Picking a Backpack for College
One thing that is absolutely essential for college is a backpack. You will carry your books, notes, calculator, pens, pencils, and snacks to your classes every day in one. Picking the right college backpack goes a long ways towards improving your school experience.
When picking a backpack for college, you need to consider three things: comfort, durability, and capacity
Capacity
Take the time to think about what you're going to be carrying with you to class every day. Each class is going to have different materials that you will have to have with you. These materials also vary by major. If you are going to be an English major, for example, odds are you will be carrying small literature books around every day. An art major might need room for a sketchpad, and (in my case) an engineer may need to have his laptop for every class. Consider what your planned (or unplanned) major and classes will be and look for backpacks that will fit everything.
School supplies are not the only things that will go in your backpack. You will also need room for pens, pencils, calculators, and other small random things. A pocket organizer will really help keep everything in place. Maybe you like music and want a backpack with a pouch for your mp3 player and a headphone jack. Or you might be a pro at eating chicken wings and want to carry those around with you. It's your life, so get a backpack that lines up with it.
Comfort
If you can, take a trip to the store and try on different sizes and styles of backpacks to see which one you like best. Some are designed to place most of the weight low on your back, and others carry more weight in the shoulders. I prefer to carry mine high on my back, but it's all personal preference.
I have had two backpacks in college so far. The first one hurt my back and made me hate carrying anything even remotely heavy to class. Luckily it wore out quickly and I got a second one that wore much better. With my current pack, I can put everything I'll need for an entire day, get on my motorcycle and ride to campus, wear it all day, then ride home, with no discomfort.
Durability
This might be the most important factor of all in a college backpack. Many packs will wear out in a very short amount of time. The seams on the shoulder straps and the top of the bag seem to always wear out first and leave you with a stringy, dilapidated mess.
This is an item where you should go ahead and spend a little bit more up front for a quality backpack. It'll save you money in the long-run, since you'll only have to buy one. Get a double-stitched pack that is comfortable on you, and that looks like it will stand up to 4+ years of wear and tear.
I personally use and recommend a backpack made by The North Face. I have The Noth Face Surge backpack that I purchased online 3 years ago, and it still looks as new as the day I bought it. It's comfortable on my back, and has space for my books and laptop. This is just one brand, and I encourage you to look around and see what works for you.
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