<p>Obviously, I'm not picking the right ones!
My freshman year I used a small LL Bean bookpack that held up wonderfully, but was too small as soon as I got to classes with large books. I still carry it when I only have one class to go to. I replaced it with a Jansport Big Student, carried it for most of sophomore year and the straps started coming off of it. It was a good size so I replaced it with another one, figuring the strap thing was just a fluke. The second one was fine for the first part of Junior year, but I had a HUGE amount of books for the second part and.... the straps are coming off of it. I know it's just because I was carrying so much (2 hard cover texts, a large softcover text, 2 5-subject notebooks, calculator, cell phone, ID/keys, a couple of lipglosses and a pocket size bottle of hand sanitizer), but it was what I had to have for class (bringing you book was mandatory in all of my classes). I did use a rolly bag for a while, but it was a pain to get places with it and just looked stupid.</p>
<p>I'm tired of buying bags. I'm not graduating for another couple of years (09, I'm a year late because I changed my major), but I don't want to buy another bag for the rest of college!! What would hold up to the abuse I dish out and hold everything???</p>
<p>I love my Ogio. It has a compartment for my laptop and can fit TONS of books. Plus all Ogio bags have great shoulder padding and are durable as well as attractive. Many people at my school have them in either a backpack or messenger bag model. You can go to bags.com to order one and just look around at their line to see what would best fit you. I'd don't remember my style name, but I bought it when it was discontinued.</p>
<p>The North Face makes pricier backpacks, but they're really sturdy and have efficient compartments. Also, they'll work for hiking/traveling in Europe/packing for an overnight trip/etc. :)</p>
<p>I've had a LandsEnd backpack I paid 40 dollars for ten years, and NOTHING is broken. No tears in the fabric, all the zippers work perfectly, it's incredible. the bag has gotten an incredible amount of use, but it's still perfectly fine. just grab the largest landsend bag you can find.</p>
<p>I have used my North face backpack for quite some time and have been very satisfied. It is worth it financially to shell out a few extra bucks for something that is durable. I used Jansports for a while but had many problems with the zippers.</p>
<p>i dont know how big, but ive always found jansport to be best.
Ive had mine since 8th grade and it has never ripped. Im a senior now, so what, 4 full years(in highschool). They are somewhat big. They don't have one main pocket at least. They have to big main ones, and then 3 pockets on front, one of them being the main front pocket (big enough to fit a graphing calculator, pencils, pens, flashcars, and a few books.)</p>
<p>And to say that it is durable, when i was in 8th grade, we on;y had one set of books, and no lockers, so i had to walk around school all day with a murderously heavy backpack. It weighed 28 lbs.</p>
<p>I recommend a North Face backpack, although I'm still in high school I have found it incredibly durable and used it for 2yrs so far with no rips or tears. They also look pretty good, unlike the backpacks that SmileDarling recommended.</p>
<p>Yeah, the bag I recommended is incredibly ugly but good looks that weren't really on the list of requirements. Go with North Face though if you want a balance - it seems like they are a really good brand for bags.</p>
<p>Im still in high school (rising senior) but I've been using my Jansport backpack since the 6th grade and it hasn't let me down yet. It might be too small for college though...</p>
<p>go jansport Odyssey i have that bag, and it has gone through a whole hell of a lot, and is still fine. Also i suggest the Jansport Cloud 9, another great bag</p>
<p>I'm guessing the Odyssey is similar to the Max Packer. I bought one in 1999 (with a power outage at the mall that day!) and it still is in good shape. Currently it's storing some old papers in my closet. If I recall it was around $35 but keep in mind that things have inflated a good deal since then.</p>
<p>My personal favorite backpack for a good combination of size and durability is my American Eagle bag from 2003. I don't know if they make these anymore but it's got a lot of compartments, all of which are pretty decent size, and has very comfy straps. There's also a phone pocket on one of the straps as well as several pockets on the inside for pencils (and one that works great for either a TI calc or index cards). I think it was between $30 and $40.</p>
<p>I used to be a Jansport guy; they used to make excellent backpacks. However, the quality of most has gone down significantly. I currently own a North Face Electron 26. It is a nice, well made, light, 26L backpack. It's treated me very well. Quality is amazing and it comes with a lifetime warranty. It's also relatively water resistant and includes a raincover. It was pretty expensive though. </p>
<p>If I had to buy a backpack today, I'd buy a Burton! They are even better than North Face and most are cheaper to boot. They also come with a lifetime warranty. I would personally go for the Dayhiker, but it's probably too small [20L] for you. Take a look at their back to school line among others at burton.com [gear->bags->back to school]. Everyone I know who owns a Burton pack loves it.</p>
<p>I used a Swiss army backpack for some time, and found that it just wouldn't cut it. The weight of my textbooks, even in high school, tore it badly. So I went to camping store and bought a heavy duty camping backpack. I've used it for a couple of years now, and it has faired far better.</p>