Just purchased this bag for my 7 yr old going to 2nd grade at a new school. The past couple of years I'd get her the bags with her favorite character that only lasted for that school year before falling apart. This year, I wanted to get her a big girl backpack as she started a new school. I got her the bag in Flower Power and monogrammed with her initials in yellow. On the screen the color was pretty and I thought would pop on the bag, but it kind of blended in. I called customer service to see what could be done and was told they would replace the bag with a new color. Which made me very happily surprise thinking monogrammed items would be irreplaceable. They said it would take 2 wks to return, so my daughter decided the color was okay and wanted to keep it. So we're thoroughly satisfied with LL Bean customer service and their product. First purchase, but certainly not the last.
Excellent backpack, used a couple of years now (Kindergarten and 1st grade) and could last a few more and still looks new. Washes well, does not fray or fade. It is important to us that the backpack is lightweight, such a bonus that is very sturdy too.
I bought this backpack in 1989 and am still using it. LL Bean repaired it when the zipper broken once in the 90's. I'm impressed with Bean's level of service and product. As I get ready to buy my daughter's first backpack, I knew just where to go to get hers.
As a freshman in high school I carried the navy LL Bean backpack my parents gave me to start my high school career while everyone else carried the ultra cool and trendy one shoulder bags that never had enough room and started to fall apart by Christmas. My LL Bean bag stuck. It coasted through those trendy freshmen months and then it sailed through my entire high school career. It hauled more books and endured more abuse than any bag I've ever owned, yet it just kept going. I took my LL Bean bag to college because why not? After five years and two degrees the darn thing still held books and snacks and everything else I could jam in it like a pro. After college I used my LL Bean bag for the gym, where the poor blue soul was tortured, then I finally started using it as a bike bag. I lug my most important possessions in my LL Bean bag because it's easy. I was 14 when my LL bean bag came into my life and I just turned 38, so if you are debating on if the bag is worth the cost, I'd say 24 years is a pretty good return on an investment.
