A luggage strap allows the traveling backpack fit on the suitcase, great for international plane travel and day trips. Youll find backpacks in our collection that are perfect for school, commuting to the office, short business trips, and hiking. Best backpack for college students: The North Face Recon Backpack, men's or women's, $99 from The North FaceThe North Face Recon Backpack looks sleek and professional, but it's still large and durable enough to carry all the essentials. This durable pack features a padded laptop sleeve in the back, and it's ergonomically designed to help protect their growing backs. If your child is approaching their later middle school years, though, it would be a good idea to take a look at our high school pick instead. Use the exterior bungee system to secure a jacket. The front compartment has many small pockets, as well as pen pockets and a keychain design to keep your things organized and easier to find. Your official excuse to add "OOD" (ahem, out of doors) to your cal. It's spot clean and wipe clean only. While it passed our tests, it didn't quite live up to the hype. In our space test, this backpack handily fit all of the high school materials with room to spare. The large backpack for men has 10+ pockets, including 2 side mesh pockets for water bottles and umbrellas. This large, duffel-style backpack is one of Rendas favorites because it features two padded shoulder straps and a hip strap for optimal support. This may not be the college backpack you had in mind, but it's so small and cute that we couldn't let you venture into a new school year without sharing. Unfortunately, it did not pass our water-resistance test water that we spilled on the cover seeped right through to the main compartment. Internal organization includes an accordion file folder and multiple accessory pockets. Oh, and you'll be please to know it's also on sale right now! Herschel backpacks are statement pieces that somehow always go well with whatever you're wearing. TheKOPACK Slim Laptop Backpack for business and school has S-shape padded shoulder straps. The backpacks for pain in our collection are all durable, some more so than others. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. TheNorth Face classic BOREALIS Backpackis a comfortable carry for school, commuting, and travel. In addition to properly fitted shoulder straps, chest and waist straps can help to distribute the weight of a bag equally across your body, and thought they may not be the most *~*stylish*~* addition to your outfit, they'll help you avoid back pain. Teen Vogue covers the latest in celebrity news, politics, fashion, beauty, wellness, lifestyle, and entertainment. However, preschoolers don't typically need to load up their backpacks with heavy books, so this isn't a deal breaker. A major selling point for this backpack is the chest and waist clip, which can help distribute weight more evenly and take pressure off the shoulders on long walks across campus. The TETON is the ultimate backpack for hiking and camping without increasing your chances of back pain. Dont let the sleek, slim design fool you: It features an anti-theft laptop compartment, an external USB port with a cable for convenient charging, and sponge-padded shoulder straps for extra back support and comfort. Learn more. The young persons guide to conquering (and saving) the world. Kids spill things. Its 30-liter size is generously sized to fit textbooks, study notes, and gym clothes, with a padded laptop sleeve allowing you to pack your tech painlessly after class. Pros: Size appropriate, many pattern options, simple for young kids, includes an insulated food pocket. A ring-type adjustable hasp allows you to adjust the strap easily to ease the burden of weight. Embracing uniform dressing as you figure out your life post-college? Over 10 slots for organizing your supplies make the KOPACK a good choice for commuting to the office. It comes in 35 colors and patterns to reflect your personal style. Use it at the office, as a carry-on, or anywhere else you want to look put together while carrying your belongings around. This top-seller for men and women features multi-position torso adjustment to fit a range of body sizes. External mesh water bottle pockets provide easy access to beverages in between classes, and there's even a sternum strap for added security and comfort! If you travel often for business, theSwissGear 1900 Travel Gear Backpackis a good choice for an ergonomic backpack. All of our top picks were bone-dry inside. Millions of people in the U.S. alone suffer from either intermittent or chronic back pain, and the causes are many from poor posture to sports injuries. Exterior pockets hold items like a cell phone, keys, and sunglasses. The front compartment with many pockets, and pen pockets, make your item organized and easier to find. Occupational therapist Karen Jacobs, program director of online post-professional OTD at Boston University, says that chest clips can help