I just wanted to respond to the zipper issue. The same thing happened to my son's bag, after a few months the zipper jammed and had to be cut loose. I called LLBean and the sent me a replacement right away. I returned the old one in the same box the new one came in with a prepaid return sticker- super easy! The new one has worked fiine for the last 1 1/2 years. My daughters has been holding up like new for 3 years now. Great product and their lifteime guarantee makes it a no brainer. Will order a new one for my yougest son soon.
After 2 years of use this bookpack is still in fair condition. The pull handle still raises and lowers smoothly and the body of the pack is still like new after 4th and 5th grade abuse. The main problem is with the pack's zippers. Within 6 months of purchase, the zipper cover became hopelessly jammed in the zippers and I had to cut the cover out. One of the zippers will now only partially open. My son won't be able to use this in 6th grade because of his locker but his younger brothers can't use it because of the zipper.
ProsDurable, Great Value, Performing as Expected, clean neat appearance
Love this backpack. My son is a very busy bee with several activities to attend after school. So he needed a bag he could carry his books, lunch, equipment and his activity clothes. He had this bag for summer camp, throughout first grade and now another year of camp! Yes...it not only lasted all year but it also helped build his own independence carrying ALL of his stuff. Great bag...great investment!
This backpack has all the rugged qualities we expect from LLBean. We bought it to relieve my 6th-grader from the heavy book loads he is getting for the first time this year. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit in his locker, and we found out too late. So, we can't use it for school. It might be useful on vacation, though, since it has several large compartments.
