Cabin Max Kids’ Luggage: Review

The kids are getting to the stage where they want their independence, they want their things to be separate from everyone else’s and they want control over their own bits. This is really highlighted when we travel. We used to pack 2 big bags when we went away, one for the adults and one for the three kids to share, but more recently they’ve each wanted to bring their own bag when we were going to Granny’s for the weekend. With a trip to London being planned I decided to invest in suitable luggage for each of them, and to take advantage of their hand luggage allowances by not paying for any checked bag at all this time.

My first thought was to buy another Cabin Max bag, we’ve had two since our Italy trip in 2012 and use them loads so we knew that they would be a safe bet, but we wondered if, filled up they would be too heavy for our kids to carry by themselves. A look at the site showed that Cabin Max do kids’ bags too, so I contacted Cabinmax and asked if they would like us to review them, and they agreed.  We were sent two different kids’ bags to review.

The first was the Bear Bag, we chose the pink polka dot pattern but it comes in 11 different colourways and patterns including plain colours and an emoji print. We chose the pink spotty one. Laoise was overjoyed when the bag arrived and even though it was two weeks before our holiday she started to pack it immediately.

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Packed and ready to go at the door, three weeks before our trip

The Bear Bag is designed for children aged 4 up, It’s  lightweight (just 1kg of your precious hand luggage allowance) and is made from strong polyester. The bag holds 34 litres capacity which was ideal for our 5 day winter/Spring break (I’d definitely fit a week of summer clothes in). They also come with a 3 year warranty, which doesn’t surprise me since our other ones are 5 years in use and not showing any signs of wear.

The quirky thing about the Bear Bag is that it features adjustable “pants” straps on the front that will fit a teddy or doll. Laoise’s dolly didn’t want to travel so she used it to carry her coat in the airport when it got too hot and then she won a big pink bunny on the way home so it travelled there, much to the amusement of everyone in security control in Gatwick airport!  The bag also has backpack straps (though it recommends these to be used by adults not kids) and internal and external pockets and comes with a cute Teddy Passport that younger kids can colour.

Using the bag worked out great, Laoise complained that it wobbled a big but that as more down to her inexperience as a trolley bag driver. She was well able (at almost 4) to pull it along and only gave it to us to do when she got bored.

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Bunny would have to stay in London if the bag hadn’t had the special feature

 

The Camo bag, which the boys received, is pretty much the same bag as the Bear Bag but instead of the pants-type straps for dolly or teddy it has a velcro pouch which is perfect for popping a light jacket into or for keeping comics or books. Much cooler for the older child.

The Camo bag was perfect for the boys’ needs, even when stuffed to capacity my small six-year-old was able to pull his along without any effort, and carried it up and down the stairs of the plane and in the train stations. He loved the independence that the bag gave him and we loved that we never once had to carry it for him.

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The boys pull their Cabinmax Camo Bags through the airport

The bags really made our hand luggage only experiment work so smoothly and made the whole transfer easier than we expected.

Our only minor issue was that the Velcro holding the backpack straps in place came undone on one strap on one of the bag which annoyed its owner, but it didn’t happen on the other two, so it may have been due to its owner messing with the straps on the train.

I look forward to seeing more colours available in the Camo bag as the boys don’t love having things exactly the same as each other.

 

Very independent six-year-old traveller

 

Having received the products free to test, I’d happily have spent the money on them. Not alone are they handy for holidays and flights, but they are ideal for weekends away like our trips to say with our grannies.

The Cabinmax Children’s Range is available direct from Cabinmax or from Amazon  here for the Bear Bag and here for the Camo Bag.

Laoise did this little video with me on Facebook Live  where we look at the bag and all its features, if you want to see more.

 

 

Disclosure:

The bags were received for review but all opinions are our own. No payment was received for this post. This post contains affiliate links for Amazon.

Bumbles of Rice is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk.

5 Comments

  1. I saw these bags when you shared your trip on social media; they really seem ideal for kids travel. I think my gang would love these and it would save on the check in expenses!

  2. These bags look great-bookmarking for our next trip abroad, whenever that will be!

  3. Pingback: London City Break with Kids: Where to Stay, How to Get Around, Where to Eat - Bumbles of Rice

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