Herschel Classic Backpack - Review 2023

Overview

The Herschel Classic Backpack XL is designed for everyday use, whether you’re commuting to school or the office. With padded shoulder straps, it is quite comfortable to carry and walk with. This backpack is one of Herschel’s original daily backpacks. It comes with the brand’s signature striped liner, a classy look for everyday use.

This bag has two pockets for your essentials— the main compartment and the small one in front. On the sides, you will find water bottle pockets. The main compartment has a laptop sleeve that you can use for a 15” laptop or tablet. It can also accommodate a few books and other daily necessities. In the front pocket, you can store small valuables, such as a wallet and keys.

These compartments will suffice if you’re not very particular about keeping your things neat and organized. However, you might need to look for a different bag if you need multiple internal and external pockets for organizing your stuff.

Let’s dive in to know more about what the Herschel Classic Backpack XL offers!

Comfort

This Herschel backpack is relatively comfortable to carry. It is a great companion for commuting to and from work, especially if you hop from one train to the next. The straps have enough padding, and the bag itself is not too bulky. On the contrary, the back area has no padding.

Functionality

We appreciate the small compartment in front. It makes reaching for your ID, wallet, keys, and other essentials easy. The flap that covers the zipper of the front pocket is a bit tight so it can make reaching for the pocket a little difficult.

The Herschel Classic Backpack XL’s main compartment is good enough for a few notebooks, books, a tablet or laptop, and other daily necessities at school or the office. Considering these factors, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this bag fulfills its purpose as an everyday backpack.

If you like staying organized, you might not like this bag. Other than a small front pocket and water bottle pockets, it only has one huge compartment with a laptop sleeve. All your items can mix up in this compartment if you don’t have small organization cubes to keep things separate and organized. Alternatively, you may want to check other daily backpacks with multiple compartments, such as the Adidas Stadium Backpack or The North Face Jester Backpack.

It’s a good thing that this Herschel backpack has drinking bottle pockets, but they’re not of the best material. They’re not made of mesh, so they don’t stretch to accommodate drinkware of all sizes. If you have a Nalgene 32oz Wide Mouth Tritan Water Bottle, don’t expect it to fit in the side pocket.

Style

Design or style may not matter for all consumers, but it’s a welcome bonus that the Herschel Classic Backpack XL is available in different classic colors. They’re simple but not dull. Since plenty of choices are available, you can choose one that best fits your fashion sense.

The material is of excellent quality, but it’s not pleasant to touch. It’s way too stiff, and the bag can’t hold itself when it’s not full.

Durability

The main issue with this bag are the zippers. For a bag of this price, you’d expect zippers that hold up for a long time. However, these zippers easily come off, especially if you always overpack. The same goes if you carelessly zip and unzip your bag.

Additionally, the Herschel Classic Backpack XL’s zippers can get stuck. They don’t have the smoothest mechanism, so they tend to get caught if you don’t pay extra attention when opening and closing the pockets.

Maintenance

If you’re using this backpack every day, especially for your commute, prepare for the worst. It gets dirty pretty quickly, so you might need to clean it frequently.

Conclusion

This iconic Herschel bag is ideal for daily use, especially if you don’t mind having to clean it regularly to keep it in excellent condition. It works best for those who need a spacious yet lightweight backpack without a lot of extra pockets for organization.

Since the Herschel Classic Backpack XL has relatively stiff and fragile zippers, you need to be careful opening and closing the only two pockets it has. The main pocket features a laptop sleeve so you can bring your 15” laptop or a smaller tablet. It can also accommodate a few thin books, notebooks, and other essentials for work or school. For quick-access items, you have the front pocket.

Admittedly, this daily backpack is quite pricey considering the things it’s lacking. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty decent option for everyday use if you’re after Herschel’s signature style and quality.