We always buy our backpacks from LL Bean- so far, all but one has withstood our family. The one that wore out was quickly and easily replaced at no charge.
I just bought one of these for my younger son. This is the second one of these packs I've bought. I got one for my older son two years ago when he started commuting to school. It's big enough for all his books/laptop/lunch/gym gear - even has a pocket on the bottom for those smelly sneakers! He's used it for two years solid, even took it to Europe and Australia and the worst thing that happened was a slight tear in one of the straps. This is a great pack!
that's a big bookbag/pack! it's got a ton of pockets--it's going to take me a few trips to get used to which pockets are good for different types of gear...
