The Annoying Backpack

(Please note: the underlying message in this post is me justifying spending money on a backpack. )

We have a large journey coming up that will take us to Vegas and eventually St. George, Utah for the week of Thanksgiving (that’s next week for those of you not keeping up with your holiday countdown). I have been shopping for a backpack for the last month. I have backpacks, but they are old, not airport-user friendly, etc. I’ve determined that the backpack needs to have certain qualities, lets discuss.
1. Large - I need one that will carry all necessary items but will get through security and doesn’t need to be pulled on wheels. It needs to go on my back, hence the name “backpack.”
2. Multiple compartments - I need one will have the following compartments
a. Small-Medium front section: Wallet and small personals
b. Baby section: large enough to contain diapers, wipes, changing pad and extra set of clothes
c. Mama section: Large enough to carry snacks, extra shirt, books/mags, and laptop if possible (not totally necessary, but would be nice)
d. Side pocket: for water bottle
e. Media pocket: for ipod (not totally necessary, would be nice)
3. Comfortable to carry: I need large, padded straps because this will likely be somewhat heavy. I have many large uncomfortable backpacks I could use, so lets make this one at least appealing.
4. Color: so long as it isn’t camouflage or Hello Kitty, I don’t really care what color it is.

Justification: I don’t think it unreasonable to purchase a new backpack. I am a student and something practical would be nice for use as I start taking more classes in the evenings and weekends. So its something that I will use for sure.

What I bought last night: so last night, I broke down and bought the $13 Eastpack from the Walmarts. Although it has almost everything I want, and is a nice color, its cheaply made. So that means I’ll probably get about 9 months of use. I mean lets be real: its plastic and made in China for school age kids that will use it for the 9 month school season (see: or falls apart).

The result of writing this post: I’ve decided that I’m going to go to Marshalls’ tonight (yay, another trip out…) to see what nice backpack I can find. If I find a nicer one for around $30, I’ll get it and take back the crappy Walmart version. If not, I’ll use this one until it falls apart.