Wednesday 16 August 2017

YUUschool Ergonomically Designed Backpack Review.Age 8-12

YUU are a Dragons Den backed company founded in 2010 by two Mums who saw their children carrying heavy backpacks and realised that it wasn't good for their growing spine and that a reported 1/3 of children suffer neck and back pain as a result (see bottom of post for the Science).


The YUUbag has been a huge success and this Summer they have added the YUUschool - a school version of the backpack for children aged around 8-12 (or over 120cm tall). It's ergonomically designed for maximum comfort and support for your child's spine, including tons of deep pockets and compartments to stop bag contents moving about and causing weight to be unevenly distributed around the bag.


Our almost 9 year old has been sent a YUUschool backpack to review (and YUU have also offered one as a giveaway prize for one of my readers). He was genuinely very happy with what he saw when he removed it from the packaging and couldn't wait to get a good look at it.


They might not be able to help reduce the amount of stuff your child has to carry, but YUU backpacks will help position it well and reduce the strain on your child's body, as well as being pretty darn cool and having loads of pockets and pouches to store everything securely.


My son counted 6 zip close areas on his bag, the first of which opens the front stationery pocket. This has space for pens and it's own internal zip up pocket, as well as a keyring which unclips with one hand when you want to use your keys.


The second zip opens a small pocket on the front top of the bag, the 3rd a handy side pocket and the 4th is a huge thick based pocket covering the bottom of your bag, ideal for gym shoes. The 5th is the actual main body of the bag itself, which is full of clever touches.


There's a padded laptop/tablet pouch at the back, then an A4 book pocket and a removable mesh zipped bag. It all feels incredibly secure and safe. There's a final inside zipped pocket tucked inside the main front opening, which opens right out for you to get your things easily.


Impressively this bag is perfectly sized for an A4 ringbinder or folder - several in fact. I cannot tell you the number of times I've handed over money for a schoolbag and a teenager has then discovered it doesn't even fit their work in it without a struggle - beware because it is really common.

There's also a mesh pocket on the side for a water bottle - ideal OUTSIDE in case of spills - as is the reflective tape which is amply distributed on all sides, yet doesn't detract from the really nice look of the bag, The material is wipe clean and should easily survive a bit of Manchester rain...


If that wasn't enough, on the back the YUUschool has the last zipped outside pocket no.6 - which no-one can get into while you are wearing the bag. There is also genuine thick padding which is shaped to sit nicely and comfortably against your child's back without adding any pressure. It's incredibly lightweight and really lush. This is not going to jab into anyone's back.


The straps themselves are thick, wide, padded and really nicely shaped. My son was delighted with his bag. It may be a school bag, but we'll be taking it to Just So Festival this weekend to test it out when it's actually full of stuff...



The straps clip together at the chest, meaning that the bag is worn correctly, distributing weight evenly evenly and symmetrically over the child’s body. It is securely attached to your child and it won't do that embarrassing over-the-head thing when you forget and bend over.


1/3 of children report neck or back pain from heavy bags - my own teenagers have all suffered at points. YUUSchool Backpacks are available to buy now priced £40.00. That is more than I would have previously thought to spend on a bag for a 9 year old, but actually I feel it represents really good value and you can see where your money has gone - it could even save you money.

As well as being better for your child's spine and posture, YUUschool has features which make it less likely to be dropped or stolen, or stolen from, at least while it's being worn. It is strong enough that it could last even a boisterous schoolchild 2 or 3 years - you could easily get through 4 or 5 cheaper bags in that time. That big base pocket protects the real bottom of the bag from shredding when they throw it across the floor, as well as being a place for stinky trainers. YUUschool could save you money, time and frustration ....


You can order the YUUSchool Backpack on the YUUworldHQ website (rrp £40), where you can also find lots more information about back care, including a 10-step backing better backs checklist. Regularly there are also Bundle Offers on the website. 



The Science:
Research carried out by the British Chiropractic Association found a third of parents reported that their child has suffered from some form of back or neck pain in the past.  UK Studies have shown that up to 4 million children are walking with school bags that are too heavy for them and could potentially be harming their spines. Experts believe a child should be able to carry up to 10% of their own bodyweight without causing any damage, but a survey by charity BackCare UK highlighted that this is often exceeded, with 11-12 year olds being the highest risk group found to be carrying on average 13% of their body weight and up to 60% in a few cases.
 

90 comments:

  1. I had many different bags. A canvas tote from The Body Shop, a Benetton bag or just a plain rucksack. I used to hate carrying heavy books or drinks which would often end up leaking everywhere.

