My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

For beauty and fashion style advice, join in our Style forum chat.

Style & Beauty

"Cool" backpacks for secondary school

59 replies

chocolatecheesecake · 11/07/2021 10:30

DD starts year 7 in September and wants a "cool" backpack. I can get no more specifics than that! Where do I start? Any suggestions on brands or good shops to go and look in? She's more of a check shirt/hoody and ripped jeans rather than a sporty type.

----
This thread is quite old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for a great school bag for your DC, we’ve recently updated our best school bags page with lots of options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users and their kids. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ Flowers

OP posts:
Report
TheTurn0fTheScrew · 11/07/2021 19:15

Adidas mist popular here. DC1 has Vans.

Report
Timeforabiscuit · 11/07/2021 19:20

Anything black that looks low key/unbranded apparently.

The pencil case however, absolute minefield! The line between too kiddy and anything that's in danger of being approved by a parent is a fine one indeed!

Report
SardineJam · 11/07/2021 19:29

Eastpak Provider is a great bag, big enough for all the many things that they need to take to school and lots of different styles, keep an eye out on their website as they do have random price cuts here and there making them more affordable

Report
chocolatecheesecake · 11/07/2021 19:39

Vans and boxy black hype are the front runners so far - thanks for all the advice

OP posts:
Report
NautaOcts · 11/07/2021 19:40

Millions of identical black Vans ones at dds secondary, especially the boys. Must be a nightmare working out who’s is who’s!

Report
Dizzybintess · 11/07/2021 19:43

Fjalraven Kanken are v popular x
www.fjallraven.com/uk

Report
StevieNix · 11/07/2021 19:50

Hype and superdry are already out round here - they were the ‘cool’ brand for a good few years but definitely considered outdated now.
Seems to be going back to girls wearing handbag style bags and the boys wearing Nike or Adidas backpacks but again that may just be at our local secondary. Like a pp suggested might be worth driving past the school at home time and having a look what the current students have

Report
ShaunaTheSheep · 11/07/2021 20:25

I am reliably informed by DD ( year 12, so been there, done that):

Kanken are too small for Y7
Hype is so 2014
Super dry absolutely not
Adidas ok but watch out for the piping falling apart
Nike are decent
Eastpak gets her vote
Vans ok

She also has a Longchamp Pliage but it's not good for toting heavy stuff, and not really Y7 style.

Report
Flambola · 11/07/2021 21:09

@bonfireheart

Really depends on the school. All the kids at DD school have Adidas type. DD has Superdry and three years later still going strong. The only people I ever see wearing Fjallraven are middle aged women on the tube and they always look tatty.

Definitely depends - I live opposite a 6th form college and loads of the girls have the Fjallraven.
Report
Heartofglass12345 · 11/07/2021 21:22

How sad that you have to even worry about this. Why can't we teach our kids that it's good to be different and not to take the piss out of someone because their backpack isn't right Hmm

Report
AwFeebs · 11/07/2021 21:42

Watching with interest for DD who also starts secondary in September.

Whilst we're on the subject of high school attire.. What's the deal with shoes?! What's in these days?!

Report
dalrympy · 11/07/2021 21:58

Hype is out here. Kanken still hanging on but only just.

DD is year 10 and has been through both of the above is now on a Vans backpack

Report
Muchtoomuchtodo · 11/07/2021 22:01

It seems that location and school is important here op!

Do you have friends with kids already at the schools that your dc will be starting at?

Report
BoggisandBunceandBean · 11/07/2021 22:38

My DD has a Kipling Seoul, the large size. Very spacious, x2 good-sized bottle holders on the outside, grab handle on top, lots of pockets (including a brilliant little one on the top) and a key fob inside (vv important for our daydreamer) Been going strong for at least two years. Lots of colours and pattern options. Can be silly prices but bargains to be found on eBay and Amazon and in Kipling sale. Previously had a Hype bag and it was OK, but seriously lacking in pockets. Fjallraven Kanken not so popular here any more and again not enough pockets for DD.

here in plain black

There is a 27 litre and 25 litre. The 27 is the better one as it has the bottle holders.

