Backpacks!!

[NumberMonkey]

After a fraught morning, I’m after backpack recommendations please!

Since going back in September, the DC have worn their PE kit to school on PE days - the school had closed changing rooms due to C-19.

This morning was the first day of changing rooms being open and we’ve had the ‘I can’t fit my PE kit in my bag’ trauma. DH and I both helped and they’re not wrong

Neither has a locker so that is not an option.

Please can anyone recommend where we can get large, sturdy backpacks online?

I’ve looked at Hype but they don’t appear measure any bigger than what they’ve already got (although I guess the ‘layout’ may make a difference).

Thank you 😊

I think I’d just get a second bag.
Their school work will be utterly annihilated by PE kits being squashed back in.
I got a really good one on amazon
RYACO Drawstring Backpack Sports Gym Bag,
It’s got a bottom bit for shoes and a bottle holder.

Do they take a backpack daily anyways? If so, on PE days, take a boot bag in addition.

Or when I was a teen, we just shoved the PE kit in a branded string handled carrier bag (Jane Norman or Kookai were the favourites) and wore in addition to our usual bag

My DC either carry 2 separate bags or put their trainers in a plastic bag at the bottom of their bag and the clothes items in another plastic bag squished down the side of the bag. They are ruthless about taking in only the items they need (so DS only takes shorts and polo shirt as he can't be bothered to carry more.

But ... can't they just do whatever they did last year?

You’d think a second bag would be the answer but apparently not!! That was suggested and rejected as they don’t want to carry 2 bags round all day

These are dc3 & 4 as well so I’m pretty certain we’ve already been through this whole nonsense twice before . Oh and one of them is in yr9 and used the same bag all of last year so I really don’t understand how it’s all gone so horribly wrong this morning

Definitely one of these occasions where you mutter vaguely "yes, that must be difficult" and then disengage and let them work out their own solution!

I thought backpacks were now uncool 🤷‍♀️No matter how sensible and practical!

Although might be different if you have boys?

redskyatnight this is definitely a downside of working from home .

I think we may have uncovered why this has only just been presented as an issue to me. I may be about to start having 8.00 client meetings outside the house on PE days...

I'm having exactly the same problem. DS oy wants packed lunches and refuses to carry 2 bags. I can't find a bigger "acceptable" bag anywhere!

Number

You could always just invent a teleconference that is scheduled just about the time that the DC start complaining? So when they burst in you can just sort of wave at them whilst saying very loudly down the phone "yes, very urgent, I'll need to give my whole attention to that straight away!"

• Of course if your job doesn't normally involve teleconferences, they may rumble this :)

My daughter is currently taking three bags
Lunch
School
PE

She has a locker but because of the “Rona” they can’t use them

Could have written this myself! 😁

Having exactly the same struggle with DD in year 7. On PE days they go in wearing PE kit, but have to take in their uniform to change into afterwards. DD can't fit her school shoes and uniform in her (new) backpack, and refuses to take in a handy drawstring bag, as she says the strings hurt her shoulders.... so she just puts it in a separate carrier bag, which she has almost lost around school or on the bus a couple of times. They're not allowed lockers this year, and carrying so much stuff and bits and pieces. I was tearing my hair out this morning, as she couldn't even fit her lunchbox in the bag, and it's a decent sized backpack, so in the carrier bag it went.

Just an update - it’s all riveting I realise - I have asked dc3 (the one in yr9) why it is suddenly an issue. There are several (well more than one) reasons apparently.

I’m tempted to draw this whole pathetic nonsense out in teasers/drip feeds just build excitement. How has this become my life?!

Firstly, last year, when dh still had a job and I was still an employee, they had school dinners. Now we are having to be tight careful, she has to fit a packed lunch box in the bag.

Secondly, as they were wearing PE kit all day in PE days, the windows are all left open and the weather was turning, I bought at great expense them each the school logo’ed PE hoodie AND the school logo’ed tracksuit bottoms.

Thirdly, apparently last year her trainers didn’t fit in her bag so she just carried them but now she can’t be arsed to do that.

