL Bean one.

No. First, buy quality. I bought them from Land's End and Pottery Barn. Second, wash them. I wash the lunch bags by hand or in the dishwasher every week. Don't try them in the dishwasher. The backpack less frequently. DS has had the same backpack for almost 3 years. It even has a tiny hole in it on the bottom. I put a little bit of duct tape on the inside and its held up just fine for almost a year.

the lunch boxes keep looking like trash well before year end. grime that just doesn't come up.

the backpack is up to the kid. if those characters are still cool, then cool.

I'm really surprised at the people who buy new every year. Seems like such a waste. I mean, adults use backpacks too, do you buy a new one every year? I will replace if broken/ripped, but I fully expect my kid's backpack (which I bought for 1st grade) to last until middle school.

Not backpacks, but we do replace lunchboxes. We have the insulated kind that can't be washed. They are pretty gross by the end of the year. While they could work one more year, or two, I find they are too gross and smell weird to use.

We usually had to replace lunch bags a few times each year. My kids took lunch each day, though, and they really took a beating. I always replaced them when the inner liner ripped.

We replaced bookbags at the start of each year. It was always part of the excitement of going back to school in ES.

In MS and HS we've had years where we had to replace bookbags 2 and 3 times. Doesn't matter if we go $$$ or $, they take a beating between being stuffed with books, the dreaded giant binder, gym uniforms, etc.

Always new lunch box. I have also always done a new backpack, but this year I may not replace theirs.

We've done new backpacks at PK, 3rd, 6th.
Lunch boxes about every other to every third year. They wear out (hinges break, etc).

The backpack that has held up the best has been the costco/ high sierra brand one. They usually have them at back to school time for $15. We also have done lands end and llbean and they were about the same as far as holding up. I think the high sierra holds bigger stuff.

DD has had the same backpack since K. It's got some permanent grunge discoloration on the bottom where it is on the floor and dragged around, but it's otherwise in perfect shape.

She had a Frozen lunchbox in K, but in 1st we got her the lunchbox that matches or LL Bean backpack. Three years and going strong. It gets washed out with soapy water every day when she brings it home, but it does have some stains inside from things like pasta sauce that spilled and were in there from lunchtime until she brought it home, but LL Bean makes great stuff so it's still in great shape structurally.

Environmentally wasteful to get rid of them when they're still in solid shape.

we have been through so many backpacks/lunchbags. Sometimes they were ripped and could only be patched so much after a couple of years. One year we had to switch to a wheelie bag because of the weight of the books going back and forth. Then we had an issue because the wheelie bag wouldn't fit in lockers that the kids had to use the next year.

If a bag that isn't being currently used is still in good enough condition to be used, it gets repurposed for sports equipment, or overnight bag or day trip pack. We aren't filling the landfill with bags that can still be used.

My younger son was very unhappy to have to change schools this past year and we got get him a new minecraft backpack that he was wild about to help that transition.

Usually, the llbean or landsend bags go on clearance in the spring, and we have bought bags then before.

At various points, each of our kids have gone to schools where the zuca bags are THE bag that most of the kids have. After dealing with those prices, buying them a $20 bag is NBD. We were lucky to get a zuca bag used for $50. This is what the zuca bags looks like:


They run around $150-200 for the frame and the insert.