take weight off the shoulders, particularly for older kids. The backpack features a medium-size main compartment along with a front mesh pocket, two water bottle pockets, and a padded cell phone pocket. This creates a safety concern that gives strangers information on your child. Alicia holds a certificate in online teaching and learning and is licensed to teach in Pennsylvania. The brand is known for its durable fabric and zips, and the padded straps mean your shoulders wont have to suffer. Jacobs provided some excellent tips to help students pack a backpack that isn't too heavy and that feels comfortable: Jacobs also emphasized the importance of connecting with your school's occupational therapy practitioner if they experience an issue with backpacks. Adjustable straps, which will ensure that the bag properly fits your body. as well as other partner offers and accept our, L.L.Bean; Target; The North Face; Rachel Mendelson/Insider, Alicia Betz is a freelance writer for Insider Reviews, where she specializes in parenting and education. Close the bag with the buckles on the top or with sidelocks. Let us slide into your DMs. Select is editorially independent. A couple of reasons may be either the way you carry your backpack or the backpack itself. One spacious packing compartment roomy for daily necessities, tech electronics accessories. Notebooks? Sign up for Insider Reviews' weekly newsletter for more buying advice and great deals. The FIT-Pro adjustment system is perfect for quickly customizing the torso size, and the new ventilated back panel seriously limits those dreaded mid-hike, back sweats. Because this backpack has a minimalist design on the outside, it's also a great option for someone who might not always use the backpack for school. The Cat & Jack 17 Inch Kids Backpack combines ergonomics, affordability, and the cuteness factor for the perfect backpack for your young scholar. They need a backpack that can keep up with them, and the legendary The North Face Jester is up for the job. With all of that in mind, these are the seven best backpacks for back support that will seriously save your spine, according to the experts. Deep side zipper pockets hold extra essentials, and side mesh pockets hold water bottles or an umbrella. We operate independently from our advertising team. According to Alex Renda, PT, a physical therapist at USA Sports Therapy, a good, supporting backpack shouldn't hang more than 4 inches below your waist. Overall, the Tigernu is a good choice for short business trips, everyday work, and weekend getaways. Overall, the Jansport Big Student Backpack is ideal for the campus and also meets the standards as a carry-on for travel. Please noted that this backpack doesn't power itself, the USB charging port only offers easy access to charge. The material on the backpack is very thin, and overall it didn't feel nearly as sturdy as our top picks. Whether you are planning out all of yourback-to-school suppliesin advance to enjoy the summer or hoping to score a sweet early-birdPrime Day Deal, shop the best backpacks for school and college below. We found some options that fit Wu's criteria: Want more tips like these? There's enough room for a 15-inch laptop to slide into its own zippered back compartment, and there's a detachable key clip in the front pocket to hang your dorm room keys. Other compartments for the organization include a second-layer pocket, one front pocket, one back pocket, a waist pocket, and two zipped side pockets. The backpack is a necessary accessory for the whole school year, it has to be fashionable for the kid and functional. Get honest reviews on top products & services delivered weekly to your inbox. We found the straps to be thinly padded, while the back had a nice thick padding. The Slim backpack is made of durable oxford and is tear-resistant. It folds up into a tiny square so you can actually leave it in the car or in your gym locker clutch for days when you need to bring PE clothes home but your main backpack is already bursting at the seams with stuff. The North Face does not recommend machine washing their backpacks, so you'll need to spot clean this one. According to Kirstie Griffiths, DC, a chiropractor and yoga teacher based in Ontario, "The key to a healthy backpack is to pack it light and wear it right." Kids may be drawn to colorful designs, but parents need to pay special attention to the construction of backpacks. I've seen students walk around with broken straps, zippers, and even holes in backpacks that just weren't up to the task. The adjustable harness and hip belt help you get the right fit, and upper and lower compression straps help stabilize loads. With over 5,500 five-star reviews on Amazon, this minimalist pack is perfect for all of your everyday activities. Pottery Barn Teen Gear-Up: The Pottery Barn Teen Gear-Up backpack is a stylish option with a lot of fun pattern choices. Other handy features include an external USB charging port, a headphone hole, a rugged