Cheap Kids Backpacks

If you're looking for cheap kids backpacks, you can get them all over the place at the big department stores... at the K-Mart, Walmart, you name it. They're all made in China someplace, and they're made for a low, low price - just pennies - so you can buy them for a few bucks.

The shareholders get happy, the kids backpack lasts for a few weeks if you're lucky, and then it's time to look for a replacement.

Next time around, you can go for another inexpensive children's backpack, or you can try a different route. Maybe pay a few dollars more this time, and select something that might do a better job and last a bit longer.

Firstly, consider what you want your child's backpack for. Will Junior be lugging books and a packed lunch to school in that bag, or will your son or daughter be carrying a few picnic things at the next family outing? Are you planning on taking the whole family backpacking - kids included? The weight of the pack is always lighter if it's perceived as a fun experience. Picnics and camping are fun, but school probably isn't in the same league.

If you plan on taking the kids out camping or hiking - in other words, real backpacking - then you should buy them a decent backpack.

You may be able to add some fun to your child's experience by purchasing a kids backpack with some movie or TV super-hero on the bag. In this case, it's a cheap bag but it costs more because of royalties paid to the owners of the copyright. Spider man backpacks or Hufflepuff Harry Potter backpacks would come into this category, as would bags depicting any of the Disney characters.

And if the backpack will only be used to tote schoolbooks (and maybe later, a laptop) between the school bus (or your car) and the school building, you might consider some kind of rolling bag instead... A bag with wheels like travelers use at airports.

Since the manufacturers don't seem to make any kids rolling backpacks yet, you may have to buy one of those cheap in-flight carry bags and see it does the trick. Maybe by the time you read this, some manufacturer may have come out with a proper kid's rolling backpack. But I haven't seen one yet.

Check out the backpack bags on offer, and pay particular attention to the strength of the material the pack is made from, and to the reinforcing of the corners and seams, and the points at which the shoulder straps attach to the back pack. Next, examine the plastic buckles and the zippers. The better these are, the longer the bag should last your child.

But remember, kids get involved in play and all kinds of games, and it's almost guaranteed the bag is going to be thrown around carelessly from time to time. It's life is limited, even a tough bag will wear out eventually.

I guess that, in the end, you can always get your cheap kids backpacks at the next back to school backpack sale.