Hot backpacks for back to school

The start of school comes like clockwork. With it, comes the inevitable list of school supplies, the need for new clothes (when did those kids grow) and the search for a new school backpack.

So, what are the favorite brands? The North Face, Jansport and High Sierra are the top selling backpack brands of the back-to-school crowd. The major factors in the yearly backpack purchase are quite simply brand, color and style. The words ‘Oh Mom, that’s so last year’ still rings in my head. By far, the overall favorites this year are the Jansport Backpacks – Plaids; popular for the guys seems to be the High Sierra Swerve (with a padded computer sleeve); and for the little tikes, the JanSport Half Pint Backpacks, a huge hit, perfect for their lunch and their little take-home papers and projects!

My middle school son, soon to be an 8th grader, is actually leaning away from the traditional school backpack … Right now, his choice seems to be the Timbuk2 messenger bag, largely because it is a laptop messenger bag. He no longer carries books, as his laptop actually has all the text books loaded, so he really just needs enough space for the computer and what he calls ‘his school supplies’ aka: junk.

My other middle school daughter, has clearly become very fashion/brand conscious. This year’s choice appears to be a North Face backpack…the North Face Jester; fortunately, a more reasonably priced North Face and available in some great colors.

Last, for my grade school son, our youngest, the High Sierra Swerve Daypack in blue. The kid is not into color, style or brand… he’s about as plain as unlined paper, so I’m guessing he’ll stay with this High Sierra next year as well, it will certainly hold up.

Last but not least is the niece who lives with us. She’s in her final year of college and finishing nursing school. Her choice is a leather backpack from Clava Leather Bags. It is the perfect size, has lots of pockets and is a beautiful leather bag. Most importantly it holds her laptop and, of course, her myriad of nursing tools. This leather backpack will be carried long after her graduation.

Lots of backpacks, great values and plenty of great brands to choose from…