top handle for carrying, side adjustable straps, and a detachable key ring. Despite its simplicity, we were able to pack all of our preschool items described in our methodology in this backpack with room to spare. Two handy compartments organize your gear, and the padded fleece-lined laptop compartment holds a 15-inch laptop. There's a reason why college students and recent grads gravitate towards Dagne Dover's durable neoprene bags. If your middle-schooler needs to bring a device to and from school, consider purchasing a separate sleeve or case. Get it daily. The Barlow is a versatile, supportive backpack thats great for city-slicking and hiking alike, featuring mesh back padding for increased comfort and air-flow, internal storage pockets, and a water resistant exterior plus an emergency rain cover. Parents of middle schoolers who need to wait at the bus stop can breathe easy this backpack includes a large reflective strip to make kids more visible to cars. The iconic The North Face Jester Backpack is ergonomically designed, and it comes with a lifetime warranty. Pens and pencils? Aside from plenty of room in the main compartment, the Osprey Pack features pockets on the lumbar strap, a hydration sleeve that fits a 3-liter water bladder, a lower zippered sleeping bag compartment, stretch mesh side pockets, zipped top lid pockets, and an ice tool loop. MULTIPLE POCKETS /LARGE CAPACITY-KOPACK business laptop backpack has one separate laptop compartment hold 15.6 inch Laptop as well as 15.6 Inch,14 Inch and 13 Inch Laptop. What you can do to make back-to-school stress free (for you and your kid), Back-to-school lunch gear that makes healthy eating even easier, How to pack the healthiest school lunch, according to nutritionists, Realistic screen-time solutions for kids and their parents, Kids heading back to school or college? The backpack has a roomy main compartment that's perfect for notebooks, folders, and lunch boxes, while the small front pocket is handy for pencils and other small items. Our editors independently select these products. Ready to invest in a backpack that will keep your kid healthy all year long? The back panel is padded and ventilated for even more support as a comfortable backpack. Jansport Superbreak: Again, Jansport is a trustworthy and reliable backpack brand. The Wildkin 12-Inch Backpack is just the right size for the littlest of school-goers, and it comes in tons of fun patterns preschoolers will gravitate toward. There's plenty of room to fit laptops, chargers, library books, and hey even two weeks' worth of laundry. Since younger kids may not be carrying as many items to and from school, the L.L.Bean Original Book Pack is a good option for this crowd. Thats because the lower spine is more vulnerable to injury in children when they carry heavy loads. Here's how to save money on tech, clothes, textbooks and more, 6 exercises that improve posture and reduce back pain. Unlike some other dry packs, the Friendly Swede has a 17-inch portable laptop pocket and a mesh inner organizer. The pastel tie-dye alone will deliver you the energy boost you need to make through a full day of school even if you spent the majority of the night before scrolling through your FYP. from Jansport. Its also equipped with a laptop sleeve, waterproof fabric, and a detachable daypack for when you only need to leave home with your essentials. Amazon Basics Sport Laptop Backpack: We really liked the Amazon Basics bag; it has plenty of room and organization and passed all our tests with flying colors. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. The chances are good that youre now looking for the most comfortable backpack to carry. Unfortunately, we left it out of our top picks because it is out of stock at the time of publication. Ad Choices, 27 Back-to-School Early Prime Day Deals to Keep You on Track, Marnie and Kal From "Halloweentown" Are Engaged. As far as "wearing it right" goes, pros say there are a few things to look out for when selecting a backpack style. If keeping up with the trends is the name of the game, this Herschel has got you covered. Its also stylish enough for the office. There's nothing inherently wrong with the Big Student Backpack, it simply wasn't as good as some of the others we tested. Best backpack for elementary school: Cat & Jack Kids 17-Inch Backpack, $18 from TargetTarget's 17-Inch Cat & Jack Kids Backpack includes a reflective strip for bus-stop safety, and it meets all the needs of an elementary-schooler at an affordable price. The waist belt is adjustable between 20 and 60 inches. Overall, the Friendly Swede is comfortable on your back and made to withstand outdoor conditions. She earned her master of arts degree in education from Michigan State University with concentrations in literacy and technology. Safety features will keep your things safe for travel. