School & College

Backpacks Luggage School & College The Journey Travel Gear

Choose Your Adventure and Your Backpack

Do you remember what it felt like to own your first backpack? We’ve all been there. It’s kind of like getting our first bike — we consider it an important rite of passage and it symbolizes the start of something new — a new school, a new opportunity, a new adventure.

Our backpacks are our companions throughout life, and through all these years (since 1967, in fact) one company has been responsible for pioneering the backpack.

Jansport, the celebrity of backpacks, takes pride in leading the pack (pun intended) for intrepid explorers and believes adventure is everything and everywhere. From climbing mountain peaks in Nepal to the simple daily commute to school or work, Jansport’s mission is to outfit you with the perfect pack for your journey.

Where will your Jansport take you? Here’re a few places our Jansport is taking us.

Made to Sustain

Have you been looking for an all-purpose, high activity backpack polished in all that’s urban and classic? Look no further. The Iron Sight Laptop Backpack ($69.90) allows you to take several of your interests with you and pack them all up into one single pack. Whether your squad has decided to climb Everest or you’ve decided to do a group yoga sesh in the park after work, go ahead, pack your mat and take all your gear with you anywhere you go!

Go On…Live Outside

Blaze your own trail with this supportive, lightweight pack. The Watchtower Laptop Backpack ($89.90) is ready for everyday excursions and is versatile enough for those unexpected destinations. We love it because it can easily carry your laptop, books, and school supplies OR keep you mobile and organized on a weekend getaway with 2-3 nights of clothes, supplies, and tech gadgets.

The heat insulation pocket help kept my food warm during my hike up the mountains and exploration of shorelines

Committed to the Journey

A pack totally committed to satisfying your outdoor cravings and designed to meet your needs on the daily. Biking to work? Perfect. Studying on campus? Beautiful. This daypack has a padded sleeve for your 15-inch laptop or you could use it as a hydration system when trekking tough terrain. The Hatchet Backpack ($59.90) is practical and functional yet 100 percent dapper and durable.

Tolerance for Adversity

When you’re tired of carrying the weight on your shoulders, don’t sweat it – Jansport has your back…or at least, has sympathy for your back. The Driver Rolling Backpack ($109.90) has handles and wheels so you can give your back a rest when needed. Plus, you can’t argue with a fashionable hybrid pack, and this pack screams fashion. jansport wheeled

I bought this bag 5 years ago for business travel. I am a platinum level flyer every year so this bag has seen hundreds of thousands of miles and unbelievably, it looks as good today as it did new.

Everyone’s Best Friend

I would introduce you, but surely the two of you have already met. The ultimate classic pack, also known as the Big Student Backpack ($45.90), (even though we think it should be called the Not Just For Students Backpack*) is versatile enough to accompany you anywhere you wish to unleash! Take it with you to Hangout Fest this weekend, bring it to the park, or adventure off to the movies and take your pal with you.

05/19/2016 1 comment

Business Travel Connected Travel School & College The Journey Travel Gear

Introducing the Next-Level RFID Laptop Briefcase

written by Kaylin Meyer

Meet MANCINI.

MANCINI is a Canadian-based fashion brand leader in the leather goods department. Seriously, when it comes to leather, MANCINI knows what’s up. They invest heavily in the material used to make their jaw-dropping product lines, which has been enriched with a wealth of inspiration from the finest quality leathers sourced from around the world.

The brand is classic in many ways, but ultimately modern and progressive when it comes to bringing rich leather and savvy technology to the market. Function and practicality are generally a traveler’s main area of focus, but MANCINI knows that style laced with safety – especially in today’s world – is just as important. From luggage to business cases, wallets and bags – all MANCINI products are made with extreme delicacy and kissed with love.

What it is: RFID Laptop Briefcase

Why you need it: It may sound crazy, but your MANCINI leather accessory will more than likely outlive you. When mankind is extinct, MANCINI leather goods will still be looking amazing and doing their jobs. Talk about quality! Our opinion: any leather good with a lifelong lifespan is a travel bag must-have.

