K-12 Kat Pack Backpack REF: 91081

K through 12 - start 'em off right! Why buy a new backpack every year?

Buy the Red Oxx K-12 Kat Pack Backpack for life.

BACK PACK IN THE DAY.
Once upon a time, there was the Red Oxx Daypack Backpack. You see them once in a while on auction sites or at second hand stores. Simple, sturdy, and square. Sadly, a couple years back, it went away. New priorities on the production schedule pushed it aside.

Then, one day Lacy, our Lead Bag Designer, decided to upgrade the Daypack Backpack for her growing kids. Her middle school children’s backpacks needed a raised front pocket, a reinforced bottom using our toughest ballistic nylon, a nice upgrade for the shoulder straps featuring a softer, yet stronger hi-tech Uni-Suede, a series of daisy chain accessory loops stitched to the straps and finally, a couple elastic mesh side pockets. Needless to say, her kids were stoked. The redesigned and renamed K-12 Kat Pack Backpack was born.

RECTANGULAR BACKPACKS CAN CARRY MORE.
Working with the same design philosophy we incorporate on all our bags, the K-12 Kat Pack Backpack has our typical spacious rectangular bag shape, a design set in motion by our flagship soft-sided carry-on bag, the Air Boss. Expect a spacious "fatback" school backpack that will easlily haul large, heavy text books.

At nearly under a grand in cubic inch volume (917 cu. in.), the main compartment features the same 400-denier red nylon packcloth lining as our other travel bags. The bright color makes searching inside the pack easier and adds a level of toughness and weather resistance not usually found in typical school backpacks, including those pricey famous name brands sold in department stores.

SOLVING THE TYPICAL BACKPACK'S WEAK POINTS.
Ever had a backpack start disintegrating from the inside out where the lining tape covers the seams? Our lining seam tape is woven sideways instead of lengthwise, effectively eliminating the loose weaving threads that tend to run. In fact, unless you're going to regularly fill your K-12 backpack with sharp rocks, broken glass and rusty nails, it's doubtful the interior will wear out. If it does, our ironclad "No Bull" Lifetime Warranty covers pack repairs and, if needed, bag replacements.

STRONGER SHOULDER STRAPS.
Have you despaired at seeing your shoulder straps ripping loose? The K-12 Kat Pack has reinforced double box stitching at major stress points: the top of the bag's shoulder contact area and the base's outer corners. Overbuilt? Hardly. Then we added a strip of two-inch poly webbing to anchor the box stitches all across the entire width of the back of the pack. At the bottom, the one inch nylon strap anchors down the corners. If there are any kids alive who can rip out these straps, team USA Olympic wrestling committee will want to talk to them.

BIG ZIPPERS THAT LAST.
Ever had the zipper break on a pack that otherwise still looks new? It's the number one failure zone on every backpack built-- except ours. The #10 YKK nylon self-locking zipper, a touted feature on all our bags, is about as tough and practical a zipper as money can buy. The competition can go "zip, zip" open and close with their cute little straight-line zipper puller testing machine, but when it comes to a kid using a zipper in the real world, we can guarantee it won't be "zip, zip" in a straight line.

These excellent zippers are easily repairable, even in the field; they will hold their place, that is, they "lock"; they are difficult to penetrate, thereby increasing the security of your belongings; they function smoothly in inclement weather and they can be yanked from a variety of angles without losing teeth or becoming separated.

Instead, think-- grunt, yank, jerk, and rip in every direction imaginable. Our zipper will also work in any extreme weather conditions, right down to well below zero. We top off this prized zipper feature with our fair trade Monkey Fist Zip Knots, sized just right for anyone's grip. Every pocket and compartment on this backpack has not one, but two of these fail-safe monsters. And now you can upgrade for nighttime safety with our optional Neon Colored Light Reflecting Monkey Fists.

If you've ever watched kids roaming home from school you're aware that their "backpack" is anywhere but on their back. For some reason, kids find dragging a pack not only more fun than wearing one, but a deep-seated challenge to shred their pack to pieces. Although one can't be sure, it's probably due to some secret longing to lose their text books and school assignments along the way.

DRAG TESTED - AND PASSED.
Buy the one and only backpack you or your kids will use from grade school to graduation and beyond. The K-12 Backpack probably is one of the few fatback school bags built with a "ballistic bottom." The 1050-weight ballistic nylon shields the bottom of this backpack from grit and gravel. This is the same material that's used on our roughest, toughest oil rigger and railroader bags. It's even designed in a cup-like pattern to keep the seams from scraping on the ground. Not that scraping the seams would do damage to the UV protected #92 bonded SolarMax nylon thread. The thread that’s so tough it will slice your fingers clean off before you can break it.

A SAFE PLACE FOR YOUR TABLET.
The K-12 Kat Pack Backpack has other clever design features. The raised outer pocket was developed to carry any number of the popular modern electronic tablets and e-readers like the iPad, Kindle, and so on. The flat zippered pocket located above it will also fit these tablets. The back area in the main compartment is padded with a dense 4 lb. Volara closed cell foam padding that is not only comfortable on your back, but also protects your notepad laptop computer.

