Hi. My name is Christina. I’m a bag addict.

I haven’t bought a bag in three weeks.

Back to school is a hard time for me. I have great excuses for buying bags. My kids need backpacks. Even if they don’t want them, they need them. Even if the three options I bought them last year are still in perfect working order, I can find a reason to buy another. (Did I mention, they need them?) Especially since there are some amazing sales going on right now. I mean, what reason could there possibly be to not buy a new backpack when they are 80 percent off?!

The question for me, today, is not “do I buy a bag,” but rather, which bag should I get next?

Upgrade her style

My daughter has been jamming everything she has into a classic overstuffed Jansport. Does she really need to carry three text books and a squished sandwich with her everywhere? It’s bad for her back. I am considering this stylish – but reasonably priced — leather U Zip Mid size backpack from Le Donne Leather. This is a bag she could use for years. At 10” x 12” it’s not so big that she will lose her lunch in there. But it’s big enough to fit the slim laptop she does need to carry everywhere.

An Arctic Fox

 

I have an affection for this Scandinavian brand. They make lovely, functional goods. The founder invented the first distributed frame backpack. The company name means Arctic Fox in Swedish. It’s all just so easy to like. And then this Klanken Classic backpack is simple, functional, and visually appealing. I think back-to-school is a great excuse to get one of these. Maybe for myself. Oh, this model will – again – easily fit a laptop but isn’t so large as to encourage excessive portage.

Such a hip mountaineer

If you have to carry a bag, it might as well make you look cool, right? And this hipster mountaineering bag — the Little America Backpack from Hershel — will doubtless transform my son into a glib hipster in seconds, while carrying his big(ish) laptop and all his other essentials. Plenty big enough. Delightful details. Comes in a bazillion color combinations. And it’s on massive sale? Done.

 

Backpacks are so five minutes ago

 

Sometimes a backpack is annoying. You just want to throw it over your shoulder and go. This Hedgren Michael Two Way accommodates. And it looks good doing because it’s designed to look good on you however you wear it. It’s also a solid pack with all the pockets and features you need. I have several Hedgren bags and love them all.

OGIO gets girls

 

I have never owned an OGIO bag I didn’t like. And this OGIO Women’s Emma pack gets what happens when you carry all your gear on your back. Often, getting out some cash, a lip gloss, or your phone is just too much. Here, you reach up to the side pocket and grab your essential and just keep on hoofing it. No more standing around on street corners digging in your bag while you miss the bus.

Pattern on your back

 

 

Warning: You will have a hard time choosing a pattern. This smallish pack — The Prom 25L — designed for women, has a padded laptop sleeve and all the right storage. It’s not so big it will break a student’s back. But it comes in so many patters you are about to spend an hour trying to decide. I just did. (Finally settled on this one (shown): Ink Cat. But it wasn’t easy. Some of the patterns are only $23. And it has an insulated cooler pocked for that squished lunch.

Jenn’s Current Fav’s

The Bobby – anti-theft backpack by XD Design

The Emoji backpack by Terez

The Knomo (orange you glad you love it)