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Safety features include reflective details and a whistle buckle on the sternum. "Weve all seen the postural change that happens when a kid is carrying more than this; their shoulders hunch and round as the weight pulls them down and backwards," says Wu. The Beach Is My Happy Placeand Here Are 3 Science-Backed Reasons It Should Be Yours, Too. Its 30-liter capacity limits how much weight youre carrying on your back, which mean you wont be able to load it up to the point of causing pain. It provides just enough room for middle-schoolers to bring what they need without giving them so much room that they'll pack too much. High school and college students can carry theJansport Big Student Backpackwithout worrying about future back problems. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. The mesh shoulder straps are contoured and adjustable side straps help lighten the burden of weight. First up? Overall, the SwissGear 1900 is a savvy backpack for daily office use and business trips. Target's 17-Inch Cat & Jack Kids' Backpack includes a reflective strip for bus stop safety, and it meets all the needs of an elementary schooler at an affordable price. Storage includes a sleeping bag compartment and multiple compartments and pockets for convenient access to needed gear. The L.L.Bean Original Book Pack is well-organized, just the right size for middle school kids, and machine washable. You can wash the interior of the insulated pouch with mild soap and a damp washcloth. The North Face Recon Backpack checks all these boxes, and it can seamlessly transition to a professional bag. The TSA-approved laptop compartment holds up to a 17-inch device and opens to 90-180-degrees for ease in checking through airport security. TheKOPACK Laptop Backpack has a hidden laptop compartment and lockable, and anti-puncture zippers along with S-curve straps recommended by health experts making it our pick for best for safety. Your child should not carry more than 10-15 percent of their body weight in their backpack. S-shape straps are recommended for a supportive backpack to help avoid back and neck pain. When it comes to organization, we were disappointed to see that this backpack doesn't have a device sleeve or compartment. TheYorepek Collegeand Travel ergonomic backpack for men or women is a good choice for the campus and for traveling. Some backpacks are meant to blend in, this flaming hot red one is not. The 28-liter backpack with a front bungee system has a removable waistbelt to get a custom fit. The non-rigid design means you can stuff it in your locker and the varied handles let you switch up carrying your tote in your hand or on your shoulder. Consider where and how youll use the backpack and look for features like water-resistant, strong zippers, and highly durable fabrics. When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Backpacks need to be comfortable, particularly when they're heavy and kids are wearing them all day long. The U-shaped 3-dimensional ventilation system makes it cool on the back. It's helpful, though, since no one will ever mistake theirs for yours. The back panel is padded for extra comfort. The sturdy design is also more than capable of protecting your gear, whether you're walking shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowded hallway or accidentally knock your bag off a chair. A sunglasses buckle gives you a place to stow away your glasses. The only thing left on your school supply list is the bag to carry all the items required to set your kid up for success this year. For most students today, backpacks also need a secure space to store a device like a Chromebook or iPad. Additionally, many college campuses are large, requiring students to walk miles per day in some cases (shout-out to my alma mater, Penn State). Did we mention they have a special side pocket for your phone and your phone only? Overall, the KOPACK is an ergonomic backpack that helps improve your posture when carrying a laptop. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. The smaller front pocket is insulated to hold food and snacks, so you could forgo a lunch box with this bag. However, it is more than double the cost of any of the other elementary school backpacks we tested. If your child complains about their backpack being too heavy, investigate why and see what can be taken out. Two extra spacious mesh side pockets hold water bottles and perhaps a thermos of hot coffee. TheOsprey Pack Atmos AG 65has a unique anti-gravity system, an adjustable harness and hip belt, and compression straps for a dramatically-reduced weight load on your back. The main compartment also has a padded device sleeve. Sign up forWell+, our online community ofwellnessinsiders, and unlock your rewards instantly. For each backpack, we took note of the number of pockets and compartments, how the pockets are organized, whether there was a device sleeve, and whether the backpack included water bottle pockets. For hiking, look for features such as anti-gravity suspension, internal frames, hip and sternum belts, and compression straps.