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  2. Mine was black and white. I can't really remember what I had in it!

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  3. These bags look great, and it's really important to protect their backs as they're growing up

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  4. My school bag was one that i would carry by hand and i hated carrying all the revision books as they weighed a ton

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  5. My school bag was a brown leather satchel, always wanted a briefcase or rucksack, and hated having to carry ink bottles, after managing to spill some inside. Am I showing my age?

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  6. I had a plain blue bag as a child and I hated having to carry my PE kit as it was so heavy x

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  7. Had to have a briefcase in my day, but I only had a cheap imitation of one anyway. I guess Food & Nutrition was the worst, carrying all the ingredients and then the finished product home afterwards. In those days we all walked to school, not many mothers had cars.

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  8. i had like a laptop shoulder bag which was black- a real pain to carry x

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  9. I had a really fashionable gingham sweater shop back pack, it was really trendy at the time

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  10. I had a satchel for my first 2 years, then got backpack style bags each year. I hated when I had too many heavy books to carry!

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  11. I had a case at primary, we weren't allowed bags as they said it damaged the books and in Secondary I was in boarding school so carried my book under my arm for the classes we had.

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  12. I had a Manchester United bag at one point and then school satchels as they became compulsory
    Didn't mind either as all my friend's had the same

    My nephew would love this bag!

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  13. How big of a laptop will fit in there? I am thinking this might make a great travel bag for my homeschool kiddos to carry their own laptops while we travel!

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    Replies
    1. Hiya T - I've just measured and my old Dell fits pretty snugly at 35cm x 25cm x 3cm - obviously a slightly fatter with smaller width laptop will also fit. Let me know if you'd like anything further :)

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  14. I had a satchel, it was black and pink, it was heavy to carry!

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  15. I hated having to carry all my textbooks they were just so heavy! I had a satchel type school bag until the Velcro one strap at the front came out! Can anyone remember those?

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  16. I had a backpack and hated that I had to fill it with textbooks! so heavy!!

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  17. What was your school bag like, and what did you hate having to carry in it?
    . . . . oh it was a long time ago, so l had the old fashioned satchel to carry my homework and PE kit etc

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  18. I had a sports bag, which I had to put over my shoulder like a satchel - hated carrying my heavy textbooks in it :/ Gave me a sore shoulder quite often!

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  19. I had a denim draw-string bag & I hated carrying my smelly PE kit in it!

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  20. i loved mine it was a plastic basket style bag in the 80s x

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  21. I had a pink bag with Head written on it and I used to hate carrying my PE kit in it.

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  22. I had a shoulder bag which has done nothing for my posture, carrying heavy text books in it!

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  23. My school bag was kaki. I didn't like carrying heavy books.

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  24. Over the years I had various bags, I remember the basket bag faze and then the posh carrier bag faze!! Sheesh seriously did I really carry everything in a carrier bag?? Worst thing was the heavy text books, I'm guessing that will be less so for our kids generation with things like the internet etc! (computers were novelty in my age at school!! lol)

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  25. Better than I was lumbered with we had to carry brief cases

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  26. This looks great, I hate seeing my kids weighed down with all their school equipment, and theres never enough room for the larger things without them making it uncomfortable for them...

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  27. I can remember carrying around a blue Benetton bag with yellow spots we didn't have lockers at our school so we had to carry everything around with us all day

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  28. I had a leather satchel and loved it.

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  29. Funny, I can't remember my school bag at all. I only remember covering exercise books with wallpaper and being instructed by my English teacher to write on the front of each one: Procrastination is the Thief of Time.

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  30. I remember it being plain and hated carrying all the heavy books

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  31. I had a canvas rucksack i bourght from an army and navy store and i used to get my friends to write their names all over it.I had the usual heavy books to carry around.

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  32. i just had a blue and white backpack with a velcro type fastening at the front, which always came open when i put more than 2 books in it!!

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  33. Most of the time I had a rucksack, hated carry all the books that I had to have for A-level history.

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  34. I had a black umbro rucksack. I hated the amount of books we had to carry round, It was so heavy.

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  35. I used to have a Brown sachel that used to be a pain as you had to keep undoing the strap fasteners

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  36. I used to have a satchel - everything used to fall out of it if it flipped over.

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  37. I had a pink plastic case and stuck lots of pretty stickers on it!

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  38. christine shelley3 September 2017 at 17:58

    I had a traditional school bag and (I hated Physics homework

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  39. I had a giant Tigger backpack and I hated carrying my PE Kit and smelly trainers - and doing PE!

