My D never had a problem with things getting wet in this backpack and also not an umbrella user. I do believe though that the sleeve she has for her laptop is fully waterproofed.
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My daughter goes to Cornell where it is very wet and cold and has never had a problem with her things getting wet!
Also, its pretty big as her laptop and many other things fit in it. She would carry the bag around her in high school with 25lbs of books and binders in it - I only know that because they used to weigh themselves with the bags because they were so heavy so they were curious one time and we were shocked the backpacks weighed 25% of their weight. Ridiculous that kids should have to carry anything like that. Anyway, now most books are electronic and/or theyāre not carrying as much at one time.
She has both an umbrella and raincoat, but if you need an umbrella, youāre not going to want to put a wet umbrella in a backpack and instead will just carry it, which is what she does. Regardless, the umbrella she has would fit in it too.
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My older kid says her umbrella doesnāt do much good in her Northeast location, too windy. She has a small-ish, woman-sized Northface backpack that we got at the outlet mall for around $40. I donāt recall her having any trouble with things inside the backpack getting wet.
In general, most laptop sleeves tend to be against the back part of the backpack, relatively protected. Few backpacks seem to be labeled waterproof. Weāve never tried those waterproof backpack covers (just no need as far as Iām aware) but they do exist.
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I thought S19 would need full-on waterproof backpack at Bowdoin too but he went to school with two that were not and has had zero problem. Iām sure heās also never used an umbrella. One thing to consider (at least what heās found) is that he doesnāt need his giant North Face packback he used for high school when heād carry four textbooks, a laptop, and multiple binders with him all day long. (So dumb but no one uses the lockers at our high school and the kids just carry everything they need all day.) He uses his Hershel backpack now. I originally bought it for him in case he indeed wanted something a little smaller and also to use if he had an internship and wanted something sleeker and not so student-like.
Kids arenāt standing out in the rain. Especially on a small campus, it takes five/ten minutes max to walk to class. He usually didnāt even take his laptop to class since most kids take notes in notebooks at Bowdoin. I bet he can count on one hand the number of times it was pouring rain and he had to go somewhere with his laptop.
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@srparent15 Ha! You and I were writing at the same time. Agreed on the 25-30 pound backpacks in high school. Silly.
I agree, no one uses lockers so why do they have them these days? I think just for seniors to decorate, lol.
Anyway, with things going more electronic, and more block schedules at schools, the bags thank god are starting to get lighter also for high schoolers.
Also, everyone should also have one super cheap backpack thatās not as huge for daytime excursions or hikes they may take. I know for Israel mine is taking her regular one and then a smaller jansport one which is much smaller for going to the beach and stuff like that.
S21 had his graduation ceremony yesterday!! 1138 in his class and he was in the second row 
3 of our school board trustees are friends of mine and were seated on stage so they all texted me pictures and videos of him walking and receiving the diploma, I got some great shots!
We had a big family party for him in the eveningā¦itās the first time my big fat IndoPak family was all under the same roof (everyone fully vaccinated!!) since Covid hitā¦all 55 of us!!! We had a great timeā¦my heart is full! We had a lot of leftover food, so my son and his cousin took it all over to the Police station along with cake and shared it with the officers on night duty!
S21 has his Texas Tech advising/registration/orientation on June 18ā¦Raiderland here he comes!
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Right? My kids like hard copies of books as opposed to electronic but they at least learned to leave them at their dorms/rooms and then use the electronic ones when theyāre not in their rooms.
At UT for McCombs they donāt even allow you to use electronic devices in classes (computers, etc) so Iām not sure what will happen next year with everything back in person or if they even need to bring the books to class. Maybe just notebooks I guess. I will have to ask her when I think about it.
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Looks like Bean updated their line of backpacks since I last checked. They have a ālocker backpackā lol. My kids tend to wear out even the Bean packpacks in high school - my freshman, oops sophomore, somehow made holes in his from the binder he carried (itās 4 yrs old, to be fair), so he needs something a smitch bigger than the laptop bag. But the Deluxe one that S21 used all through high school was too deep and always looked like it would tip him over. I might consider the laptop one for the S21s (I have one of their older laptop packs for travel myself), though honestly Iāll probably stop by the Northface outlet to see whatās there.
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Thanks all. We are in another terrible drought year so I need advice. I read the zippers can let in some water but maybe that would require more time outside in heavy rainfall. He has a water resistant, smaller Patagonia one already that was too small for hs print books so still in good shape and should be fine if he has mostly digital textbooks and a smaller laptop. Otherwise I like those linked ones.
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That Herschel backpack was (is?) trendy on my oldest daughterās college campus. She asked for one for Christmas her freshman year and just graduated last week. It was a good size for what she needed to take to class, etc. She didnāt want anything too big/heavy as she typically only had 1-2 classes worth of stuff with her.
Canāt comment on whether things stayed dry in it though since she is in San Diego where it rarely rains enough to worry about having a waterproof backpack.
I have no idea what my older son uses - he has so many backpacks, each for a different use (class, his sport, weekend travel, etc). I had not even thought about S21 and will need to ask him if he needs a new one for college. He too has several, but not sure if his āschoolā one is still in good condition.
I actually need a backpack myself. For years, I have used a free Delta one that dh got as a gift from Delta by being some high level of traveller with them. It was perfect for travelling and I loved the way it was organized. It was not heavy or large so was great for use as a daypack when out sightseeing, etc. Last summer one of the straps broke and I was devastated 
. Having flown for the first time last week, I forgot my backpack was busted and had to pin the strap so I could use it since I had nothing else last minute. The pin popped off when I was walking through the terminal though. I could still use it but had to sling on one shoulder and not the shoulder I like for carrying things. So now Iām searching for something similar in size/weight.
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There is a flap of material over the zipper on my Dās backpack.
Also agreed that she carries almost nothing in college compared to what she was schlepping in high school. The only time her backpack is full is when sheās moving in/out of her dorm.
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I think backpacks that are waterproof are for hiking in all types of weather, not for a college student walking around campus. Donāt spend the money on an expensive waterproof backpack. He wonāt need it!
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Most decent backpacks have a little lip of fabric - thereās probably a name for that lol - that covers the zipper, so itās not like water is literally pouring onto the zipper. I wonder why Bean does not seem to have that on the ācomfort carry laptopā pack. But, for demonstration, you can see the zippers being covered here on the Northface Product results for borealis classic cf9c (I canāt remember the name of the one we got at the outlet mall, but it is not huge, just-right size.)
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Mine uses it also for putting a ton of stuff in it when she flies back and forth and is worried about being over the 50lb for her suitcase. As Iāve just learned, she is putting the dumbest stuff in it even now for her trip. When I ask why it isnāt in the suitcase, answer āso I donāt go overā. Of course, maybe if she took the kitchen sink out of her suitcase she wouldnāt need to worry about it!
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If thereās a shoe repair shop near you, they can sew that right up.
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Thatās the one my son has in HS but it didnāt survive, it only lasted 1 school yr.
My son used this backpack all 4 years of high school and itās still in great shape, heās taking it with him to college! My husband, a commercial pilot, used this one as well and it really stands up to all his wear and tear and pilot gear
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Amazon has the same mattress for $10 less. Geez. I emailed them to see if they would price match.
We are lugging it across country, too. I saw that itās 23lbs but can fit in the samsonite tote a ton bag.
Yeah I donāt think S19 is very hard on ha Hershel backpack. Only uses it for school. Heās got two others for traveling home or going to the gym etc. He doesnāt overstuff the Hershel one.