Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Kids Kids Deluxe Backpack

I bought the 37L Deluxe backpack for my grandson a few weeks ago. He has had it for 10 days and already the side pouch for water bottle is coming apart at the top. I have 6 LLBean backpacks and 4 of them are from the 1990's. The 5th is the 24L I purchased in 2021. The first 5 are still in perfect condition after years of use. This one-10 days in and it's coming apart! I guess they just are not what they used to be. The mesh pocket could be a design flaw. None of the others had that.

Backpack is already falling apart and I've had it less than 1 month.

Got this backpack monogramed for my daughter for middle school. She loves all the pockets and places to store things. But the zippers get caught on fabric and a week into this school year, one zipper went off the track for good and we couldn't get it back. Now I don't know whether to replace it with the same bag and just hope it doesn't break, or get another brand. Seems so wasteful to throw away an otherwise good bag but the zippers are critical.

I purchased two of these bags for my kids since it is the same bag I had in middle school 30 years ago. Mine is still going strong. However, the kids bags both wore out in one school year. Both tore between the mesh side pocket and the elastic strap at the top of the side pocket. I contacted LLBeam about it and they only guarantee their bags for one year now. Not what they used to be.

This is the 2nd year in a row I am going to need to send this backpack back because the zipper continues to get stuck on the piece of fabric above the zipper. Once i finally get that piece out of the zipper it works but this continued every other week until the zipper finally got stuck and now both zippers have fallen off the track and the bag is useless. I have never had this much trouble with L.L. bean bags.

The build quality of this backpack is, I hate to say it, below average. The mesh side pockets for water bottles rip easily and isn't durable at all. LL Bean replaced the first backpack we bought because of the ripped mesh pocket. The side pocket is flimsily and my daughter gave up on trying to put a water bottle in it as it constantly fell out no matter the size of the bottle. Just today, we the keychain clip in the smaller pocket snapped off the first time I tried to put a keychain on it. I'm so disappointed in the quality of this particular backpack by LL Bean. I would not buy again.

I've always thought LL Bean bagswere super high quality, but I got this and immediately put it back in the box to return. The seams felt fragile, and it was extremely uncomfortable to wear. Neither the bag or the laptop compartment is padded :/

Fits all the stuff my middle schooler is expected to carry around with him. However 16 months later one of the shoulder strap is halfway ripped out at the top of the bag. It's out of the 1 year warranty so there's nothing LLBean can do. Disappointing. A backpack should last longer than that!!

Zipper is stuck. Company won't stand behind their iriducts anymore. Sad. Thought you could rely on llbean fir the long term.

The text was much smaller than it was on previous backpacks I have bought.

My son had his Original Bookpack from Kindergarten through 5th grade and it still looks new! I got this Deluxe model for the extra space and pockets as he entered middle school expecting it to last us through college. Already the mesh water bottle pockets are ripping and we're not even halfway through the school year! To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. L.L.Bean, PLEASE make this bookpack with SOLID CANVAS WATER BOTTLE POCKETS like the Original Bookpack!!

The backpack itself is fine. However, my kids have to take a water bottle to school every day, and the mesh water bottle pouch has developed a hole less than four months into the school year. This is the second LL Bean backpack where we've had this issue. A replacement backpack is currently on backorder for another two months, so we are stuck with a $60 backpack that has a hole in it and can't hold a water bottle without ripping further. I went with an expensive LL Bean backpack for a 10 year old because I've heard great things about their return policy and the quality of their merchandise. The return policy is functionally useless (backpack isn't in stock, and I have to buy a new one before I can get a refund for this one). When this happened to the first backpack, I assumed it was a one-off manufacturing defect. Now it's two backpacks with the same problem. Really, really disappointed.

It really pains me to rate this book pack two stars. But for the first time in 35-40 years, we received a L.L. Bean book pack that was not perfect. (Part of the mesh around one of the water bottle pockets was not sewn properly.) Through two kids, four grandkids, and around 14-15 units purchased over the years, this is the only problem we have had. I only hope that this is a freak problem and not an indication of diminishing quality. We returned the pack to the local L. L. Bean store and reordered another exactly like the first oneour granddaughter needs it! Unfortunately, the reorder was on back order.

We have purchased bookbags from LL Bean for years and they are very durable; however, our recent purchase of this bag has been very disappointing. Due to the design of the flaps that cover the zippers, my son constantly has issued with the zipper getting stuck in the flap. We have successfully managed to get the zippers unstuck multiple times; however, we now have one zipper that has completely detached from the other side when we were trying to get it unstuck, and the other zipper is again stuck in the flap and the bag is almost unusable. It has only be used for a month. We are not sure how long he will even be able to use it now.

Liked the bag but top loop strap and waist straps started to fail and fray within 1 month. Exchanged for a new one and hope that it will hold up better.

While this is a great sized bag (we went with LLBEAN as my son has outgrown the other brand bag sizes), the top strap already ripped after 2 weeks of school. Good news is that LLBEAN is sending a replacement. I hope this one doesn't rip. We love LLBean and expect more from Mainer quality.

Bag didnt make it through 3 weeks of school. The top handle is fraying and ripping from the bag already. Bought this for my daughter because the bags lasted when I had them.

I've been purchasing LL Bean backpacks since the 90's. My son is in high school and got a new LL Bean backpack for this school year. Today is the fourth day of school and the center strap that you use to hang the backpack on a hook, is already tearing apart. No, it won't affect the shoulder straps or the backpack itself, but come onpieces of fabric ripping after just four days of use? This is a $55 backpack. Very disappointing.

I have purchased and returned these book bags twice now for the same reason. The water bottle holders need to be redesigned. The mesh material ends up coming unstitched from the elastic part at the top of the water bottle area. This has happened within days of use. I have twins and both bag packs have done it on both sides each time we have bought them. Thankfully we were within the return window but they just don't make them like they did when I was younger.

Quality not as expected, inexpensive feel, not fabric feel. Definitely lightweight, but shoulders straps are crisp and feel sharp and scape against bare skin. I am used to a more flexible, fabric based material so this was very stiff and uncomfortable.

I bought two of these bags for summer day camp as they were large and water resistant. While it does fit all of our stuff, after one week it is already showing signs of wear. The mesh from the water bottle pocket has started separating and one of our inner key clips broke on the first use. I contacted customer service and they said I could mail it back to return, but we need it daily for summer camp so that was not really an option. For the price, I expected this to be more durable for use by kids.

The zipper broke within 3 months of using the backpack. Also the zipper gets caught too easily in the fabric. If they either made the zipper stronger and back quality or use less fabric around the zipper this could easily be a 5 star backpack. I had an LLBean back pack in grade school and that one lasted forever with no zipper issue but this new backpack is not the same.

Already has a hole in the side pocket, super upset as these were suppose to "made to last". I have mine still from over 15 years ago in perfect condition and my bag has been through the wringer, thought the same bag would be perfect for my incoming middle schooler and 3 days in and the side mesh pocket is already ripped.

I love this backpack. I had one when I went to college 25 years ago. Believe it or not, I still use the bookbag! So, I decided to purchase one for my son. After the 3rd day of using it, the zipper broke. Needless to say, I am disappointed. So, I spent $60 plus dollars on a bag and the zipper breaks.

We have been buying backpacks from LL Bean for over 20 years. The quality isn't what it used to be. My daughter's backpack that we purchased for this school year (July 2023), and my daughter hardly uses, has the stitching of both bottle holders coming apart. Luckily, she took it on a plane trip this week and I saw it. Many other purchasers have the same issue. This is a quality control issue in the manufacturing process. It will be going back, but they are out of stock in the same color.