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Another alternative is to buy quality in the first place. I spent around $100 on a Patagonia backpack, and it’s been in everyday use for over 6 years and is sti

Another alternative is to buy quality in the first place. I spent around $100 on a Patagonia backpack, and it’s been in everyday use for over 6 years and is still fine. If it does fail, Patagonia has an excellent repair program.

dwg 7y ago
Yep! A few points about this... I have noticed that many "quality" brands tend to introduce lower quality lines as they grow in size. Perhaps as they hire more business folks and the founders becomes further and further removed from the operation of the company. At first glance the lower quality line can be hard to tell apart from the higher quality products. Also, price does not necessarily determine quality so it pays to be learn some of the telltale signs of higher quality products such as the stitching and materials used.
- cpach 7y ago
  This. I used to carry Fjällräven backpacks. That brand is/was basically Sweden’s Patagonia. If you bought a Kånken model backpack in the eighties, it would last forever. Then sometime in the 00s they moved production to Asia. Guess what happened to the quality …
  - progre 7y ago
    Predictably, the price stayed the same though
    - cpach 7y ago
      Indeed…
pmoriarty 7y ago
I bought a $20 backpack from Target, have been using it constantly for 7 years now, and it's doing fine.
enraged_camel 7y ago
I bought a Targus laptop backpack 19 years ago, during freshman year of college. I have used it almost daily since then, carrying not just laptops but all kinds of other loads: clothing, snacks, books, you name it. I have traveled internationally. I've taken it with me to rugged hiking trips. Anything you can imagine. It's still in fantastic condition. Never had to repair it, except for one time when one of the strap clips got crushed by my car's door. Imagine that: a backpack, almost daily heavy use, carrying all kinds of stuff in it, and it almost never required repair. I'm 100% sure they don't make them like that anymore.
- petepete 7y ago
  If you're willing to pay a bit you can find them. I use a Peak Design Messenger bag daily and it's in absolutely perfect condition after years of commuting, international travel, holidays etc. Their backpacks are built to the same standard. https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/ https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/
techsupporter 7y ago
That's what I did. After faffing about with various cheap bags from a variety of places, I heard about Tom Bihn's backpacks. I went to their showroom in Seattle, tried on a few backpacks, and left with one[0] that fit nicely against my back and had all of the pockets I could want. That was four (five?) years ago and that bag has been on multiple vacations and work trips and carried every day by bus and train and walking, in the rain and snow and dry, with nothing but a little dirt. 0 - This is the one I got: https://www.tombihn.com/products/synapse-25 https://www.tombihn.com/products/synapse-25
- wiredfool 7y ago
  I've had a pair of Tom Bihn's bags for 10+ years now, and they're still going strong. The shoulder pad on the little messenger bag is going, but that's a wear item, and the rest of the bag is totally solid. The backpack is still as good as when I got it.

dwg 7y ago

Yep! A few points about this... I have noticed that many "quality" brands tend to introduce lower quality lines as they grow in size. Perhaps as they hire more business folks and the founders becomes further and further removed from the operation of the company. At first glance the lower quality line can be hard to tell apart from the higher quality products. Also, price does not necessarily determine quality so it pays to be learn some of the telltale signs of higher quality products such as the stitching and materials used.

cpach 7y ago
This. I used to carry Fjällräven backpacks. That brand is/was basically Sweden’s Patagonia. If you bought a Kånken model backpack in the eighties, it would last forever. Then sometime in the 00s they moved production to Asia. Guess what happened to the quality …
- progre 7y ago
  Predictably, the price stayed the same though
  - cpach 7y ago
    Indeed…

pmoriarty 7y ago

I bought a $20 backpack from Target, have been using it constantly for 7 years now, and it's doing fine.

enraged_camel 7y ago

I bought a Targus laptop backpack 19 years ago, during freshman year of college. I have used it almost daily since then, carrying not just laptops but all kinds of other loads: clothing, snacks, books, you name it. I have traveled internationally. I've taken it with me to rugged hiking trips. Anything you can imagine. It's still in fantastic condition. Never had to repair it, except for one time when one of the strap clips got crushed by my car's door. Imagine that: a backpack, almost daily heavy use, carrying all kinds of stuff in it, and it almost never required repair. I'm 100% sure they don't make them like that anymore.

petepete 7y ago
If you're willing to pay a bit you can find them. I use a Peak Design Messenger bag daily and it's in absolutely perfect condition after years of commuting, international travel, holidays etc. Their backpacks are built to the same standard. https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/ https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/everyday-bags/

techsupporter 7y ago

That's what I did. After faffing about with various cheap bags from a variety of places, I heard about Tom Bihn's backpacks. I went to their showroom in Seattle, tried on a few backpacks, and left with one[0] that fit nicely against my back and had all of the pockets I could want. That was four (five?) years ago and that bag has been on multiple vacations and work trips and carried every day by bus and train and walking, in the rain and snow and dry, with nothing but a little dirt. 0 - This is the one I got: https://www.tombihn.com/products/synapse-25 https://www.tombihn.com/products/synapse-25

wiredfool 7y ago
I've had a pair of Tom Bihn's bags for 10+ years now, and they're still going strong. The shoulder pad on the little messenger bag is going, but that's a wear item, and the rest of the bag is totally solid. The backpack is still as good as when I got it.