If you are having a baby you will soon discover just how hard it is to pack all the things you’ll need for little one when you go on holiday!
You will find that although you can be organised ‘on paper’ , when it comes to packing it into a bag and then trying to locate things when you get there it can get a bit jumbled up and messy. That isn’t the case if you pack it all away into a Baby Case bag!
The Baby Case is a large luggage bag that contains two ‘shelves/trays’ which are divided up into compartments. On one end of the bag there is a padded rucksack (with changing mat and bottle bag) that zips on to the end of the larger bag and on the other end there is a large pocket which contains a removable ‘baby clothing wardrobe system’.
The Baby Case bag was kindly sent to my sister for her to review as she is expecting a baby in the Summer. I didn’t want to make you all wait for a review so we have tested the bag out before baby is here and we have to tell you we are very impressed with how organised you can be when using this bag!
The bag comes in a zip-up storage bag ( a bit like those blanket bags you get quilts in) and the first thing you do is remove it all from the storage bag and then you construct the inner shelving system.
If you look at the photos you will see how the bag is constructed. Basically you have a large luggage bag (which I believe is made from a nylon canvas material…it’s the usual kind of fabric most luggage bags are made of….but much prettier!) and then into that goes a shelving system which you construct yourself. It is easy enough to do but it will take a few minutes to work out how to do it and get the hang of it. Basically you just velcro the sides together and then add the dividing strips to make the compartments. You then make the other tray and do the same again – turning it into compartments.
Once you have them both made up you now have a shelving system that will stack one on top of the other inside your luggage bag. The top tray even has handles so it can easily be removed. At first glance I really wasn’t entirely convinced that the trays would take the weight of being on top of each other (especially when filled with luggage) as they are essentially cardboard sheets covered with material and constructed into stacking shelves. But I was wrong! They were very stable and once all the luggage was packed away into the trays they were perfectly fine and didn’t collapse or anything. The trays gave shape to the bag and they seemed rather robust.
The shelves were a bit weighty when full of luggage but this all added to the stability of the Baby Case bag. The bag is very large and quite heavy when packed full of all your luggage (as are all luggage bags) but the main thing is that it is organised and there is plenty of room for all baby’s things and even your own essentials. 🙂
The rucksack can be worn as a backpack or instead you can zip it on to the end of the large luggage bag. Inside the rucksack there is a ‘compartment’ that easily velcros in. Then inside this structured compartment you put the insulated cool bag that comes with the rucksack. There is also a portable changing mat in the backpack and room for a few other bits and pieces. On the side of the bag is a pocket for baby’s bottle. It would be very handy to have a rucksack when you are out and about on your holiday and it can also be attached to the pushchair by un-clipping the release clips and then re-clipping them so that the bag is attached to the pushchair. A nifty little idea!
The large luggage bag has a zip-up pocket on the opposite end to where the backpack attaches. In this zip-up pocket you will put the portable baby wardrobe which you will have packed with all baby’s clothes. I love this invention! It is a case/bag (made from the same pretty nylon canvas material) that velcros at the top. Down the front there are 2 clear ‘viewing panels’ and two long zips. Basically what you do is fold up all baby’s little clothes and pop them into one of the two clear windowed compartments and then once the portable wardrobe is full you velcro the top to close. Then when you get on holiday you can remove the wardrobe and when you want to take an item of baby clothing out you unzip the zip and reach in to remove your chosen item and then zip it back up again. Easy peasy! This is a tidy way of storing the baby clothes and it means that you won’t have to chuck them all out onto the bed to hunt down the item you are looking for.
The Baby Case bag also comes with a matching zip-up toiletry bag with handles. You can store all the baby bathing essentials in here such as shampoo, body wash, body lotion etc. This is a good size and has plenty of room in it.
There is also a toy bag that velcros at the top that you can store some little toys in such as a rattle, board book, teddy etc. This is a useful way to keep all the toys together in your luggage.
