<p>My two Ss walk almost four blocks to and from their bus stop everyday, carrying a backpack that weighs a ton. My poor seventh grader is starting to get a hunchback.</p>
<p>Once they get to school, they walk up a flight of stairs to get to their respective homerooms.</p>
<p>I want to get them backpacks with wheels that are also light enough to carry up and down the bus and the school stairs. </p>
<p>Any ideas?</p>
<p>You’ve touched on one of my pet peeves, curiousmother!</p>
<p>Try the eBags website-- they have backpacks listed by category (including wheeled ones) and provide detailed descriptions, including weight. Unfortunately, the only super-light ones I’ve found were for little kids. Those wheels seem to come at a price weight-wise, so it’s sort of a trade-off.</p>
<p>My nine-year-old wanted a regular backpack this year, but the other day could barely get it over her shoulders before heading down the steep bus steps. For the heck of it, I put it on the scale, and it was 16 lbs. She weighs less than 55, and this is too much for her. Back to a wheeled version, I guess, though getting up and down the steps is still rough.</p>
<p>Also had an incident a few years ago where our very slender S1 couldn’t balance the weight of his backpack, fell backwards and hit his head on the road. The school nurse weighed his backpack in at 38 lbs. It’s just not good for them.</p>
<p>I will not go into the boring details of calls to the pediatrician, school district, teachers, etc. We ended up buying used textbooks on the internet to keep the often-used copies at home. The binders and notebooks still add up, but it helps.</p>
<p>Eagle Creek. But it costs a bleeping fortune. OTOH, we’ve had one for four years now and it still looks brand new, despite heavy usage (although not as intense as a school one would get).</p>
<p>I agree with keeping a second copy of the text book at home if you can get a copy. I know when my kids were in grade school, some of their books weighed a ton. Both my kids went with spirals in high school and a three prong binder for hand outs; this kept the backpack a bit lighter.</p>
<p>My kids both nixed the idea of backpacks with wheels by middle school. “It’s just not done”, they told me. They’re apparently just for “little kids”. Of course, they both had book loads capable of breaking anyone’s back, and school overcrowding precluded getting lockers. But even if they had wanted rolling backpacks, the crowded hallways between class changes would have made trailing a backpack behind them an absolute impossibility.</p>
<p>Without lockers, duplicate textbooks wouldn’t have helped out at all. In anycase, we couldn’t have afforded duplicate textbooks.:(</p>
<p>I requested and received a 2nd set from the school thru middle school. I don’t recall if I needed a note from M.D. The assigned locker was so far away from classes that no way could he get there. It was also annoying that teachers took off grade points if the student did not have book with him, even if not using it. History teacher also wanted kids to carry a 3" binder daily to store papers neatly. Naturally, his papers were always crumbled, as he kept binder at home.</p>
<p>Well, there is an end in sight.</p>
<p>Well…we got a doctor’s note for DD who weighed about 90 pounds in 7th grade. The note said she could only carry 12 pounds in her backpack. We were given most of her texts to have at home all the way through high school (she is very small). </p>
<p>You need to check your school. Ours does not permit the use of wheeled backpacks. First, they are quite dangerous in the crowded hallways, and second they do not fit in the lockers.</p>
<p>Check out the ZUCA website. NEAT idea, well built and has inline skate wheels that light when they move. You select the color of the frame and the fabric. Expensive, but far less than the x-rays and PT we were headed for with very heavy backpacks. It also doubles as a seat which comes in handy now and then when waiting for rides/the bus etc. No one has given our 14 year old son any grief about using the ZUCA, and his back felt better the first week. <a href=“http://www.zuca.com%5B/url%5D”>www.zuca.com</a></p>
<p>I just looked at the zuca site…does anyone else have any experience with this product? Have you ordered it on line or at a shop? I need something to cart teaching materials on public transportation into and through NYC. I have never seen one of these. Are kids allowed to use them in school? Thanks. Lorelei</p>
<p>All of a sudden I see a ton of Zuca bags on my son’s middle school campus (private). They look a little strange but seem very popular this year.</p>
<p>We searched on line for “wheeled backpack” for hours before finding the Zuca. We’ve never seen one before, and our son is the only one at school who uses one. It will not fit in his locker, but it almost replaces a locker. There is no trouble at his school about using it. The lighted wheels draw a bit of attention to it, but mostly that is positive. I believe Nordstrom may sell a limited selection in the Ladies athletic department and some figure skating pro shops may sell them too. </p>
<p>We had 100% positive experience with the on line order. He’s used it over one year now and it’s still holding up great. So is his back! He has it loaded with very heavy books which might snap the handle on another product.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the advice. My sons are not too excited about getting a backpack with wheels, but I think it’s a must! The Zuca sounds cool, but I don’t think they would ever go for the lighted wheels!</p>
<p>We bought a wheeled backpack for our daughter. She refused to use it.</p>
<p>A wheeled backpack beyond grade school is considered an invitation for teasing in these parts. I had the same reservations about my tiny 6th grader carrying a backpack that weighed more than he did. I ended up buying used books online … type in the ISBN from the book (there are numerous great used book sites). S is in 10th grade now & I still buy extra copies of his textbooks. I have been able to purchase them for very little money. The best part is, I can usually resell them (online) for more than I paid!!</p>
<p>I tried a wheeled backpack in 6th or 7th grade. Ended up going back to my regular one because the wheeled pack wouldn’t fit into my locker. We couldn’t carry our backpacks with us during the day anyway so it had to fit:)</p>
<p>Try doing a search for Core Products AirPack. I’ve seen it online somewhere on a medical-related site but you might be able to find it elsewhere as well. Apparently was developed by orthopedic specialists…</p>