Report
chocolatecheesecake · 11/07/2021 22:44

@Muchtoomuchtodo

It seems that location and school is important here op!

Do you have friends with kids already at the schools that your dc will be starting at?

It's a rural school so kids get the bus there. So it's hard to tell what the 'in' brand is. From what I've seen on the limited times I've been (thanks covid!), it's a real mix of styles and brands. She only has one friend moving with her and we don't know any girls already there. What I don't want is to buy something (her primary school bag is falling apart), and then have her decide a few months in she needs a new one. She's leaning towards black though which I think is a sensible move in the circumstances.
OP posts:
Report
BoggisandBunceandBean · 11/07/2021 22:50

Sorry, I had my practical mum head on and didn't address the "cool" question! I would say not "not cool", IYSWIM. Certainly in plain black I don't think it matters. DD has a more "out there" pattern which has been admired by others at school but no-one else has one. At the start of Yr7 "cool" was v important though (hence the Hype bag) now in Yr10, DD is forging her own style path and doesn't care.

Report
sansucre · 11/07/2021 22:58

Eastpak. So many different colours and patterns to choose from.

Report
Angel2702 · 11/07/2021 23:00

Depends on the school. Our school has to be completely black with no visible logo at all so there isn’t really an in bag they are all the same.

Report
motogogo · 11/07/2021 23:02

Mine had dakine ones, they lasted 7 years and counting

Report
TheOriginalMrsMoss · 11/07/2021 23:23

Absolutely plain black no branding. Nike, plain black without obvious branding.

2 DS's had Crumpler cross body bags in plain black that lasted from mid primary until the end of GCSE's but that was a long while ago.

One DS has a Fjallraven Kanken but not for school as too small - some kids at his school use flight bags as they're expected to carry so many books!

Report
HalzTangz · 12/07/2021 00:12

Wouldn't it be easier to ask her to show you the sort she likes. Sit down with Google and get looking

Report
De88 · 12/07/2021 00:19

We're quite lucky here that anything with bright colours or big logos aren't allowed at my son's school. As a result everyone just has big, plain rucksacks, any brand, son's is a cheapo black Karrimor thing but it holds everything (they have to carry EVERYTHING, every day, all day long, including coats, pe kit thanks Covid=no lockers) for a daily 4 mile walk, all weathers and still going strong.

Report

Newsletters you might like

Discover Exclusive Savings!

Sign up to our Money Saver newsletter now and receive exclusive deals and hot tips on where to find the biggest online bargains, tailored just for Mumsnetters.

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

Parent-Approved Gems Await!

Subscribe to our weekly Swears By newsletter and receive handpicked recommendations for parents, by parents, every Sunday.

Log in to update your newsletter preferences.

You've subscribed!

UserAtLarge · 12/07/2021 08:58

In the opposite situation to De88, DC's school don't allow bags in corridors or books out of classrooms, so you have to put bags in your locker but don't have to carry books about. Some lockers are pretty small so a large bag won't fit. I suggest that OP needs to work out exactly what is expected at her school to add to her bag considerations!

Report
UserAtLarge · 12/07/2021 09:01

@Heartofglass12345

How sad that you have to even worry about this. Why can't we teach our kids that it's good to be different and not to take the piss out of someone because their backpack isn't right Hmm

Most teens tend to like to fit in and be the same as everyone else. The realising it's good to be different will come later. You wouldn't get teased for a different backpack at DC's school, but you would stand out. My DC stands out at school because she uses crutches to walk. It's her dearest desire to be a child that no one knows that can blend into the background.
Report
Journeynotdestination · 12/07/2021 09:14

Jansport Superbreak

jansport.co.uk/collections/backpacks/products/superbreak-plus-black

Very cool at my daughters secondary… plus they are SO hardy. She’s had hers for 5 years and it’s still going strong. Just bought her a Jansport Right Pack for Uni.

I bought myself one (superbreak) as I rated it so much. Mine looks new over a year later!

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.