JanSport Big Student Backpack

My wife is a professor and is always transporting several textbooks back and forth from the classroom. She is typically very hard on bookbags and for one to last more than a year is a rarity. This JanSport Big Student Classic has lasted her almost two and a half years now and is still going strong. That is unheard of for her, so one can get an idea that this is a quality product designed to carry 30 lb loads day in and out. I also like the fact that the model I got for her is bright red and easy to spot in a classroom or conference room. The model also has high quality steel zippers with nylon tags that zip off about five or six large pockets to hold items, including the back two sections for textbooks. And perhaps most importantly, the shoulder straps are quality triple stitched and connected. Typically in cheaper book bags, the first thing to go is the shoulder straps, which rip or come loose first due to the load placed on them. So far, in this JanSport model, no rips and no tears. For the $35 I spent on this model, that makes it a quality book bag. Five stars so far.

My son used this for most of the 2013-14 school year (7th grade). It was stuffed to the brim everyday with all the materials for his six classes, gym clothes, and drum sticks. I doubt it could have handled even another glue stick. The backpack on average weighed 27 pounds. From August until the end of April (April 29) the back pack held it's own. However, that evening the bottom said "adios". With only 3 weeks of school left we used a pack that my husband had-it had a leather bottom. My hope was that this pack would last a couple of years, but now with the school year fast approaching I am searching again.The size of this pack fit our needs-it just could not withstand daily weight that was required of it. If you will be carrying around a heavy pack look for something with a leather bottom.

I've been buying my kids JanSport backpacks for years...my kindergartener is now using the same backpack my older daughter used all the way up to 4th grade (the only reason why I got my older daughter a new one was because she needed something bigger than the one she had). I purchased her this Big Student Classic BackPack in the blue hippyskip pattern, and as usual I was happy with the color and size. However, we are now only 4 months into the school year and the little hang strap between the shoulder straps has completely torn off and I'm noticing the seam stitching looks like it's coming loose as well. This is frustrating because JanSports are not cheapo backpacks and up until now I've been thrilled with their quality. I purchased this expecting to get her through her middle school years with it, however if I'm already seeing it fall apart in 4 months I don't have much faith it will even last her through the end of the school year. Hopefully it's just a flaw with this particular backpack and not a general decline in JanSport quality, as it will really stink to have to hunt down a comparable brand.

This bag is just OK. It does the job, but isn't made of the strong, thick material that I was hoping it would be made of. I was hoping that it would be tough and sturdy like packs from top manufacturers, but instead, it's the same flimsy material that you find in cheap backpacks at discount stores.Also, the pouches only have one zipper instead of the two way zippers that are found on many high end packs. The zippers also tend to get the thin pack material caught in them and get stuck that way, which can be very frustrating.Overall, I would not purchase this pack again. I use it and it works OK. I wish that I had shopped around for a higher quality pack, even if it did cost $5 or $10 more than this one--that would have been money well spent.

After years of backpacks for my 2 boys that I've had to replace mid year, this is the only backpack I will buy anymore. It is the only one to stand up to the abuse my kids put their backpacks through. My 16 year old shoves every single book he has into this and takes it to classes. He never uses his locker so this backpack can and does hold it all. We have actually been able to go a couple of years here and there on the same backpack. I wouldn't have had to get one this year except he had spilled a Monster energy drink in it and it mushed with some kind of candy that was in there too. Yuck. Not only is this worth the money, I actually save money with the JanSports because I don't have to replace them as often.I actually started purchasing only JanSport backpacks after my younger brother graduated from college. He had gone for 5 years with the same Big Student backpack. I'll bet he still has it somewhere even all of these years later.The only issue I have, and I wouldn't even call it an issue, is that they made another color that was the more "basic" backpack for the same cheap price as the black one. Navy or brown would even be fine. Maybe they have them now but back in July/August, it was not available. So, both of my kids have identical black JanSports. It makes things a little more tricky at 6:15am.I recommend this backpack to all parents - especially the ones who have kids that are hard on their backpacks like mine are. I would say you might want to get a darker color just because they can't be just thrown in the washer. They can only be spot cleaned.****Update**** We're on our 2nd school year for one of these backpacks (see above Monster/candy mixture) and the 3rd year on the other one. They are still shoved to the max every day and still going strong - no rips, tears, busted zippers or holes. Still can't tell which one is which at 6:15, but that's a small price to pay!

Great bag for highschool freshman. Big enough for school supplies, and can also be used for overnight travel bag. Daughter loves the color.

Not Happy got this product in today and it’s broke and school start On August 9 the strap broke on it!

It holds sooo much!! My middle schooler carries 2 three-ring binders, textbooks, and his lunch box in this backpack.

I purchased this to use as a diaper bag. It is a great size and fits everything I need to carry. It has two large compartments so that I can keep diaper changing items and snacks...

This is a great replacement for the JanSport backpack I'd had for years. It fits tons of stuff. It is a very bright blue too.

This is a excelente product. Love this bag...

My son has been using this backpack for 2.5 years and it is still holding up strong. No tears, no rips. Quality backpack.

Very good quality, just like I expect from JanSport! This is huge, though. My 1st grader wanted it, but it was bigger than his entire back. I kept it because I like it!

My daughter loves it. Had it for 8th grade. Just bought a new one for 9th grade. Nothing wrong with the old one; it was just dirty. No issues with zippers or anything.

Half of the price of this backpack is still expensive for the material used to make this backpack. Not recommended this product to everyone especially if you are college students.