Thank you to Leatherback Gear for providing product for review. All thoughts are my own. 

I chose to be an educator. I love the excitement of learning, the challenge of teenage apathy, and the role that I play in shaping the lives of young people. It is not a job I take lightly and unfortunately can be very dangerous. I had a community member ask me once if I would die to protect my students. 

The thought of dying at this stage of my life makes my heart ache. I have two small children of my own and so many memories to be made. Anytime someone asks me if I would die to protect my students I fight back my tears and simply respond "I would want my children's teachers to do anything in their power to protect my babies".  It is tough to be a teacher and to be honest nobody knows how they will respond to an active shooter situation until they are in one. There are too many scenarios and situations that could arise that until you are in the situation it is tough to know how you would respond, but you can be prepared.

Fight or flight? 

Fight or flight is the response you have to an emergency situation. Sometimes we flee from trouble and other times we fight back to defend ourselves. In college, while walking home from a late class I thought I was being followed and I ran all the way back to my dorm and refused to turn around until I was safe outside our complex. Meanwhile, when I was 9 months pregnant I and my three-year-old nearly got bit by a copperhead and let's just say it didn't end well for the copperhead. 

Even in intruder drills, we are allowed to fight or flight to protect our students and ourselves. However, it is tough to fight or flight a bullet coming at you. Hiding is an option but you are not actively doing anything to change the situation but with adequate protection, you can make flight a realistic option in an active shooter situation. Leatherback Gear had designed a bulletproof civilian bookbag to keep you safe in a flight situation. 

Leatherback Gear was created by brothers that are first responders. The two have extensive experience in active shooter situations and eagerly were looking for a solution for the average citizen to get themselves to safety. 

The Leatherback Gear bookbag operates like any regular bookbag and surprisingly doesn't weigh much more than any regular adult size bookbag. In addition to being incredibly comfortable, the bookbag can easily convert to cover your torso and back with two soft armored plates while maintaining enough space inside to store all of your daily belongings. 

As an educator, I keep my Leatherback Gear bookbag in my classroom so I can be protected while I'm protecting our greatest asset, our children.  The Civilian One bookbag would be perfect for traveling as well. If you are going to carry a bookbag anyway why not carry one that could save your life? 

Interior space? 

I was quite surprised by the amount of interior space. With several smaller pockets for glasses, keys, and water bottles the bag also has two large compartments. One is perfect for a laptop or tablet and the other is large enough that we could fit everything we needed for a day adventure for two small children. 

Politics can be confusing and everyone has and is entitled to their opinion about how to prevent an active shooter situation. While you are navigating what prevention means to you, you can be prepared to protect yourself and help others while we all work to make the world a better place for the future.

The backpack is a well designed, highly functional and yet sophisticated design. The hidden armor panels and separation zipper allows the wearer to transform the backpack in seconds into a full torso ballistic protection device. The ballistic rating of our armor allows the wearer to stop up to a .44 magnum round. However, the user can customize their level of ballistic stopping power by adding contents to their backpacks: e.g., laptop, tablets, textbooks/books, etc

$329

Want it? Get it! 

You can order your own Leatherback Civilian One Backpack here. You can also connect with Leatherback Gear on Facebook and Instagram.