4 years! This backpack has been through Montessori, Pre-K, K and 1st grade! My son has always dragged it - and it keeps going - no holes yet! We have to buy a new one this year - to accomodate his size and his books. This one will be his library/lego bag. I highly recommend having it monogrammed. All of the other moms started buying LL Bean when they saw how well my son's has held up. Keep up the good work!
We love the junior backpack for our kids. We purchased a red one for our son when he was 3 and 3 years later (after being used daily for preschool and camp) it is still going strong. We purchased the blue for our next son (2 yrs younger).
I gave it only 4 stars because the color selection is lame for families with more than 1-2 kids who want different colors for each child.
With 2 more children (another boy and a girl) we really wish you had better classic colors. I would have preferred to buy a navy, red, and dark green for my sons and a light blue, pink or yellow for our daughter...but the only remaining options left to me (as of 6/2010 on your website) are ick lime green and black. No fun! Please add better classic colors!! Navy and dark green at least! Also - Please match the lunch boxes with the backpacks. The color selection there is not great either...as far as matching goes.
Can't say enough about this junior backpack. I bought it for my daughter when she started kindergarten and it was just the right size - not too big and not too small. She just finished first grade and I plan on squeezing at least another year out of it! Even bought the matching lunchbox just now on sale (she's too "grown up" for her princess one :) The pack itself is very sturdy, still looks brand new - doesn't compare quality-wise to big box store bought packs. So much better. Buy it!!
I bought the junior bag 2 years ago for my son and he has taken it to school every day since then. My best friend watched my son before school and said he was the only kid whose back pack fit and got one for her son when started kindergarten. Now it's time for my daughter to get hers for kindergarten. I want to buy a 2nd one my my 2nd grader, but am having a hard time convincing myself that he needs a new one! The only place you can see any wear is on the monogramming. But I would also do that again since it made it very easy to tell which back pack was his!
