My daughter has been using this bag since the third grade. So it has lasted one year of abuse. The size so far has been perfect since she only puts her books inside. I hope that she will use it next year too.
I bought this backpack for my nine year old son because he loves to wheel his back pack. The ones that I have bought at retail chains have not lasted through the school year, so I decided to give LL Bean a try. I've heard they will last and are durable.
My son is rough on things, so we will see at the end of the school year. (we can often go through 2 - 3 backpacks a school year) We've had this one a few weeks now and he really loves it. While he does have to be mindful of the zipper (the overlapping fabric can interfere with zipping it up even for me), it can easily hold all of his school things and the lunchbox that we also purchased through LL Bean. The fabric is thick and the wheels are very stable.
My son wants to take it everywhere right now!
I will be keeping this brand in mind for my two younger children as well.
The handle is sturdy, I know it will last MUCH longer than the discount-store backpack before (which lasted a whole month...). My 9-y-o "abuses" this backpack by dragging it everywhere. Our only concern is that it's not quite big enough for his larger lunchbag and 4-5 large books, now that he's in 4th grade, especially when he needs to add in his jacket at the end of a warmer day. A couple more inches of depth would go a long way toward a 5-star rating. :)
