Futliit LED Backpack Reviewed By Teenagers (Sent for Review).

We recently moved to rural Scotland, and a big change for my teenage boys has been walking a mile to and from the school bus down an unlit country lane, often in the dark. I'd seen LED backpacks for younger children, but was delighted when Futliit got in touch to see if we were interested in reviewing their much more teenager-appropriate light up backpack. 

My initial reaction upon opening the package is that this is an excellent quality bag. The material is still soft, but feels incredibly robust and waterproof. 

The stitching is very well done, and the inside lining is soft and will wipe clean. There are some lovely details which make all the difference, including a strong carry handle on top, and neatly shaped thick padding on the straps and the rear of the bag, as well as the base - this bag is designed to last a long time. 

The backpack has long straps with plenty of room for adjustment, and they're well secured, with lots of stitching to hold them on firmly - great when your teenagers insist on carrying their PE Kits, damp towels, 48 school books and everything else inside one bag.

Moving on to what is possibly the most important school bag feature, and there are two generously sized zip up main sections. The first has a padded laptop pocket and plenty of space for A4 folders and sheets. The second front zipped section also has plenty of room, plus a large inside zipped pocket, 2 further smaller pockets and a clip for your keys.

The LED lights are the feature that impressed me most before I saw the bag myself, and they don't disappoint. There are 2 completely independent plastic- sleeved strips of LEDs which run alongside the outside zips on the main sections of the bag. 

Each LED strip has it's own battery and power button, cleverly located at the base of the straps, in a small pocket which fastens neatly closed using press together hook and loop (velcro style) to protect the electrical parts from weather. You only need to open these when changing the batteries - which shouldn't be for a long while yet - and you can feel and press the buttons easily through the fabric, even with gloved hands. 

Press once for rapid flashing LEDs, twice for slower flashing lights, and a third time for static lights. The fourth press turns the lights off. It's super easy to do without even removing your bag from your back, and you can easily see if the lights are on in the dark. Futliit's name is a play on words for Foot and Light, and even with the backpack on your back, it does indeed light up the area around you. 

If that all wasn't enough, the Futliit backpack also has 3 substantial reflective patches (should you forget to turn on the LEDs), rubber tags to pull the zips open easily while wearing gloves, and tall bottle pockets to either side - with an elasticated top to help prevent you dropping your bottle of water when you inevitably bend over to tie your shoelaces or pick up dropped items. 

The Futliit Backpack is excellent. My son has been using it for 2 weeks now and he's happy with the size and utility, and he feels much safer walking in the dark. It stands up nicely even when he dumps it on the floor, and it's been fully tested in some pretty heavy wind and rain - without leaking at all. The switches are invisible and subtle, so his schoolfriends don't turn it on every time they walk past, nor does he accidentally turn it on very often - although it has happened once when he stood on it by accident in class. 

I feel much happier that my son can be seen by traffic much earlier than when car lights catch his reflective jacket - in fact the Futliit backpack itself makes the hi vis glow, so double bonus (you can just see it in the photo below). He's 15, and when he stays out after school he catches a bus 'home' to a nearby town, and as he walks towards the farm we can spot him coming from a very long way away. 

The Futliit LED Backpack is an excellent quality bag that is big enough and strong enough to be a 'proper' school bag for a teenager. It protects excellently against rain and is very comfortable to wear. Both of my boys would far rather carry a Futliit bag than wear the yellow hi vis, and it really does feel like it'll easily last my son the next 2 or 3 years, however hard he is on it. 

The Futliit LED Backpack currently retails at £79.99 and is available in a warm neutral grey - and at the time of typing they are offering free standard delivery, as well as a 35% discount code on the Futliit LED Backpack website. Frankly this is a very fair price for what you get (fabulous with the discount), considering that any good quality water-resistant bag is going to cost you around this price anyway - without the addition of LEDs. Futliit have excellent reviews aside from mine, and are hoping to expand the range - they're looking into making bags with multi-coloured lights, and red lights for cyclists. I really do wish them well. 

We were sent out Futliit LED Backpack for my teenagers to review. Natural lighting has been appalling over the past 2 weeks, so I've tried to pick photos which show the true colours, but some variation is unavoidable. I was not offered any other incentive to give a review, and I wasn't paid. I was asked to give my true thoughts, and those of my teenagers, and I have.