So there it is. So now as well as the almost £100 I’ve wazzed up against a wall on PE kit they no longer actually need, I’ve got to wazz a bit more on bags big enough to fit the PE kit they didn’t need in

Personally I have a north face backpack which was a godsend when I commuted. Something like this ( I think my model is no longer available) www.thenorthface.co.uk/shop/en-gb/tnf-gb/bags-and-tents-backpacks-mens-backpacks/hot-shot-backpack-special-edition-3kyj?variationId=KX7
It’s tardis like and really well padded around the straps, very comfortable. Not cheap but worth it in my view, it will last years.
I offered to buy my DS 13 same one, but he prefers his shonky Blacks bag.

When DD's school started asking them to take spare PE kit on PE days in case they got drenched period 1, I pleaded for them to get lockers sorted out, pointing out that they could be in the PE zone if there was nowhere to put them in the year group zone. Because they would only need to change if they get drenched, they could stick their spare kit there until needed, so it's not like they'll need to access them every week. They are supposedly getting lockers soon, but in the meantime most of the kids have decided they'll just risk sitting in damp kit.

We're fortunate that we have last year's outgrown PE kit which would do for emergencies, but expecting families to shell out for two sets is ridiculous. (Why does PE kit have to cost more than the regular uniform?) I think they have conceded that the spare set might not be regulation kit.

Ds has a laptop rucksack for his school books that goes on his back. His PE kit is in a messenger cross body bag as they need to take all the PE kit in no matter what they are doing, so trainers, football boots, shin pads, socks, shorts and two different tops.

Yes it is a pain in the arse to carry 2 bags but it is for one day a week.

I'd be tempted to print out the details for something along the lines of a [[https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7989825?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=ixititmar&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7cacid:629-618-1342%7ccid:9563523552%7cagid:102230984550%7ctid:pla-890180086971%7ccrid:423314716553%7cnw:g%7crnd:4357442684868940952%7cdvc:m%7cadp:%7cmt:%7cloc:9045878&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=9563523552&utm_term=7989825&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=102230984550&utm_custom2=629-618-1342&gclid=CjwKCAiA-f78BRBbEiwATKRRBCmcDZOTvvu-3h6-hvOJwh5vFTholjDT6yXg3K8oWD8FlC6WvK5jWxoC9asQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
bulky beach wagon]] and ask them to select the colour they'd like it in...

I'm sure they'd manage to find their own solution pretty quickly.

Second bag all the way.

DD actually wore her PE tracksuit top and. Otto most days when they did PE outside in autumn and winter. Cycle short and thin top didn’t do it. She also had PE leggings when they wore their skirts.

DD has her own set of books so on top of all the stuff she normally carries around she now has 2-3 oops, no way she can also fit PE stuff in her roomy backpack.

If you want to look for a new bag look for a proper laptop bag. DH has one which is big enough for all his work stuff plus a change of clothes (carefully folded though) so he doesn’t need another bag for overnight trips. But that bag was over £100 4 years ago.

We got a Nike one from Amazon - it’s big and has a padded section for laptops. It was a classic black with white Nike tick - heritage was the ‘type’.

ianthamun I’m grateful it’s only one PE kit each!

onthebenchofdoom if only it were one day a week, it’s 3 days in week 1 and 1 day in week 2. Fortunately 3 alternate days so the laundry nightmare was avoided! Although as it’s all plastic it would dry quickly

Anyway, their older brother pointed out that he managed books, pack up and PE kit (when he still had to have trainers AND football boots) all in an Amazon Basics bag. So I went back through the order history and he’s not wrong! He still uses it now for transporting beer to the beach

2 basic bags from the evil that is Amazon are now priming their way to us ready for Friday’s PE day trauma to be avoided.

I have cunningly planned to meet a client at 8.30 tomorrow using the impending lockdown as the reason to squeeze in an early appointment so will have left before they need to be ready and dh can deal with it

I shall report back on Friday with a link if it works!!

Ds's Hype bag wasn't big enough for secondary, so I bought him this www.johnlewis.com/adidas-power-5-backpack/black-white/p4839860 which fits PE kit and all other gubbins.

With dd, I found the trick with packed lunches was not to use a multi-part container but lots of little ones, so her lunch can fit round thing. So sandwich one one tupperware, fruit in another etc.

My daughter had the same issue and now has a VANS one which easily fits it all in. It doesn’t have a bottle pocket but that fits inside without a problem.

Another update - the Amazon basic backpack is ok but it’s all now irrelevant as an email arrived yesterday to say it’s back to wearing PE kit on PE days from Monday... you couldn’t make it up