Rucksack for a student

[Pinga]

Hello
My son needs a rucksack for starting 6thform/A levels in September. He hasnt been to school since he was 7 so we are rather out of the loop regarding such things

We would love some reccomendations - we cant agree on size vs cost vs how many compartments vs brand.

Only absolute must is - it must be mostly black.
Help! (and thankyou)

Oh fgs how did I manage to post this in "general health" - please MNHQ move it to something more sensible!!

Herschel Supply Co are good quality and stylish.

Find out what's de rigeur at the school he goes to and get that. No point in making him the odd one out with a particular style of backpack if a different one is in vogue.

Around here all the secondary school children use hype backpacks.

scrumplepaper thats a good idea. Ill ask on a local fb group as we dont currently know any of the pupils who go there.

Its a 3 mile walk every morning and back again of course, so whatever we get needs to be good at its job.

Kanken

Herschel supply co and Hype - will look out for those. Cheers!

Hmm I can see this is going to be trickier than I thought.

Hype - he will hate. Nothing will make him appreciate one of those
Kanken - I love them, he wont. And at £75 thats five times what I would normally expect to pay for a bag.
Herschel - Some he will rate as ok but again at £60-80 thats way beyond a reasonable price for a bag.

Looking at the Kanken ones again - how on earth do kids carry heavy books in those all day, with both them and the bag surviving - the staps are so tiny! (much as i love the overall look of the bags)

Be glad he's not a girl who wants a tote from Primark because that's the fashion this year.

As a secondary school teacher, there is no need or want to stay with the "in" crowd. One with a decent opening is a must if he's going to be carrying a laptop

Those ones they carry on their arms? Urgh, terribly impractical.

Im wondering what the boys who dont have money to burn use.

What is vaguely cool that doesnt cost £60-80

To be serious, I used to hit up the decent school shoe shop in the local town (an independent) and they had loads of bags around the £20/25 mark. Mostly rucksacks. No way would I have paid over £30 for a schoolbag.

Hype do a plain black Hype bag they are good quality I use one for work and out with the kids. Gets loads of use and perfect after a year of use.

Or vans are quite plain but still well known and quite a cool make vans bag

Or converse do one too.

Plus there's sports makes, maybe if he likes a particular trainer brand see if they make backpacks :)

I would go for the converse one coconuts linked to, nice and sturdy, not too expensive nice branding.

fluffypudcats If we were talking about me (now and as a teen) Id agree with you totally. I almost entirely dont care what people think about me.
But...... this is my son who knows no one and initially at least wants to blend in. The absolute last thing he wants is to be laughed at for having the "wrong" stuff.

do the school have a FB page? If they do, message them and ask the HOY?

Dakine have amazing backpacks. All colours and sizes.

Currently considering these
Under armour hustle

The Converse one!

adidas bit too boxy

Slazenger bit too decorated

Lee Cooper total bargain

Hi OP. I am not good with links but have a look for "Jeep Official Laptop Backback - 10 Year Warranty" on Amazon. Variety of colours £11.99. My boys have had these all the way up school. Younger son is tougher on them than older one, but it'll last at least a year even with a lot of heavy books. Have found them on Ebay too. The first time we bought one (6 years ago) it was from TK Maxx and considerably more expensive, but have since tracked down how to get them cheaply.

It has a separate internal pocket at the back that they use for loose papers, mesh pockets useful for water bottle/wet raincoat, and several front pockets for other bits & pieces.

Thats a price I can appreciate - cheers Tefal.

Im genuinely astonished. Who spends £60-80 on a rucksack for their teenager. Whilst Im grateful to those who posted suggestions, theres no way Id ever spend that much on a bag. Must be a different sort of world to the one I inhabit.

I actually agree OP! I bought my Hershcel myself for uni and sort of failed to remember before posting that at A Level age, he probably wouldn't have the disposable income to buy his own, otherwise I'd never have recommended it! I do find there's a lot of snobbery and people who like to display their silly levels of money on mumsnet, so I hope I didn't come across like that! When he has got his own funds though, I would still recommend them - they're very durable and seem to me to be a quality investment - but I agree he isn't really looking for investment at that age!

No problem Pinga, glad to help. Wierdly we could afford £60-£80 for a teenage backpack, but I wouldn't spend that sort of money on a bag that'll get chucked on the floor most of the time and left outside in the playground overnight.

Bit like the thread I've just read on people spending money on new cars.

Ah that makes sense now argumentative! He has dreams of working in finance and earning a lot but is saver rather than a spender so I doubt he will ever go for more expensive options.

Well quite Tefal - I "could" spend that much on a bag but what would be the point if he is just going to scuff it up and dump it in puddles. I wouldnt think of spending that much on a bag for me although i could if i wanted to - tbh Id rather spend it on things to put in it - books and knitting yarn for example

When I went to secondary school my mum bought me a bag - I was delighted as I had never really had a decent one in primary school. I chose a bag I thought was brilliant. Got to secondary only to discover that my bag was apparently a terrible choice (it really was!) I was mocked about it until Easter when I finally managed to persuade my mother that I was a social outcast

So subconsciously that was why I was asking here really (now i think of it) desperate not to buy totally the wrong thing - which Herschel and Kanken totally would be!