Your Backpack Got Worse on Purpose

Article

• Argues private equity rollup of backpack brands (JanSport, etc.) drove quality decline
• Shows cost-per-year math favors expensive durable bags over cheap replaceable ones
• Traces how warranty promises erode post-acquisition

Discussion

• Commenter’s 1998 North Face backpack still in use by their college-age kid
• YKK zippers flagged as a quality signal; if absent, assume corners cut everywhere
• One commenter accused the article of being LLM-generated and signed by a human
• Peak Design honored a lifetime warranty swap 4 years in; seen as rare positive example

Discuss on HN