This lunchbag is a HUGE HIT with my son! He was complaining that his old lunchbag was too small to take enough food or fit a water bottle to school, so he had been buying a lot last year. Now he's in 7th Grade and genuinely NEEDS to take more food. He's 12 years old and already topping out at 5'3 and 110 lbs and he's hungry ALL of the time. As all parents know, this age kids are picky about the "style" of what you buy. Can't be too "kiddie", can't be too flashy, still has to be cool...but can't look like Grandpa's lunchbag, either. *Sigh* I rolled the dice in shopping online and deciding on this bag without checking with my son. I spent a full day checking out lunchbags in all different sizes, colors, brands, and styles. I am so glad I picked this on! First off, it's VERY large inside for a school lunch. But not TOO big for lockers. My son loves that it has a comfortable shoulder strap for carrying and that the hard, removable inner shell keeps his lunch from getting squished (keeps it colder, too because you can easily fit a few large and small cold packs in this bag). He loves the brown and orange colors, the extra pockets, and especially the netting on the top where he can take an extra water bottle while also still fitting a full lunch inside. He takes 2 water bottles (one inside, one outside), a Capri Sun, a sandwich, yogurt, applesauce, pretzels/goldfish, a spoon and napkin and he still has plenty of space for more items on both the inside as well as the front pocket being free. My kid is never openly "excited" about anything much these days since they are busy being cool....but he was more excited about this bag than everything else we purchased for school and he WANTS to pack now instead of buying because he likes showing it off and says packing his lunch the night before is easier. This is because I make him pack his lunch the night before and he always hated doing it. Now he just takes the hard shell out of the bag, gets his lunch ready, and just stashes the plastic thing in the fridge and then then drops it into his bag in the morning, ready to go. I feel like the best Mom ever because my son said it was "exactly what he wanted" despite him not telling me at all "what he wanted". And for an adult, this would be fantastic. The quality is excellent, the inner shell really provides a ton of space for taking work lunch plus snacks and several drinks. The extra pockets are perfect for things like vitamins or even your wallet if you avoid taking "extra" things to work in separate bags. You could easily take your keys, wallet, and other small items and your whole lunch/beverages for the day and leave the rest in your car. I'm not just impressed as a school-shopping parent, but as an adult who really appreciates things that last through tough school years and are durable enough for jobs like Machining (my former trade), Construction, Nurses, Teachers, etc. I think this is the best lunchbag I've ever purchased and I've purchase MANY for myself as well as my son. I hope they make one in purple eventually because I plan to purchase one of these for myself and significant other, as well. If you're hesitating on the size....don't. It fits in lockers and the strap is perfect. And if you choose not to use the hard liner, it's much more compact and small. There are no Cons to this Coleman 9 Can Cooler. I wish I'd have found this years ago to know that my kid was eating and drinking enough at lunch without having to buy extras. Oh! And no more stinky lunchbags! If my son forgets to wipe out a mess....no biggie. The liner is so easy to clean that spills or use over time doesn't degrade the quality of the bag itself nor leak into bookbags or onto clothing. Coleman really made a perfect 5-Star product with this one. I'd pay double this price for this bag!
