Diaper bags, redux
After my last post on diaper bags I discovered the world of the truly diaper-bag-obsessed. I took the plunge off the deep end and wandered into fantastic message boards filled with like-minded organizational lunatics. First of all, there’s the Babybags Yahoo! Group. This place, a buy-sell-swap-discuss mecca of all things diaper bag, actually has a database of photos of different bags. Please do not hold it against me when I say that I actually spent several hours perusing the photos just to see the interior shots of all the bags. Because how often do you have to buy a bag without seeing the inside first? Too often, in my opinion. Even more helpful were the comparison shots: Skip Hop Dash next to Fleurville Sling Tote. Front view. Side view. Observe.
Also helpful were the Baby Bargains message boards; their diaper bag forum is teeming with diaper bag addicts eager to discuss the differences between the Land’s End Triple Compartment Diaper Backpack and the DadGear Diaper Backpack. At this very moment someone is cataloging the differences in measurement between all available diaper bag packs. YES.
Then there are the lovely folks over at the Ju-Ju-Be message boards, kvelling happily over their latest JJB acquisitions. This is, dare I say it, Diaper Bag Fandom. The innovative and super-nice head honchos at JJB read these boards and actually take their users’ feedback into consideration when designing or modifying these bags. I was pretty darn impressed with the obsessiveness of everyone involved, and sent away for a JJB bag to see if they had managed to achieve diaper bag nirvana.
Based on photos and message board reviews, I also sent away for a Lexie Barnes Superstar (on SALE!), a mega-sized messenger style diaper bag that was rumored to be both lightweight and pretty darn big. I have been thrilled with my Fleurville Sling Tote as a small bag, but if I’m going somewhere and need to carry a packed lunch for both girls and extra sweaters for everyone, it just doesn’t cut it. So I thought I’d compare the Ju-Ju-Be Packabe and the Superstar, both of which got raves — one of them would have to be my perfect Big Bag.
Well, apologies to the lovely folks at JJB, but for me, the Superstar came out on top. Although the Packabe was rumored to carry a huge amount of stuff, it lacked the interior organization to make the stuff easy to find. And although it was cute as hell (especially in brown & robin’s egg blue), it was HEAVY. All those special teflon thinsulate space age materials really weighed it down. And although it was billed as the biggest JJB bag, I found it to be roughly equivalent to the Sling Tote in size, and I needed still bigger.
The Superstar, on the other hand, weighed less than the Packabe, but fit all my stuff with tons of room to spare. It’s not as easy to carry, since it’s not a backpack, but since it’s lightweight I don’t think it will be too awkward. It also has magnetic closures, a wipeable exterior, a brightly colored interior, and enough pockets to make angels sing. The only big disappointment with the Superstar is that it lacks rings or straps to attach it to a stroller. It also doesn’t have the cushy cellphone-specific mom gear pockets of the Sling Tote. If it had those things, it might actually achieve nirvana status.
So I’m keeping the Superstar (yeah, I know, another bag), which will leave me with two bags in regular rotation (Sling Tote, for little outings, and Superstar for big ones), plus my old DadGear backpack for airplane travel. Even more satisfying than sampling new diaper bags was organizing my stuff to easily switch from one bag to the other.
So now I’m on to my next obsession for now: finding new recipes to work into our regular rotation. More about that very soon.
1 comment April 8th, 2007
