Extract from Daily Mail Consumer Test
24th September 2002

Back pain in children is on the increase.  A lot of the problem is that they carry heavy, badly designed bags over one shoulder. A backpack distributes the load more evenly. TANIA ALEXANDER and her two children put backpacks to the test.

Active BackCare School Bag - £16.50.....................9/10

This bag was specially designed for BackCare as a safer way for kids to carry books to school. This size is for children in Years 3-6, but there's also a larger version (£22) for older children.

The back of the bag is well-padded and shaped to distribute the weight evenly between the buttocks and the shoulders.

The reflective strips are useful on dark nights and it has side pockets for water bottles, etc.

As a parent I liked the fact that it's specifically designed to safeguard my child's back. My eight-year-old liked it, but my ten-year-old son thought it looked boring.