I’m a big fan of Timbuktu bags, especially the messenger bags. Many bags have lifetime warranties. I have had two for over a decade now and still holding up.
this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2023
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I've been using one of these daily since 2019 and it is easily my favorite backpack that I've used. It's been on multiple international trips and lugged around on basically every family vacation and daily trip to the office and it's in as good of shape as the day I bought it. Very comfortable. The only downside at all is the lack of mesh water bottle holder, but it's roomy enough to fit one in any of the pockets so it's not been an issue for me.
Sadly it seems like this model has been discontinued? But it's available in various places if you poke around the web a bit.
OP, I will co sign your choice.of Jansport. They last decades if not lifetimes.
The Jansport Right Pack lasted me from second grade till the end of college. When we bought it, my parents said it was expensive so I would have to use it for 2 years, it finally had the stitching fail after 16 years. Real “Buy it for life” recommendation there.
Got a JanSport used from a garage sale for kindergarten, and the zipper is only starting to fail now, a decade and a half of daily academic use later.
Old Jansport was great. New Jansport is utter trash. You will get 1-2 years of light use before it breaks.
Totally outside your budget indicated, but I find the go ruck bags to be extremely stable. Buy once for life type of bags.
That being said I would recommend any bag where the designer removes the metal zippers so they don't jingle and instead uses paracord or something else quiet. And not the bags were they wrap the paracord inside of the metal zipper because those still jingle. It's just my mental litmus test to tell if the designer actually cares about the use of the bag, or if they only care about the looks of the bag for selling it. So far every time I've seen a bag without metal jingly zippers it's been a well designed and well put together bag, you can tell somebody cared and loved for that design
With that budget, consider taking a look at Peak Design's Everyday Backpack. It's a different style than be you're used to, but it hits all the boxes, and looks sharp. https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/products/everyday-backpack?variant=29743300771884. They
excell at better organization. But because they are slightly rigid, textbooks might weigh a bit weird if you have too many.
We have an everyday V2, totepack and two 30L travel packs, all highly recommend.
I always used Dakine bags. Lots of useful pockets and they look cool.
I think this is over your budget once converted, but I love this backpack (https://bellroy.com/products/classic-backpack-plus?color=slate&material=ribba_weave).
I use it a few times a week, and had it for over 4 years now, and it's still in great condition. Really well crafted for durability. Zipper, tags, handle etc still in excellent condition.
Fits my 16inch MBP nicely, as well as cables, headphones, jacket, water bottle and a bit of space to spare. Has a quite a few little compartments which are really handy for things like keys.
It doesn't have side pockets for a water bottle which is a downer, but it ticked every other box for me.
Feels comfortable to wear, breathes well - given how it's performed so far, I feel like it'll be around for years to come. Happily recommend!
My work backpack is an Under Armour hustle and I’ve had it about 5 years. It holds up to 16” laptop along with accessories and other items. The black one is professional looking enough for a casual office.
I also have a Timbuk2 large messenger bag and it holds more than the backpack but does not have good storage compartments. The water bottle holder is also on the inside which I do not like.
Love anything by Thule... They last forever!