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  40. I had a normal satchel, the Quick ink bottle was a pain

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  41. Think I had a jelly bag lol

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  42. I had this awful c heap black satchel, i hated putting anything in it because the strap always come undone!

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  43. Mine was pink and black and I loved it

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  44. I remember having a green satchel with some characters on it. It was a novelty at first but hated carrying it by the end of term

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  45. At one point I had some bag from the army surplus store, it was cool then! I hated all the books I needed at secondary school, weighed so much.

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  46. I had so many different kinds from rucksacks to adidas holdalls to a string draw bag made by mum out of old curtains (my fave) - I hated carrying those huge ring-binder folders the most.

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  47. I had a red adidas sports bag for days when I had to carry sports kit, and it was too big to use on normal days, but I can't remember what bag I used on other days. The item I hated carrying was a really massive blue Physics text book.

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  48. i remember having one of those see through blue inflatable bags they were definitely never suitable for school lol i used to hate carrying around my pe kit there was always loads

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  49. My backpack for school was bright pink i loved it although i hated carrying all my books in it.

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  50. I had a Nike backpack which I really nagged my mum for, I hated carrying my pe kit as I wasn't a big fan of pe.

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  51. I had a kickers bag which went across my body, so it was agony on the days when I had loads of books - even worse on a day when I had violin lessons or PE too :(

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  52. the school bag i remember is back in the day when the inflatable backpacks were all the rage! haha mine was lime green!

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  53. A brown satchel (back in the day you could only buy brown ones). I enjoyed school so i was happy to carry everything i needed.

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  54. Pink and white sports bag and hated having to carry heavy textbooks

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  55. l had a black satchel and to carry all my subject books in it

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  56. A black record bag, it wasn't very strong!

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  57. I had a satchel and a pump bag. I never liked the smell of the pump bag after swimming.

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  58. I had different bags, a new one every year, I put my school stuff in it, and I hid my fags in it too

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  59. I carry everything in my backpack, it snapped on my back. it was horrible.

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  60. i had a series of cheap bags that always broke - I hated carrying homework in them

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  61. i had a plastic basket from the 80s bright pink

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  62. I loved my back pack and the worse thing to carry in it was my Pe kit it took up so much room

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  63. I had a basic school satchel. It was never big enough to carry all my maths and science books and my artwork definitely would fit in.I used to sneak home at lunchtime after eating a school dinner to collect my afternoon books

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  64. I had a satchel which carried to much homework

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  65. Mine was a plastic one that was the fashion at the time - I had to have a carrier bag inside to stop everything falling out

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  66. A brown leather satchel so proud to get when I went To Grammar School but came to hate it as it was very heavy and made me unstable on my bike. As I got older there was never enough room in it :(

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  67. i a big brown satchel and i never liked carrying my swim kit i loved to swim but not when i was at school

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  68. at primary me and my sister had matching Barbara papa bags and my little pony lunchboxes

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  69. I had a satchel. I hated carrying my homework in it as it meant it was going to cut into my play time

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  70. I didn't like school bags only had one for pe x

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  71. I remember having a mini inflatable backpack in the 90's !! Could fit much in it though lol

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  72. My school bag was an across the body handbag! Far too small to keep anything in really, but I was all about the style!

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  73. I had a satchel - it was de rigueur to carry it on one shoulder and it was heavy

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  74. My parents made me have a briefcase, I hated it x

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  75. I had quite a few different bags over the years but mainly carried messenger bags. I used to hate having to take my P.E. kit as well as my books was so heavy and just ended up having to pull stuff out everywhere!

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  76. I had a black Umbro backpack and hated having to carry my football boots & kit for Hockey. It used to weigh my bag down and would get loads of dirt in my bag.

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  77. I had a backpack but only carried it on one shoulder

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  78. I had a satchel and I really liked it x

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  79. I had a lage sports bag. I had to carry folders, pe kit and a clarinet in it! it weighed a ton and I'm sure has contributed to back problems!

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  80. Mine was a leather satchel very heavy but quite fashionable now

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  81. Mine was like a satchel , I hated carrying lunch , something always seems to like

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  82. Had a variety of school bags over the years, can recall having a satchel. Hated having to carry many books back and forth to school whilst in secondary school ( variety of subjects. Wish we had been provided with lockers at school where we could have stored books.

    Rachel Craig

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  83. I had a handbag (it was and still is deemed normal) I hated carrying all my English books in it

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  84. I had a Man UTD bag the same as my best friends. I hated carrying my P.E kit and trainers around x

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