The backpack is the best way to go in my opinion. I love this Dakine Pack. The quality is great. The zippers, material, everything is of good quality. I also like the shoulder straps. They conform to your body quite well and are quite comfortable, even with a heavy load. The separate laptop compartment is awesome for taking your laptop with you, and keeping it protected. I wish there was a little more padding for the laptop compartment. It has some protection, but I don't think it's enough to protect the laptop if I happened to drop the bag from a decent height. I could get a padded laptop sleeve and put the laptop in the sleeve, and then in the backpack for the ultimate protection if I felt I needed it. All in all, a great bag for school. After lots of searching, I ended up spending less than I originally planned, and got something that still looks cool and does everything I need it to do!