This is a great backpack. My older son has had one for six years and it still looks like new. His made it through three and a half years of high school and two+ years of college. I know my younger son will never need another back pack!!
We originally bought the pack for family travel to take on the plane with us for family trips, but I thought I would try it for graduate school classes. I was able to comfortably carry my laptop, notebooks, textbooks, pens etc, and also extra clothes, and lunch to spare. Only having to carry one bag and be able to carry it on your back is great. I like the high-visibility Scotchlite reflective fabric which looks "normal" in daylight. Makes commuting at night safer as well. So I've co-opted our family travel bag as my school bag now. The waist strap is useful. Only things I can think to add to this pack would be a chest-strap to keep the 2 shoulder straps together when doing a lot of walking with a heavily loaded pack, and maybe some side-mesh pockets for storing a water-bottle or umbrella.
Barely 24 hrs after the pack arrived it was packed and on its way to Europe. Compartments were sized nicely, and the shoe compartment is a big plus. Material and zippers are of great quality. I expect to have many adventures with this bag ..... and my husband and I will probably fight over who gets it!
