Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Diaper Bag Reviews! Ju Ju Be, Coach, Vera Bradley, Petunia Pickle Bottom, and the list goes on...

Since becoming pregnant with Aubrey I have been on the hunt for the perfect diaper bag. Which you would think wouldn't be very difficult, but for me it ended up taking eight different bags. I am notorious for researching online before buying. I have read many reviews on all different bag. It has been a long exhausting process. I figured since I rely on reviews to purchase items that maybe it is about time I share my own opinions!

I fell in love with a bag! I had raved about it when I first got it, as I did the other bags I got. So a friend told me to let her know in a few months how I felt, since I always seem to find flaws in the others after a short period of time. So here I am, STILL in love! :) I'm going to quickly go over the other bags I have tried and the reason they ended up not working for me before getting to my love!

The first bag I purchased was the Timi & Leslie Teal Charlie Bag. I was becoming a first time Mom, and didn't want to give up my handbags, so I searched for one with good reviews that didn't look anything like a diaper bag. This bag was HUGE, and came with lots of extras. When I got it, I was very dissapointed. The material was less than desirable. It was marbled and fake leather. Not appealing to me at all. So back it went.
The first two baby bags I used were Coach Multi-functional Totes, one in black and one in brown. I am a die hard Coach fan, most of my purses before babies were Coach. So I knew I had to have one so that I could still have some Coach in my life! Well it was made from heavy canvas, leather, etc. It left little room to actually store stuff inside. It was so cute, but so painful on my shoulders. I would have red marks all over them from carrying the bags. Beauty is pain, right?? Well not for this Mama! I had a very big baby to carry already, carrying a bag that weighed just as much, NOT FUN.
The next bag I got was the Vera Bradly baby bag. Compared to the Coach bags it seemed so spacious. I loved the weight of it, so light! I fit so much into it, I thought I for sure had found "THE" bag. One issue I had was that it absorbed everything, not water proof by any means, I wish they had lined the inside with the material they use for their makeup bags. The other issue was when I went from one to two kids, there wasn't enough room for all the sippy cups and bottles, needs more stretchy inside pockets!

So then I was on the hunt for a good bag for a Mom of two! So I went a little crazy and ordered Ju Ju Be Prepared. It was huge, like weekender big! It was so nice though, I had TONS of room and I loved the plush changing pad and the padded strap, no red marks for me! Also it zipped all the way down so NO digging around!! That being said, I used it for about 3 total days. The size was just to intense. I hit everything over, I couldn't fit through tight spots. I looked like I was going on a trip. I felt ridiculous.
Onto the Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack. I loved the material of this one, easily wiped cleaned! It had plenty of room for everything, it could be used as a tote or a backpack. I thought I had found the perfect bag. So here come the cons... It has Velcro to close the bag, that snagged all my sweaters, I had read reviews where people had mentioned how loud the Velcro can be, but that didn't bother me as much as how much it ruined my clothing. Beyond that the changing pad was really tiny if you detached it, and the bag was incredibly heavy and tall. It is hard to reach all the stuff in the bottom of the bag. You basically had to mess up everything to get things out. The long strap made it hard to get in and out of the passenger seat while sitting in the driver seat (its so heavy and there was no good strap to grab).
Next I got Leslie & Timi Hannah diaper bag. This bag got great reviews and was on a lot of top ten lists. I loved that it looked like a regular purse, so I thought what the heck why not try to be fancy again. Well I ran into the same issues and the others, digging through a bag trying to find stuff. So back it went. 
Finally the bag you have been waiting to hear about... Ju Ju Be BFF. It has all the things I wanted in a bag. It has a padded strap, it is super light, it has a small handle on top (think brief case), it has a great changing pad, the outside material is easily cleaned and water resistant, the front zipper zips all the way down and flaps open for easy access to goodies. Really it has no cons that I can think of, and I have been using it for around 3 months (maybe more, but I am awful at keeping track of time these days). Well if I really really really had to come up with a con, I would say I wish they had cuter patterns. But they aren't hideous so yes, I am in love! 



6 comments:

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  3. Ha! You sound a lot like me! I research like crazy too!
    Is the backpack option comfortable on the BFF? planning to mostly wear as a backpack but switch to a messenger bag while back wearing my toddler.
    Thanks!

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    1. The backpack straps are awesome, so cushy! I didn't wear it like that much, but have friends that did and loved it. Hope that helps!

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  4. Awesome! Thanks! Will be picking one up soon!

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  5. Thanks for the detailed review!

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