L.L.Bean Junior Original

The L.L.Bean Junior Original Book Pack is a relatively new addition to L.L.Bean's backpack line-up -- it's based on the popular L.L.Bean Original Book Pack, except it's sized for younger children. The Junior Original backpack is designed for children ages 4 and up, with small shoulder straps and 950 cubic inches of total capacity. The backpack has one large compartment and two smaller compartments with an organizer for pens and small items. There is a reflective stripe on the front, which is great for visibility, but parents say it easily attracts smudges and fingerprints. While most parents have nothing but praise for the L.L.Bean Junior Original backpack, some reviewers would like to see a water-bottle pocket, and there are a few stray complaints about durability on L.L.Bean's website. For children over the age of 7, the L.L.Bean Critter Pack (*Est. $38) also gets good reviews. It's larger and can hold more school supplies than the Junior Original, and it gets high marks for durability. Both bags are backed by L.L.Bean's satisfaction guarantee.

We found the best review of the L.L.Bean Junior Original Book Pack at Slate.com, where several backpacks are reviewed and subjected to various torture tests, courtesy of some kid experts. The review is several years old, but the details on the Junior Original backpack are valuable. For user reviews, L.L.Bean's website offers several hundred. We normally don't give much weight to owner-written reviews on manufacturer websites, but these have a good amount of balance.