Most women I know carry a handbag to keep themselves organised and fashionable. There was a time when I did the same, and to me the smaller the better as I became older. A wallet, inhaler, and a pocket camera was all that I needed to have with me….But now….I no longer carry a handbag at all! Nope, instead of a small handbag that hangs off of one shoulder and causing me to walk with my shoulders at an angle to keep it in place and not fall on top of the head of a child, I’ve graduated to using a backpack.
Not that this has only happened since having children. No, I’ve never really gone away from backpacks since I began to use them in university. After uni I still took classes and it was handy for those books and work lunches.
Then I moved to Japan and if it wasn’t raining I always had a backpack with me to carry those teacher’s guides in for late night planning. And when I was travelling I of course kept my travel guides in them along with a journal and some snacks.
When I moved to Belfast I lived only a 24 minute walk to work. Too far to walk home for lunch, so I packed a lunch in my backpack, along with spare shoes if the weather was bad and I wore my hiking boots to work. My backpack came in handy once again for carrying notes and books for the evening classes I took, as well as my Irish flute. Not to mention groceries!
And since having children, my backpack has become even more vital. Because we don’t use a car when Phil’s at work we walk everywhere and that backpack now carries home the milk, eggs, library books, and miscellaneous items the children have picked up along the way.
I am lost without my backpack, it’s always with me wherever I go! It may not be as flashy as a handbag, but I always know just where everything is, and it’s comfortable to wear with the weight evenly distributed across my back.
I’ve very discriminating when I choose a backpack. It takes me a long time to find one that is ‘just right’ for me. It must have lots of pockets, compartments, and zippers. I like to know where everything is at all times. If one of the children falls, I have to be able to grab my first aid kit immediately. If the opportunity for a photo comes up, I need to be able to find my camera.
On my last big backpack-hunting expedition last autumn, I searched far and wide across 4 towns and over the course of a month. My final purchase was the Woman’s Questa 27 Rucksack from Cotswold Outdoors. It has room for everything I need to carry, and sometimes even a little more left over!
A year later, and it’s just as good as it was when I wore it out of the shop. It has everything I need, and there’s even a safe place for my tablet to live. The only thing missing is waterproofing (to combat that issue, I purchased a rain-cover for it).
Do you rock the backpack look too? Or are you more traditional and trendy with handbags? Now tell me – what is your favourite ‘bag’ and why? Let’s chat in the comments below.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by Cotswold Outdoor, but the the views are all mine.
Carolyn Wilhelm says
I should start doing this also. I have seen some women wear these in front not in the back which I am not sure I would be comfortable doing. But this is very practical and it would be better for my back. Thanks for the encouragement.
HeliMom says
Love backpacks. Anything hands free has my vote!
Kirstenjill Hudkins Robbins says
Fashionable – HA! I use a backpack, too.
Crystal McClean says
Comfort over fashion, my type of gal!
anne @ Learningtable says
Mommy always ends up carrying everything for everyone! My purse gets SO heavy and hard to manage once my boys start piling in their water bottles, kindles, and odd rocks and cars. I need to graduate to a backpack–soon!
Crystal McClean says
And that’s before even leaving the house and stopping at the shop 🙂
I do like it when the kids take their backpacks with them, and then they can carry the smaller books, crayons, etc. It makes life easier for me!
Crystal McClean says
It’s funny how perspectives change one kids come into the picture!
A selection would be fantastic! I cleared out my closet last year and now I’m down to only 1 backpack…but missing having one for everyday and one for nature walks.
Crystal McClean says
A small handbag fits nicely into a backpack, too, when needed!
What’s the most interesting place you’ve been to?
Crystal McClean says
I forgot all about purse backpacks! I’ve had two after seeing one a friend of mine used….but they wouldn’t be big enough now with full-sized workbooks to fit in. But once the kids move up to larger backpacks that fit their workbooks, perhaps I’ll down-size!
Happy backpacking!