Anything can be a diaper bag—from a free canvas tote bag to a gym bag to an old backpack.
I believed that until the first time I had to change a diaper blowout in a minuscule airplane bathroom. After that experience, you’ll understand why it’s important to buy a diaper bag that is actually designed to be a diaper bag.
Having diapers, wipes and cream right at hand, plus a changing pad and possibly even a new set of clothes, will under the right circumstances feel like winning the lottery. A diaper bag, of course, holds much more than just diapers—at times it’s also a snack vending machine, toy chest and even, on occasion, an office.
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But like with many jacks-of-all-trades, there are also usually tradeoffs. For one, many diaper bags are designed to go with a baby’s style, not an adult’s, which means they’re functional but rather hideous with no hope of using them after your child graduates to underwear. Others can hold practically the contents of a whole household, but are so big they can topple an empty stroller.
Fortunately, there’s now a wide array of diaper bags to choose from in a range of styles—from a traditional tote to a cross-body messenger bag to a backpack.
Joining these ranks, boutique bag and accessory company Dagne Dover just released the Indi Diaper Backpack, which is a diaper bag version of their signature Dakota neoprene backpack. (There’s also the Wade Diaper Tote, which is a more traditional shaped baby bag if you prefer.) I road-tested it during a recent weekend getaway with my 16-month-old son and was impressed with the bags many specialized pockets and features.
The bag comes with two removable, ingenious hooks that can loop over the handles of a stroller. Since the bag is so commodious you still need to balance the weight of the child and what you’re carrying.I found carrying the bag on my back to be very comfortable even when pushing the stroller or carrying my son in my arms.
The bag is full-sized and easily holds all of your kid’s things with plenty of room for your things or the stuff in you inevitably buy or pick up during the day. You can also expand the bag by releasing side clips to make it even taller, which comes in handy for long road or plane trips
A diaper bag can easily turn into a bottomless pit, which swallows items that are never seen again. The Indi Diaper Backpack tries to prevent this from happening with some clever design features. There is an outside pocket for a brick of wipes that has a second horizontal zipper on the outside of the bag that allows you to pull out a single wipe when you need it. There are two internal lanyards with clips to make sure keys, pacifiers and toys don’t get lost. There is also a cup holder inside that keeps a water bottle from tipping over, plus a sleeve for a laptop or book and a bag for dirty clothes.
What I love about this diaper bag is that it looks like a normal backpack and it matched both my style and my wife’s style. The fact that it has a slot for a rollaboard suitcase handle makes it the perfect travel bag for an adult with or without kids. I can definitely see myself using it long after my son is done with diapers. | Shop at Dagne Dover >
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