I love the
Dakine Girls Wonder backpack in Oxford. It is very simple and compact so when I am out and about traveling/
hiking during the day, I won't look so bulky and have to carry my school sized backpack (which is much larger to carry large textbooks and notebooks), and I think the Oxford design gives it a bit of style without looking very flashy and being out of school from some time now, I wouldn't look too juvenile. The fact that it doesn't have more than one small fuzzy pocket on top isn't very smart, but I don't carry a lot of small items and personally I have invented a quick and easy work around (which involves safety pins, resealable sandwich bag, tape/reinforcements hole punch stickers...you can do your own thing) which doesn't require me to sew (I can't) and it's easily removable without any damage to the bag. The bag is tough, lined on the inside with some rubber like material, the bag is also stiff due to the same reason, but I am hoping that it will become more flexible with use. I love the color with the light sea green plastic buckles &
ties, and the little doted fabric is a nice contrast to the gray (slightly almost brown) color. Unsure why but you might have to air the bag out a bit before use as it does have a light smell of glue inside. In the pictures it looks like the bag will slim down but right now since it's still is pretty new, it looks very wide. The surprising factor in this bag was the bottom half where you'd think due to the corner folding inward due to the waist strap,
Dakine would've sewn the corners closed. I found out that I could stick my two fingers into both corners which concerns me a bit...as dirt and dust can hide there making it annoying to get out. The two front mesh pockets are large and I can easily fit my hands in there. The top fuzzy pocket isn't as big as it looks so I think it will be full with my Blackberry smartphone and an iPod Touch. The bag carries a lot more than I initially thought, but my usual: Kindle, wallet, Blackberry, iPod Touch, iPad, spare book (sometimes), guidebook, and
hoodie/x-tra layer), all seem to fit fine with some extra space for small souvenirs or what-not. I don't think I will use the elastics in the front of the bag to hold things, as the front straps for the board, works just as well, perhaps even better, for my
hoodie/x-tra layer...which is nice as I haven't always had the best of luck with the elastic straps. The zippers give me a bit of a concern without having a cover like my other
bags do, and living and traveling to wet places, sometimes I've had some water damage this way, but I am hoping it would be fine as I am not packing big items. The shoulder straps are rather slick but getting the bag on and off is easier that way. Some might complain that this bag doesn't zip farther down the sides, but I rather like it as the way it is because if someone were to try and pickpocket my bag, they would really have to reach to get anything to the point I would feel something...and the zipper tabs have enough room so that I may use something to lock them together...which is also another reason why I don't mind the fact that I don't have another outer front pocket. With the list of items I do pack with me during my travels, I still can find everything easily, and the size lets me not to over pack and walk around and store my bag easily. Another nice addition to my traveling
bags.