TAKE YOUR WATER WITH YOU.
The dual elastic side pockets will securely hold a couple of water bottles, a thermos, camera, hat and gloves, a smartphone or calculator. Moreover, the mesh fabric will quickly shed moisture from a leaky water bottle or condensation.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE COMPETITION?
Out of curiosity, we gathered a half dozen popular name brand school backpacks and book bags from a variety of contemporary backpack manufacturers. First we noted they were ALL manufactured offshore! Not one was made in the U.S.A. The differences went beyond our monster zippers, double box stitched seams and heavy-duty ballistic bottom. The most astonishing difference between the Montana made K-12 Kat Pack Backpack and the competition was the startling simplicity of the Kat Pack's design.

SIMPLICITY BY DESIGN.
Every other schoolbag had multiple pockets, flaps, buckles and innumerable surefire fail zones built into the complexity of the packs. Said Kat Pack designer and Red Oxx President Perry Jones, "All those pockets, and hardly any of 'em ever get used." CEO Jim Markel then pitched in, "You couldn't build a school pack like these here in the States. It would cost hundreds of dollars in labor to make them."

In the hustle and bustle of our children's lives, having a simple school pack helps to make the entire existence of the convolution of one's school years oh so very ... simple.

NOT JUST FOR SCHOOL – A TRAVEL PACK, TOO!
The K-12 Kat Pack Backpack was born to be the toughest kid's school backpack on the planet. But it also loves the life of a world traveler. It easily holds a weekend's worth of clothes as your main carry-on flight bag. Since the zippers open all the way down the sides, finding deeply buried items is a no-brainer.

TRAVEL WITH IT AS A PERSONAL ITEM.
This "carry-on legal" backpack will fit in the overhead bins of nearly any commercial airliner, lounge under just about any kind of seat, taxi, plane or bus, and of course, pass as a "personal item" without so much as a bat of a flight attendant's eyelash. Naturally, it also works great as a day pack, an overnight bag, a flight bag or a work carry-all.

BUY IT ONCE, KEEP IT FOREVER, PASS IT ON.
The K-12 Kat Pack Backpack is clearly built to take on the meanest, most ruthless kid on the block. Available in 12 vibrant colors, you and your kids are sure to find a favorite. Since we back all our bags and packs with our "No Bull" Lifetime Warranty, buy it once, keep it forever, and pass it on. This made in Montana backpack is destined to become the world's one and only hand-me-down school bag backpack. Rugged, reliable and tough.

QUESTION: WHY BUY A RED OXX K-12 KAT PACK BACKPACK?

ANSWER:

• Lifetime Warranty. Red Oxx lasts longer.
• Rectangle bags carry books better.
• Airline carry-on legal size
• Simplicity by design.
• Zip down easy-open clamshell design.
• Twelve vibrant colors to choose from.
• Hand crafted with pride in Billings, Montana. U.S.A.

Children's School Backpack Packing Tips:

• Teach your kids to pack only necessary items each day. Warning: this may lead to under packing as an adult. Results have not been verified or tested.
• Kids should carry less than 10-20 percent of their body weight in a backpack.
• Distribute the contents evenly with heaviest items, like books, on the bottom or against the padded back.
• Carry the backpack above the waist. Adjust the shoulder straps until the bottom of the bag rests just above the hips, or the lowest point of curvature, also known as the cup of the lumbar.
• If your child bends forward to compensate for their backpack's weight, the pack is too heavy.
• If your child struggles to put the pack on, it's too heavy.
• If possible, heavy text books should be stored in their locker until needed for class.
• Teach children to use both shoulder straps! This keeps the weight equally distributed and prevents sore shoulders and pinched nerves.
• Each backpack comes with an adjustable chest strap which attaches to the daisy chains on the straps. Using the chest strap can help balance the backpack's load.

Exterior dimensions:
Large main compartment: 12"W x 6"D x 14"H
U.S.A. Capacity: 1008 cubic inches (1,078 cu. inches with exterior pocket)
U.S.A. Weight: 1.9 pounds.

Pocket measurements:

• Raised front pocket: 7"H x 2"D x 11.5"W
• Front slip pocket: 10.5"H x 11.5"W

"No Bull" no question's asked Lifetime Warranty.
Thoughtfully designed, lovingly hand-crafted, and quickly shipped from Billings, Montana U.S.A..
Transit Shipping Time Map.

Witness the birth of your bag and learn about the steps it takes to handcraft your gear.

Meet the thundering herd who build your gear.

Red Oxx is a Veteran owned and operated US Manufacturer.

Be sure to sign up for our Red Oxx Field Report email Newsletter to stay up to date about events such as Oxx Fest, new products, Limited Special Edition colors, Red Eye Collective limited edition prototype bags, helpful packing videos, fun travel stories, and more.

EMAIL POLICY: Online orders will receive an order confirmation email, a tracking information email and a review request follow-up email later. During checkout purchasers have the option to opt-out of our other occasional email notifications. Your email address is always secure.

Kat Pack Backpack Trivia: While researching a unique name for our new backpack several were selected from a pool of names solicited from our sewing crew. Alas, most proved to be taken by other companies. While tossing out the name rat pack, which was also taken, our Minister of Information suggested calling it the Kat Pack, in honor of our PR Intern at the time Kathleen, who goes by the nickname "Kat". CEO Jim Markel liked it and the rest is history.