Okay, enough about the leather. This highly stylish laptop bag is more than just a rich leather bag – it’s your high tech watchdog. Do you know what RFID is? Let’s talk about it.

mancini

How it works: RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification Data. It’s a blocking technology that serves the same purpose as the strip on the back of your credit card – to keep your personal information safe. When globetrotting, you never know what kind of people you may come across. With all of the advanced technology these days, street thieves are able to pick-your-pocket electronically, which means they can steal credit card numbers or your passport information even from several feet away. This is now being called “RFID skimming” and this is where your new MANCINI bag comes in…to out-smart the skimmers.

Enough said. Get it: $214.99 at eBags.com

05/11/2016 0 comment

Expert Advice Inspiration Luggage School & College The Journey Travel Gear Travel Tips

How to Convince Your Parents You Should Take a Gap Year

written by Kaylin Meyer

Congrats! You’ve graduated….now what?

Deciding whether or not to take a year off instead of going straight into a job seems to be the question of the hour for recent grads. Following graduation, the journey a grad embarks on will serve as the roadmap for how their future life will unfold, so it’s critical to make the journey one that will have lasting life benefits.

No, we aren’t going to tell your grad to go straight into the workforce or continue getting their education. In fact, we are going to make the argument to do exactly the opposite: take a gap year to travel and explore the world, but do it in a way that sets you up for future success.

“Gap year,” or taking a year to travel, should never be used as an excuse to take time off and “find yourself”. Rather, it can be a beneficial opportunity to gain work and life experiences in a global setting. That’s the beauty of travel: grads can accomplish the same things abroad that they would at home (i.e. an internship, further studies, volunteerism or working an entry level job), but what’s better, they will be broadening their horizons and learning more by doing them on a global scale. Plus, traveling is one of the best things that one can do for their health.

Gap years should not be viewed as a year off but rather a year on.

Start with the End in Mind

Need not forget, the purpose of this journey is to learn more, see more of the world AND get prepared professionally and emotionally to take on further educational challenges and/or get a job. It’s important to factor in potential areas of interest, career-wise, before making an official decision.

Ask yourself: What are my goals in life?

If you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, that’s okay. When planning your gap year, consider the things you’re passionate about. For example, if you want to be a vet, you should try to do something that will lend you some experience with animals. Or have you been considering becoming a doctor? Try a program like Doctors Without Borders to see if it’s something you’d really be interested in pursuing.

Other areas of interest:
– Education
– Conservation
– Social Work
– Journalism
– Business grad 3

Prepare for the Unexpected

Traveling alone to an unfamiliar place can be scary! You never know what might happen, and as Murphy’s Law shall have it, what can happen will happen. Stay safe and cover all the bases with travelers insurance. We use World Nomads Travel Insurance. It’s super easy to use and is designed to cover everything an independent traveler might need while on-the-go.

Pack like a Pro

Choosing the right luggage and gear could make or break the journey. Generally speaking, packing lite is always recommended, even if you are going to be gone for six months or more. Remember, people do live in these far-off places, and they sell goods and services. It is usually easy to buy clothes, supplies, and services, and in many places, they will be cheaper than at home!

If you plan on trekking by foot the majority of the time, you’re not going to want to have to wheel around a suitcase. Besides, a well-designed, comfortable pack will be easy to manage and in some cases, will allow you to pack more items than a typical suitcase could! We recommend the Mother Lode TLS Convertible. For other packing tips on must-haves for the grad on the go, check out the Top 5 Gifts Your Grad Needs Before They Set Sail.

Gap Year

Don’t Get Stuck

Travel can be addicting. And some people develop careers that keep them overseas or jet-setting all over the world. Grads who set this intention early on and start planning to achieve it will have a far better chance of succeeding with this career path. But there are also grads that get stuck abroad and don’t come back. Not because they’ve built a life and career for themselves elsewhere, but because the “real world” is no longer exciting, interesting, and may even be a bit scary.

Grads who get stuck abroad and don’t complete their education or take advantage of the opportunities that are waiting at home post-graduation can waste precious time building the life they want to live. Use the time abroad to awaken the love for learning and open your eyes to worldly experiences.

If you are supporting a grad who is trying to make these tough life decisions, please share your thoughts and don’t forget to visit the eBags Graduation Gift Shopping Guide and sale this week!

Need a few more reasons to help convince your parents you should take a gap year? Here are 8 reasons why traveling is good for your health!

05/11/2016 1 comment