Front Packs

Tyler Bourk

September 21, 2012

Professor Gordon

Writing I

Front Packs

            At one point in everyone’s life, they most likely have used a backpack.  A backpack is a bag that has two straps that go around your shoulders, supporting the backpack to lie flat. They make it much easier to transport small to medium items, such as clothes, books, a laptop, etc.  Since day one, I have never seen anyone actually question the “backpack”.  I’m sure because of the name; everyone thought it would only make sense to wear it on your back.  My question is, why don’t people wear backpacks on the front of them?  There is no downside to wearing a backpack on the front, only positives.

            When backpacks were first designed, I would think that designed it to be worn on the back because it was the best place to handle the weight of the bag.  If that is the case, then when baby bjorns were invented why did the baby sit on the parents chest instead of their back? I feel if you can carry a small child around on your chest for extended periods of time, then you can handle a backpack with a small amount of weight in it without injury.

            Wearing a backpack on the front would makes things flow much smoother since it is much more accessible.  Have you ever been standing in a crowded line then need something out of your backpack and while swinging it off your shoulder it bumps into people creating unnecessary tension? No one likes to encounter awkward moments in public like that.  If the backpack is in the front, it won’t need to be tossed around just to get in a pocket.  Getting into a backpack on the front wouldn’t be much different from unzipped a hooded sweater.  Just reach in front and pull the zipper, avoiding the shuffling around.

            A backpack on the front also shares more security than wearing it on your back.  There is nothing worse than making a whole walk to class to realize your bag is unzipped.  Since it was on your back and you couldn’t see that it was unzipped, who knows what could have happened behind your back on that walk. For me, when I walk from class to class I have my brand new MacBook in my bag.  That’s over a $1,800 price tag, and that is the last thing I want someone snatching from my bag.  If a place is real crowded and my bag is on my back, unzipped, it wouldn’t be hard for someone to slip their hands into my bag and take what they wish.  That wouldn’t be a problem if the backpack were worn on the front.  One would see what’s going on with their bag the whole time, and  would have no reason to be worried about their personal belongings.

            Last, I feel it would be much easier to move around in general, especially in crowded areas.  When a backpack is worn on the back, one tends to not always compensate for the room it takes up when walking through a crowd.  When turning it could easily bump into someone else that you didn’t quite want to interact with and now he or she are upset with you because you hit them with your bag.  If said backpack was on the front, you would always see it so when maneuvering through the crowd you will head in backpack first instead of backpack last, letting you see exactly where you are walking and making sure you don’t bump anyone at the same time.

            All in all, it would be much safer and more efficient to wear a backpack on the front of your body.  If the weight is low enough, you should be able to handle it without any worry of hurting yourself.  Also, it would be much more accessible instead of having to take the bag off when you needed something from it, you just reach in front and unzip, it’s that easy.  One would also have a heightened sense of security since they wouldn’t have to worry about the bag being unzipped and someone slipping their hands in because it will be in front of their eyes at all times. In general, it would just make moving around much easier because you can see exactly how far your backpack sticks out so you can compensate when having to avoid contact with someone. Backpacks were invented to be worn on the back, but I think the inventors made a mistake.