*ISFL + DSFL Power Rankings: Backpack Edition!

[oknom]

First off, if anyone owns any of these wonderful works of art please post pics in the replies. The people deserve to see the HOTTEST back to school looks.


 
I’m not sure how many of us have ventured deep enough into the merch store to discover the Lovecraftian logo hell that is the Backpacks section. Each team’s logo is wrapped around different panels on a backback, creating interesting but sometimes horrifying layouts. I have taken it upon myself to rank these. All 14 ISFL teams and 8 DSFL teams are represented in the store, plus an ISFL backpack. Also for some reason SAR and OCO each get two backpacks?? HO favoritism??


14. SAR – The very backpack that haunted my dreams for weeks until I decided to make these power rankings. Somehow someway, almost none of the logo made it onto either backpack for the Sailfish. The most prominent and noticeable part that did? Fish. Lip. We should get a fronk fish backpack


13. YKW – I am glad that we can finally get YKW merch after the new logo, however this one just aint it. Gray, black, and white does kind of match the YKW vibe but I think without noticeable skullz or the icey blue you have no idea what kind of gear you are repping if you show up with this on.


12. SJS – There is just enough going on here where you can maybe get 1 out of 5 strangers to do a double take and think to themselves, “Was that an SJS backpack?”, before forgetting about you entirely. The angular parts of the logo kind of creates a unique look on the backpack with everything broken up, but I would not be too pumped to show up to school with this one.


11. OSK – Similar to the YKW reimagined logo, the Kaiju have been struck by the rebrand backpack curse as well. The logo is certainly there! 100%! But the rest of the backpack is extremely bland. Oddly enough, I think just slapping the logo in the center gives this one a high enough floor to be ranked not dead last. 


10. AUS – Since the AUS mascot happens to be a snake, I think the odd wrapping of the logo around the different backpack panels actually works super well! Copperheads aren’t constrictors but the backpack has a distinctly snake-like feel! However I think its still a little hard to identify this as a Copperheads backpack. Also about 1/3rd of the surface area is still blank.


9. CTC – Unfortunately my transparency and conviction is overcoming my own CTC bias here. This backpack does a great job of incorporating all of the team colors in a major way. Two things I think would help it score higher would be somehow capturing that sense of motion the rhino in the logo normally has. It feels on the move, but when its cropped and broken up here it loses that. Also, its great the horns are visible instead of cropped off the backpack but somehow being zoomed up close makes it hard to tell whats going on here. Sad rhino noises.


8. OCO (text version) – OCO has two backpacks and I am only ranking the higher of the two, which happens to be the one with the full text logo. I love when teams have both a logo and the full text one. Its like having a full government name, and a nickname everyone calls you at school. Its easy to identify this as an OCO backpack, but its not as bland as something like OSK’s. OCO’s other backpack is pretty terrible though.


7. HON – Similar feedback on this backpack to CTC’s. Good job of capturing most of the logo’s elements. I can see the floppy-lua, the stylized frame, and the moustache. I think that circular frame being cropped makes a cool effect linking the different panels together here. Overall, would have maybe wanted to see the floppy-lua’s face. Does it have a name? Is it Floppy?


6. AZ – Arizona is the certified kind of mid-tier backpacks here. You get a clear visual to the Outlaw’s face. All the colors are visible, however there still is a little bit too much blank space. I would also argue this design doesn’t lose the triangular shape of the original logo, just breaks it up a bit.


5. COL – Nowwwww we’re talking. Love that most of the backpack is taken up by the design, I think that’s essential. The zoomed in detail of the Yeti fur across both yellow and red makes a nice effect spread across multiple panels on the backpack here. I think if this stuck an ISFL patch or maybe a normal COL logo patch on the bottom left corner this would look legitimate.


4. NOLA – The fact that the NOLA logo has so many elements to it really works well with this backpack design. Maybe that hurts in OTHER merch store power rankings, but not here! You can see some 2nd Line members on each panel, and the way the blue wraps around the backpack makes it feel like the parade has no end. The text and swirly filigree (99% sure Im not using this correctly) also add to this effect.


