Jack’s Top 5: Backpack Styles

Jack is back looking into the best backpack styles for students around NT.

I say, it’s ok when I do it.

Jack Wolkove Section Editor

1) Double strap

A basic choice, really, and the standard for students everywhere. It’s probably the most effcient way to carry stuff around. For this reason, and also the fact that I was struggling to come up with different categories (you try doing this four times, it’s not for the faint of mind), this one ends up making the list. It has its merits, yes, but have we considered that placing valuables in a bag that’s behind you puts you at greater risk for theft? The only solution to this would be putting the backpack on backwards and carrying it around like those baby slings, thus creating a front-pack of sorts. Since this is a ridiculous idea, and no one wants to be witnessed in such a manner, the double strap method loses to the subsequent items on this list.

2) One strap

Cool kid alert!!! As we all know, one strapping the backpack is a key signifer of coolness and popularity, as made clear by the high school centric TV shows of decades prior. Alternative to this, maybe you’re just in a rush to get to class and did not have time to put the other strap on your other shoulder, because you’re just such a busy bee. You can’t win approval with this one— you’re either a 2000s Disney channel antagonist or you’re full of yourself. Either way, this style gains points for being a classic, but loses some for its penchant to tire out one shoulder while the other does not pull its weight and causes constant shifting of backpack custody between the two. This is a personal account, due to the fact that I partake in this method of object transportation. Have I just judged others for doing this? Yes, and to that

3) Tote bag

If you carry around all of your stuff in a canvas tote bag two or more times a week, I applaud you for your commitment to the indie-record-store-Phoebe-Bridgers-listener-oat-milkin-your-iced-coffee aesthetic (very specifc, I know, but trust that it paints the picture accurately). Though stylish, this one requires the patience and commitment to constantly be pulling the strap up because it keeps falling. If your shoulders are broad enough to effciently carry said strap on them without external intervention, congratulations, and also I’m a little jealous.

4) Satchel

A noticeably new style of bag, the satchel bag that sits at the hip has made its way into the academic accessory wardrobe. Though rare to see, it is certainly a suave alternative to the regular, run of the mill backpack you see around everyday. Not only is it usually a brown-green colour (love the Earth tones), but its wearers can be seen adding additional pins and patches to it, creating a whole new level of customization and self-expression.

5) No backpack

The bravest soldiers among us go about their days not with the human-made utilities of the modern era, but with their God-given hands. Just like they carry all their supplies, they also carry the rest of us throughout the school year, with their confdence and self-assuredness. Such bravery, such faith in a friend, locker, or maybe a kind omnipotent force. Kudos to y’all for doing the unthinkable.