Buy It For Life

You'll have people here recommending specific brands or manufacturers.

Don't fall victim to this. Brands change. Manufacturers change.

Learn how to recognize a good product from bad.

Currently, right now, I can recommend the first version of the LTT backpack. The construction is solid. Gusseted and reinforced frickin' everywhere. The straps are solid. They're attached to the main body of the pack with thick, heavy fabric and not just sewn directly on. They're also reinforced with rivets. The zippers are solid. The interior has a couple of soft pockets for scratch-prone items. There are multiple laptop/document sleeves. The main compartment is way larger than it first appears. The only issue I've had was with the shitty carabiner-style zipper pulls that everyone knew would break. Replaced them with some paracord. Problem solved.

I have no doubt this particular backpack will last me forever. But that's no guarantee anything they make in the future will.

Do not worry about point of origin. Quality can come from anywhere. Shit can come from anywhere. It's all down to the what the brand and manufacturer are looking for.

Watch out for "bait and switch" brands that pop up out of nowhere, sell direct only, and initially offer a very well made product. So many times they find some modicum of success and then immediately turn to offering multiple tiers of products, with their initial "good" products skyrocketing in price as they push the margins higher and higher. There are a TON of small shoe brands that fit this bill, unfortunately.