The luggage bag itself also has a much-needed addition……a fold down padded changing mat! This mat is attached to the bag but it can be removed if needed. It is incorporated into the ‘closing flap’ at the top of the bag and if you want to use it you unzip the whole of the top of the bag and lay the mat down onto the floor to put your baby on (see top photo). You will then see that there is a row of useful net pockets and elastic strips that were hidden from view, up until now. In those pockets and underneath those stretched elastic straps you can store a couple of nappies, a tube of baby nappy cream, a pack of baby travel wipes etc. What a clever idea…it’s just like a mini baby changing station. 🙂
The Baby Case bag , the zip-up backpack, the portable wardrobe, the toy bag, the portable changing station …they are all simple concepts on their own but in combination they make up a travel solution that should make travelling with a baby a much easier process. 🙂 Everything you have packed into the whole of the Baby Case bag has its own place and as long as you keep it tidy you will find that you should be super organised and can keep your hotel room uncluttered. When we go on holiday with a normal luggage bag the first thing we do is unpack so we can get ‘sorted out’ but if you use the Baby Case bag you won’t need to do that as you will already be organised when you arrive!
I would say that you do need to bear in mind that you can’t put very bulky or tall items into this bag (such as a big baby bottle steriliser…you would need to pack a travel version instead) because of the height restriction of each shelf. Also, if you decide to pack some of your own clothing into the Baby Case Bag I would advise that you put them in a plastic bag first before putting them in the shelves as you don’t want any of the velcro catching on your clothes.
The Baby Case Bag has an RRP of £120 but it is currently on offer for £95. It is more money that me or my sister would normally pay for a luggage bag but we can understand where the price point comes in as you are getting a lot of bag for your money and it is an innovative travel bag solution for parents. The shelving system in a bag is not something that I have ever seen before and I think the concept will be really popular for a long time to come. It does add extra weight/bulk to the bag but it is worth it for the fact that you can pack in such a methodical way. To be honest…I am rather unorganised by nature but when we road-tested this bag I LOVED how it made me appear organised. 🙂
In conclusion I think the Baby Case Bag is an ideal bag if you are going on a family holiday where there is someone else available to help you carry your luggage. As the bag doesn’t have wheels you would struggle to carry this on your own whilst trying to push the pushchair as well….but if there is someone to carry the luggage for you then you are well away! 🙂 I love the pretty design on the bag and I think the fact that it has all those compartments and extra bags is fantastic. My mum has already told my sister that when the bag is no longer needed by her she will be having it off her to take on their tourer caravan holidays and boat trips. She thinks it a fantastic idea that you can pack so much into the bag and yet it all stays so tidy. Oh and by the way……once you are back from your holiday all you do is de-construct the shelving system, remove the compartment from the rucksack and then flatten and fold everything away so it can all be stored neatly back in the storage bag that it came in. Genius!
You can buy the Baby Case bag from their online store and if you have any questions regarding the bag please get into contact with the inventors of the product, Leanne and Dan. They can be contacted via email (admin@baby-case.co.uk) or by using this contact form – www.baby-case.com/contact/
I have had the pleasure of chatting to Leanne via twitter when we were arranging for this bag to be sent to my sister for review and it is obvious that she is very passionate about her product. She wants to make traveling with a baby an easier task for all and I think she has a great product that people will love!
Please follow Baby Case on twitter and facebook. Plus if you have a moment please can you sign up to their newsletter – the box to fill in is the bottom right-hand corner of their home page.
If you would like to buy a Baby Case bag to use on your summer holiday this year then please click here to be taken to their online shop.
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Exciting news…. It was announced yesterday that the Baby Case has been shortlisted in the 2015 Loved By Parents Awards, You can vote for them in the following categories :-
Best Innovative Travel Product
Best Travel Invention
Voting opened at 10am on the 16th June and it closes at midnight on the 10th July 2015. You can vote for them here – http://lovedbyparents.com/lbp-awards-2015-voting-form/
I have already got my vote in! 🙂 It would be lovely if you would do the same. Thanks everyone.
The Baby Case has also been shortlisted in the Most Innovative For Parent category of the Mumii awards 2015. To vote in those awards you need to register for Mumii. The link you need is here. (I am not sure the voting dates for the Mumii awards but if you contact them they will be able to tell you)