The Best Kids’ Backpacks for the 2026 School Year

When my son found out that my daughter was going to get her own tester State backpack to match her State carry-on suitcase, he immediately demanded his own. State is known for its fantastical matching patterns that extend from luggage and backpacks to lunch bags ($48). Its products are pricey, but the kid bags are not worse in quality or fewer in features than the adult bags, which I appreciate. It makes sense, considering kids are often harder on their bags than adults are on theirs.

The Kane kids backpacks come in several sizes. Now that my kids are 8 and 10 years old, they each have the largest double-pocket backpack, which has two separate compartments so that they can separate their dirty clothes or muddy shoes from delicate electronics. Its 23.6-liter capacity can fit up to a 15-inch laptop and is more than capacious enough for a Chromebook, sweatshirt, Omie lunch box, and mini Nalgene water bottle. In fact, these items don’t even use all of the space; my kids probably could’ve stuck with the medium-sized backpack for a little while longer.

On a weekend trip, my son stuffed several big books, a Nintendo Switch, and a full fleece blanket into his. There are also two water bottle pockets, a luggage pass-through so you can attach it to the adjustable handle of a matching carry-on, and a hidden AirTag pocket, so you can keep an eye on them in the airport.