Finally, A Durable and Well-Made Book Bag!

Are you tired of buying new book bags in September, only to have them fall apart by Christmas?? 

Me too! 

The straps rip.  The seams fray.  The bottoms wear thin.  And they generally look ratty and leak important papers long before we’ve gotten our money’s worth.

Well, last summer, I came across some great reviews on L.L.Bean’s book bags, or Book Packs, as they call them.  Some said the bags still looked new after a whole year of use. (Yeah, right)  Many said they still looked new after years of use.  (Mm-hmmm.) 

I imagined reviewers with delicate little girls who handled their book bags with little white gloves.

Knowing my boys, and how abusive they are to their book bags, I was doubtful we could ever be so lucky. 

But I was also REALLY tired of buying poorly made bags and needing to repair or replace them before the school year was halfway through.

So I crossed my fingers and took the jump. 

I ordered a set of L.L.Bean Original Book Packs for roughly $28 each.  One in black.  And one in navy blue. 

They weren’t much more expensive than the ones I was buying at the department stores.  So, I splurged and had my oldest son’s name embroidered in the blue one for an extra $6 bucks.  Just for fun.

The verdict??? 

We are now well into the second year of using these book packs.  And as unbelievable as it is, they still look, dare I say it? 

Almost new!

The only place I can find any sign of wear is a tiny amount of roughing up along the front of the shoulder straps, and that is barely worth mentioning.  There are no holes, no rips, no frays, no loose stitching, and not even any thin places.  Oh, and the zippers still work perfectly!  

I am sold! 

However, even more than the quality and durability of the book pack itself, I love the reflective strips!  You can see them (above) reflecting the light from the flash. 

L.L.Bean uses 3M™ Scotchlite™ Reflective Material (on both shoulder straps and across the front pocket) which is highly visible to motorists at night. 

On dark foggy mornings, waiting along our busy highway for the bus can be dangerous.  These strips make all the difference.  I took this picture to show you just how much of a difference it makes.   

I won’t be buying another book bag without this feature ever again. 

I may not be buying my boys another book bag at all if the ones they have continue to perform well! 

That is, unless the boys want a larger one to carry more books, because they want to study more.  (Don’t laugh.  It could happen.)

And if so, I’ll be shopping at L.L.Bean.  The little bit of extra money up front will save me much more later on!! 

Check out L.L.Bean and see if there is a book pack there your kids would like.  They have tons to choose from in many colors and styles.  You won’t be sorry!  Hey, it might even make a wonderful Christmas gift for someone on your list! 

Getting quality practical book bags that LAST definitely works for me!!

You can check out We Are That Family for more Works For Me Wednesday tips!

FYI, this review is totally spontaneous and I’m not being reimbursed one cent for my opinion.  I’m not even getting a free bag…                                                           

…though I wish I were.