I bought this backpack first time 6 years ago when my oldest child started Kindergarten. The only negative is absence of water bottle pockets. Nobody uses pencil holders in the backpack but everybody brings a water bottle to school! Since then I wanted to buy this backpack on a couple of other occasions for my other kids when they started K but decided against it only due to the lack of these side pockets. Today I came to buy a backpack for my youngest and the issue persists after all these years. Many reviewers have pointed it out and sadly LLBean chooses to ignore.
I purchased my daughter's first and only backpack from LLBean when she started kindergarten, this fall she starts the 4th grade. We also purchased a matching lunchbox which is also in great shape. We now homeschool but she still carries both almost daily. We have had no complaints or problems with the zippers or pack. It washes well and looks brand new when clean. We loved her backpack so much, we ordered her brother one last year when he begin kindergarten. At this point the only reason we would think about replacing them is to get larger deluxe model to carry more books.
My daughter picked this backpack based on the fabric print (blue surfboards), I did a quick glance and saw the overall reviews for 4.5 stars, and there were almost 400 reviews. So I didn't spend time reading the reviews. I wish I had! No bottle holder seems like a basic requirement for an elementary school backpack. I had it monogrammed with her initials, or I would return. We will be using this is a book/ stuffed animal carrier on car trips. I consider it useless for school. LLBean, please read the many reviews that reqeust water bottle holders on this one! For a company known for quality, this seems like a major fluke.
I bought this backpack for my son when he was in the 1st grade, because by then we had already gone through 2 or 3 cheaper backpacks. He is now heading off to middle school and this backpack is still holding up. It doesn't look brand new anymore of course, but there are no tears, no rips, no damage, and my child has not been exactly gentle with this bag. He's used it daily through 5 years of school, on playdates, sleepovers, when we go out, and on many trips overseas and at home. It's a good size with enough pockets and compartments for his things (only thing missing is a side compartment for a water bottle) and looks great. I bought it for $39.99 and it looks like the price is even better now. Incredible value.
