Backpack essentials for back to school and college

The most essential piece of kit, and likely the most expensive, is a decent laptop. There are plenty that are student-friendly, by which we mean easy-to-use, portable and light, but it's worth shopping around a bit for a device that's going to be reliable too – even if you have to pay a little more for it.

We like the Acer Aspire 5 14-inch laptop. Powered by the latest 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processors, it's built for productivity and, essentially, multi-tasking. It boasts about 12 hours of battery life, which is more than enough for a day of lectures. It looks good too, with a metal cover and choice of different colours. You'll find better specs elsewhere, but if you're looking for an affordable and reliable option, this is it.

A good-quality bottle that will keep your cold drinks cold is a must-have for long days of classes. Some of the key things we look out for are a reliable seal, non-drip top and cool-looking colours.

Our top pick is this stainless steel, double-walled option from Takeya. It has a spout opening – much easier to use than a sports cap – and a wide mouth for adding ice or any other extras. There are plenty of colours to choose from, but this eye-popping yellow will ensure you never leave it behind.

It's no good packing your bag with all of the best student-friendly tech if it runs out of juice throughout the day. That's why we recommend investing in a good power back. There are plenty to choose from that hold enough power to keep your phone charged, but you might also want to consider one that's big enough to juice up a laptop.

This powerful charger from Anker delivers a 65W total output and has two USB ports to charge multiple devices on-the-move. A full charge takes about 3.5 hours, which is twice as fast as a standard portable charger and you'd probably never need a full charge, just enough to get you through until the end of the day.

Over the past few years, several brands have brought out smart notebooks. These enable you to write in the notebook as you usually would but then transfer these notebooks. Now, let's be clear. No one needs a smart notebook. Plenty of people get by just fine with a regular paper notebook or by using a stylus and scribbling notes on a tablet. But if you like the idea and have the budget for it, there are a couple of good options to choose from.

We recommend the Remarkable 2. It's a tablet that converts all of your handwritten notes into typed text then integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive to store them easily. At just 4.7 mm and 403.5g it's incredibly portable and it feels just like paper.

If you're studying maths at school or uni you'll likely need a scientific calculator with all of the bells and whistles. But everyone else who might need one for quick sums as part of a different course or for budgeting purposes can get away with something simpler and, therefore, much more stylish.

This calculator from EooCoo comes in a range of cute pastel colours and has buttons that feel satisfying to press. If you want a calculator that can slip into your backpack and will look aesthetically-pleasing on a desk, this is it.

Even if you plan on using a tablet or a smart tablet for your note-taking, we bet there'll still be a time in your academic year when you need a good, old-fashioned notebook. Now, you can find a decent notebook for pennies. But if you want one with quality paper, solid binding and a beautiful cover you'll have to pay a little more.

We think the best notebooks around are from Leuchtturm1917. The paper is thick and satisfying to write on, you get a choice of plain, dotted and lined pages and the covers are available in the best range of colours.

Student life is all about meeting new people, socialising and soaking in the wisdom of your lecturers. Or at least half of the time it is. The other half needs to be spent focusing, reading and getting that essay finished on time. For the 50% of the time when you need to concentrate, we highly recommend a great pair of noise-cancelling headphones to stop you from getting distracted.

Now, our best budget pick for noise-cancelling headphones are the Sony WH-CH720N headphones, which you can pick up from Amazon for under £100/$100. However, for the best of the best in immersive audio, consider the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones. These wireless, over-ear headphones boast an incredibly 60 hours of battery life, offer up detailed, quality audio and, most importantly, have excellent noise-cancelling abilities to keep the world at bay.

There's nothing worse than getting caught in the rain at the best of times, but when you're feeling fresh and ready for a new start you don't want to turn up to your first lecture feeling wet and bedraggled. Yes, you could throw an umbrella in your backpack, but we think a decent rain coat is a smart idea to add an extra layer of warmth too.

We like this all-purpose rain jacket from Adidas Terrex, which seals out the wet and the wind but is designed to be breathable too. With adjustable cuffs and hem it'll fit over anything you're wearing.

If you're on a course that involves a lot of reading, like art history or english literature, then you might want to consider an e-reader. Sure, not every text will be available to buy as an e-book, but it's a really convenient way of reading wherever you are, because most of the best e-readers are so light and portable. If you're reading easy-to-find texts, buying them as e-books will also work out a little cheaper than the real thing.

The Kindle Paperwhite is the best e-reader option right now, with a backlit screen that's glare-free, a super portable design and enough battery life to let you read for weeks without charging. You'll never run out of space as you can store literally thousands of books on this handy device, too.

If you're strapped for cash you don't need a laptop and a tablet. But we know a lot of students prefer a laptop for longer work sessions and a more portable tablet for taking to uni or school throughout the day and using it for quick googling sessions and note-taking.

There are lots of different tablets available, but the iPad Air is still the best of the best in our books. This is the 5th Gen iPad Air from 2022 and it's incredibly powerful, slim and, good news for overloaded backpacks, lightweight at 460g. If you want the ultimate in reliable power, get yourself an iPad.