Back-to-School Gear

Outfit your little ones, tweens, and teens with the latest and greatest must-have supplies for fall, all vetted by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI):

Versatile Lunch Sack


Elementary school tikes and older children alike with love the Classmate Small Haul Deluxe Lunch Sack from Lands' End ($14.50). This rectangular soft-sided lunch box has a reflective strip, a pouch to stash a water bottle, and comes in chili pepper red, soft lupine blue, classic navy blue, dark sapphire, vintage olive green, and rich red.


Puddle Jumpers


With the glory of autumn also comes unpredictable fall weather. Keep your little one's feet warm and dry with L.L. Bean's stylish Puddle Stompers ($29). With its non-skid sole, natural rubber exterior, pull-on handles, and knit jersey fabric lining, this boot is built with comfort and durability in mind. Plus it comes in plenty of fun colors and patterns from royal blue to wild rose and ivy dot to lobster print.


Sleek Sneakers


Outfit your kids with our favorite sneaks: the Brooks Defyance ($60) for boys and Saucony Cohesion GT ($40) for girls. The Brooks pair proved easy to clean and were a hit with our young testers. The Saucon shoes are a great value with stain resistance and a flexible design for active youngsters.

Related: Is Your Child Carrying the Right Backpack?

New Style


The trendy Girlfriend Bootcut girls' jeans at Old Navy ($19.50) are more than fashionable; they're superbly sturdy and will still look great after lots of laundering. Both girls' and boys' polos ($9.50 to $12.50) are terrific values, but for different reasons. The durable, colorfast knit of the boy's shirt doesn't shrink much, but the cut is small. The girl's shirt has loads of reinforced stitching (a sign of quality), but the fabric shrank a bit in our wash test.

Best Backpacks


We tested 48 models and two rose to the top of the heap: The North Face Hot Shot ($89) and Fül's Heart Breaker ($40). Both held up well to our barrage of tests. The Hot Shot is great for older kids with its smartly designed compartments, and the Heart Breaker is sure to please little ones with its comfortable padded straps.


Wheeled Deal


Save your little one's shoulders and back from the stress of a heavy backpack with the Lands' End Wheeled Classmate Study Haul ($59.50). This backpack was very easy to maneuver, and we found it quite water repellent in our tests. Kids and their parents loved that it has a handy removable organizer pouch and your child is sure to love the wide variety of colors.

Related: Perfect PCs

Dorm Goods


Made of strong cotton jersey knit, Garnett Hill's Solid Jersey Knit Bedding (fitted sheet, $35; flat sheet, $35; set of two cases, $35) are super-soft and resisted shrinkage in our tests. They fit over a typical dorm bed with just enough room for a slim topper or mattress pad and come in a wide variety of colors to suit any dorm aesthetic.


Rise and Shine


Sound sleepers, listen up! While the iLuv Vibe Plus ($100) won't make 7am any more pleasant, here's hoping that grooving to it will help put an extra spring in your student's step on their way to class. This iPod dock comes with an attachment that tucks under a pillow and both vibrates and serves as an additional speaker to sound one of seven buzzers or play music from either an iPod/iPhone or the radio.


Lecture-Ready Laptop


The well-priced Dell Inspiron 14R N4110 ($500) is sure to impress with speedy boot-up and file-transfer times, as well as high-quality video and graphics, and great-sounding audio. Students will love the comfortable keyboard, spacious 14-inch screen, and customizable covers.

Related: Lunch Boxes for All Ages

Back-up Made Easy


Students will be able to store, transport, and protect files in a snap with the FreeAgent GoFlex external hard drive from Seagate ($130). It's superslim and lightweight, and comes in four colors. Once installed, the seamless software makes backup a breeze.



What else do your kids need for school this fall? Tell us in the comments.

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Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.