Getting a Backpack for Your Rocker That Won't Break the Budget

If your child isn't of the "preppie," cheerleader, jock or wanna-be gangster demographic then, chances are, that your child might be a rocker of some breed. And with this comes, possibly, many trips to stores such as Hot Topic, Torrid and the like for all of their music inspired paraphernalia and especially band merchandise.

This can be seen in living color around the end of July and going until the first few days of September, when the checkbook takes a hit and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. If your child is one of the aforementioned rocker kids (punk, emo, goth, Juggalo, etc), you most likely will run up quite a bill around this time at stores like Hot Topic, picking up such things as rock band pee chee folders, band pencils, pens, tee shirts and one more school essential that often is the most expensive item in the shopping bag; a book bag or backpack of some sort.

Rockers of all sorts are an expressive bunch, advertising their allegiance to their scene or favorite group on everything from their shirts, school supplies, hoodies and hats all the way up to how they carry it all around. And if they're really devoted to a scene or especially a band, chances are, at one time or another, they've expressed interest in a band promoting back pack or messenger bag, which are manufactured by the same companies and distributors utilizing cheap labor and materials to make their goods, who distribute acts' obscenely overpriced tour merchandise.

It is with such an idea in mind that I furnish these words of wisdom, from one rocker to the parents of others; avoid the ready-made, pre-decorated book bags and messenger bags by all means. That is, unless of course, you want to be buying more than one of the crucial storage units in the course of a school year.

Stores like Hot Topic and Rockabilia.com stock and do fast sales of such items on the count of one thing; they advertise bands that have rabid fans, and they prey on the fact that rabid fans will buy anything that their said group slaps their name on. And yes, they do look cool; Insane Clown Posse, for example, authorized several designs of backpacks with several of their hatchet man logos and six joker cards and with extra space specifically designed for not only pens and pencils but also built in storage for CDs.

But all of these bells and whistles and really cool designs come at a price, in more ways than one. First of all, what you get in "cool factor" you sacrifice in storage space. And, if your kid is anything like me in high school, carrying around multiple thick textbooks, a binder, some kind of music system and other space huggers, you know this is a major drawback. Second of all, the music-friendly backpacks are significantly more expensive than a good sturdy Jansport or Eastpak. For instance, Jansport backpacks run anywhere from 25-35 dollars in the stores or through their website. On the other hand, a music backpack on Rockabilia.com or other place will run you anywhere from 45 to 60 dollars! No kidding.

But if you're paying so much more to send your rocker back to school in their favorite rocker style, you'd think that paying twice as much as a "plain" backpack would put you at an advantage, right? If you thought this, you are horribly mistaken. The biggest drawback, and possibly the worst, for opting for a music backpack is the quality in the long term. The materials the manufacturers use to make such packs are not even fraction as durable as the packs sold in stores such as JC Penney and Sears and which are meant for rugged everyday use.

In other words, what you're paying for is the fact that your son or daughter is a Juggalo and wants a pack that was made specifically for members of the "family." However, after a quarter or two of carrying around their reading books for English and textbooks from geometry, history, language and science, not to mention their binder, stuff to write with, some music, lunch and their gym clothes (you know, everything the common student needs for school on a daily basis), the pack will bust and be dead faster than most of the authors studied in Sophomore English. The result? You've fallen victim to the "cool factor."

However, I am not saying that there is no way for a rocker to have good quality and show their devotion to whoever their "family" is. As I said, Jansport or Eastpak backpacks or messenger bags can be picked up for no more than about 25-35 dollars, depending on the size you need. Jansport even has come out with a line of packs with cool designs like camouflage, leopard print, checkers, plaid, stripes and skull and crossbones amongst others. And to make it a music pack is an easy fix. All this takes is a trip back to Hot Topic or other music memorabilia outlets for a few favorite sew-on or iron-on patches. Most rock bands have patches, and they're not that pricey; about 4-5 dollars apiece. Save some money on a Jansport, sew on some patches from a few of your favorite bands and voila; you've got your very own rocker pack, it's going to last and, you made it your own because it shows devotion to more than one band. Because I mean, come on, you don't listen to just ICP all the time!

To wrap up, one of the worst moves to make in selecting a backpack for your rock-loving child is to settle for a pre-decorated one from one of many music memorabilia outlets, because it will cost so much more than anticipated in the long run. After all, as George Carlin so puts it in one of his famous comedy routines, everybody needs "a place for my stuff," and a self-decorated back pack or messenger bag by companies like Jansport or Eastpak is the most economical and smartest way to send your rocker back to school with their own flair.