3. NYS – Looking at the NYS backpack again, I was a little puzzled why I ranked it this high. But then again, I think it does just enough right without doing anything wrong. All the main elements and colors on the logo are clearly visible. Most of the blank space on the backpack is gone. Nothing weird going on, except maybe two-headed monkey. Great Job!


2. BAL – This is probably one of the most abstract designs but I think it works really well. Its almost like a zubaz pattern or some other 90s design you’d find on a Starter jacket. The colors and the feathers make it feel overtly Baltimore Hawks without having to use the full logo or text to identify it. I think that’s the crowning accomplishment here. Visually easy to identify the team without it being visually obvious its just the logo hacked to pieces.


1. BER – Controversial pick here, but BER got lucky that their backpack literally has the team abbreviation BER front and center on the backpack without going full OSK design.  The BER logo has LOTS of elements going on. The salamander with multiple colors already, the wordmark, flames, etc. Similar to the BAL backpack, I think wrapping all that around the backpack panels works really well. Even besides reading “BER”, its obvious which team this is in reference to. Excellent coverage as well, very little blank space.

DSFL BACKPACKS


8. TIJ – Look how they massacred my boy! I mean wrestler person! I don’t know how that front panel goes completely blank but man does it hurt. Would have looked so good with a little luchadore face peaking out somewhere odd. The larger panel looks fine, but we will see this happen again.


7. MIN – Oof, my very own Ducks. Same as TIJ, the back panel is fine. Not a knockout placement wise but its got the main colors and decent coverage. The front panel falls flat though. There is something you COULD construe as cool going on with the way the two panels line up. But that’s also the kind of compliment your mom gives you when you try on the ugly Christmas sweater, so let just move on.


6. KCC – I don’t know that I’ve said this for any of the backpacks yet, but I kind of like where the blank spaces fell. There is still quite a bit, which is why this design ranks lower. But the blank spaces on the larger panel are mostly around the edges and don’t take away much from the logo. The smaller panel has much more blank space but it frames the rounded moon piece of the logo. One thing I don’t love about this design is it zooms in on the parts of the KCC logo that lack detail. The resolution has always been a little too low on the KCC logo for me and zooming in on it doesn’t help.


5. POR – Unlike the AUS backpack reviewed earlier, this snake logo does not do a great job of appearing to wrap around the panels of the backpack. We do get a pretty clear shot of the snake scales, so its easily identified. But there is a ton of blank space and it just isn’t working very well with the odd logo placement.


4. NOR – The Seawolves are getting major points here for simply not having an eyesore of a backpack. Ill be honest that although there is good coverage here, I have no idea what Im looking at. Kind of looks like there is a hockey puck? But points for coverage as well as getting most elements of the logo in there (sub, sonar, waves, colors) even if they are difficult to identify.


3. LON – I think maybe the fact that LON’s logo limits the colors being used really helps this backpack design look unified. We’ve seen other backpacks that are 2-3 main team colors plus black plus white plus a dark grey look really washed out. Or missing one of those colors tanks the whole design. Not here! The logo getting chopped up and spread around the backpack looks pretty good in my opinion, probably aided by the more abstract design of the logo and use of negative space rather than excess detail.


2. BBB – We are now entering S tier territory for DSFL backpacks. Almost perfect on the coverage front, with only some blank areas off to the edges of the backpack. Doesn’t really subtract much from anything. The logo has done an excellent job of wrapping around all the panels while maintaining the identity of the brand. Love how the yellow gold of the hair on the larger panel blends into the yellow gold on the hat design. We even get some of the purple on there! One of the best designs in the store for sure.


1. DAL – Im probably going against my own criteria here, but this design looks awesome even with so much blank space. The lettering for the DAL “D” being cropped and offset between the two panels gives a fantastic unique take on the logo and branding. I actually probably want more of the dog mascot on there, but this is a really clean looking design. The blank space adds to the overall design rather than subtract from it, look out of place, or dominate.

What do you think? Which backpack would you be most likely to buy or wear? Did I get the top backpack rankings right?

[Baron1898]

wait Baltimore's kinda slaps

[LtHudz]

now this is my kind of media. All the logos getting butchered except for the Kaiju is kinda poetic.