Good Backpacks for Commuting?

[Geonz]

I got an L.L. Bean backpack ... prob'ly 20 years ago. WOrks peachily. Plastic grocery sacks aroiund my books if it's going to rain on me (which it basicallyh never does, but that's another story ) and I"m good to go.
(That is, of course, if I have to ride my Trek or Gazelle... normally I'm on the Xtracycle and big stuff goes in the saddlebags and I wear a camelbak for the lights on it.)

[solorider]

I agree with the improved comfort of panniers- I have a fairly easy 4 mile (one way) commute, and used a back pack all last year. The weight didn't bother me so much, but the sweaty back syndrome got old quick-
I purchased a blackburn trail rack from my local LBS http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...cat%3A%20Racks
I'm not sure of total weight limit, but I carry between 20-40 punds regularly and haven't had a problem. I also have Jandd panniers that fold up to stay out of the way when I don't need them and cthey ome off easily for my non commute rides,
http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FGBP
and now I commute almost every day- rather than making the excuses for why I HAD to drive to work last year...I do hit my heels if I don't push the panniers all the way back on the bike (size 9/42 shoe), but it's not a problem as I just graze them- not knock them off.

I find the ride WAY more enjoyable with the rack and panniers, but for an economical approach, the cost of a back pack is going to be much less- overall. If you start off with a pack, and then add the rack and panniers later (like I did) you can fit the pack into one of the panniers and have a more comfortable ride sometime in the future

[Voodoo Sally]

If anyone is still interested in wearing a backpack, I prefer one. I just didn't want panniers, and the messenger bag got too small. The backpack I use now is the Pearl Izumi Velocipak. It's nice & big, but compresses pretty small for when you don't carry much. It comes with an attached (hidden) rain cover, and a removable padded "pod" for your laptop.

[wildstreaktn]

Hi Everyone,
I start school tomorrow and I decided to go with a backpack for now..I got an L.L.Bean,Turbo Transit,since it has the seperate shoe storage area and tons of room.I weighed it with my heaviest books and it's gonna be between 25-30 lbs. The whole time I am riding,i will be dreaming of how much faster i will be without it and 12 miles each way will let me vary my workouts.i.e.,intervals,spinning,pushing hard gears,etc.Thanks again for all your great suggestions.I wrote several down for future reference!!!

[Geonz]

Sounds cool (well, hot if it's hot) and incredibly functional. Happy riding!!!