A long walk

A long walk starts at the front door, usually with someone small refusing to wear the right shoes. Before the hiking boots and blister plasters, there's the simpler problem of what goes on the back for the walk to school, the walk to the park, the walk anywhere that isn't the car. Today's finds are all backpacks, built for shorter distances but judged, like any gear, on whether they survive the trip.

For a kid who treats every walk as a mission, there's the Spider-Man Web Warriors backpack, 8.3 litres of blue nylon with a superhero's face on it, small enough that it won't tip a child over on the way down.

For someone who wants the long walk to actually look like one, Walker's Pure Eco travel backpack goes for a more grown-up register: vegan construction, a PU-leather base, and a black and cognac colourway that doesn't scream Back to School even though it's built for exactly that. Compare more backpacks.

The Sonic the Hedgehog backpack runs 37 centimetres of blue and black, which is to say: made for someone who wants to walk fast, even if the walk is just to the bus stop. The best backpacks.

Waterproofing matters even on a short walk if the sky has opinions, which is where the Trixie Mrs. Butterfly backpack earns its keep, a water-resistant pink option that doubles as a gym bag when the walking stops and the running starts.

For the kid who can't commit to just a backpack, there's the Jurassic World school set, a rucksack and lunch set paired together so the walk to school and the stop for food are covered by the same dinosaur. Compare more backpacks.

And when walking under one's own power loses its appeal, the Hello Kitty trolley backpack offers wheels, a retractable handle, and the quiet admission that not every long walk needs to be carried. The best backpacks.