Average Cost: $38
Official URL: http://www.myroyalheinie.com
Rating:

I’ve never really had much need for a larger diaper bag. I don’t carry bottles or cloth diapers, and even most “compact” diaper bags are designed in ways that make them easy to clutter and over-pack. In misguided attempts to downsize, I would try simply throwing some diapers into my purse or throwing my purse contents into my diaper bag. Both options ended with disasters of varying degrees. Most commonly the diapers would end up bunched up or the wipes pack would come open and wet wipes would end up everywhere.

The Royal Heinie is impossible to clutter, keeps diapers and wipes in perfect shape, and makes everything easy to access. It reinforces organization. And for the days when you need more than the Heinie can carry, you can just toss it into your purse or larger diaper bag and keep all the diaper-change necessities easy to grab for that quick trip to the powder room.

SIZE

The Royal Heinie diaper bag is 9″ wide, 7″ tall, and when it is fully packed (with 6 diapers, a stack of wipes, a changing pad, and assorted miscellany) it is between 4″ and 5″ deep. Just a point of comparison, a typical travel/refill pack of baby wipes is 8″ wide, 4″ tall and 2 1/2″ deep. This means that the Royal Heinie, fully loaded, isn’t even twice the size of a pack of wipes.

STYLE/AESTHETIC

This designer diaper bag comes in a variety of styles, all with the same funky cut. There are unisex colors, more feminine colors, and funky outrageous color combinations available. It’s easy to find something that matches your particular style.

Don’t worry, the “Royal Heinie” brand name isn’t emblazoned everywhere, there’s just a simple tag inside that has the name on it, and the outside has a cute logo of a crown over a bum. If you don’t know the diaper bag’s name, though, it simply looks like a “W”.

FUNCTIONALITY

This diaper bag is the most functional one I have ever used. For multiple reasons.

Size/Shape: The size and shape of this diaper bag make it so that diapers do not become crumpled, wipes do not end up balled up, and everything stays just where it should be. It’s a great diaper bag for obsessive compulsives, and it’s a great diaper bag for those of us that have a hard time keeping things organized. No matter what your personal style, this diaper bag keeps everything just so, allowing us all to feel more “together” than a typical day of mothering a toddler would otherwise allow us to feel.

Wipes dispenser: The wipes dispenser is my absolute favorite part of this bag. It’s not just easy to access it’s fast to access. Did your toddler just decide to spray milk everywhere while laughing? Simply grab the velcro-closure flap, pull it open, and grab one of the wipes. You can do it with one hand, in a half second, blindfolded, with a toddler on your back. It makes the “easy” push-button access of the ubiquitous plastic wipes dispenser seem difficult and arcane.

The wipes dispenser is genius in its simplicity. It is basically a sealed pocket of a flexible clear vinyl-like material. On the inside of the diaper bag this pocket zips open to allow you to insert a stack of wipes. On the outside of the bag a small oval area of this material is exposed and cut with a gently sloping zig-zag that allows you to pull a single wipe out and that preps the next wipe for the grabbing. No hard plastic edges to fight with, no bulky or fragile rigid plastic dispensers. And best of all, you will never have to dig around in the diaper bag for the dispenser, it’s right there when you open up the flap.

When I first got this bag I was slightly concerned that the wipes might dry out easily, but this is definitely not the case. I have left wipes in this diaper bag for more than a week without any signs of them drying out (other than the leading edge of the wipe that pokes out of the dispenser). The inside of the flap itself is also lined with the clear flexible material, which prevents it from leeching all the moisture out of the wipes.

Fabric: This diaper purse is made from water repellent/stain resistant 600 denier polyester duck, and the interior is made from waterproof 100% nylon pack cloth lining.

Interior pocket: There is one interior pocket, a loose roomy mesh pocket with an elasticized gather. It is ideal for a spare onesie, a changing pad, or a travel sized sunscreen and diaper cream.

Exterior pocket: The exterior pocket is located on the back of the diaper bag and it is 5″ tall, and is about 8″1/2″ wide. This pocket can easily fit your cell phone, keys and a thin wallet. Beyond that it becomes a tight fit.

Closures: There are several different closure types on this bag: There are rugged heavy duty snaps on the strap that are easy to open intentionally and difficult to accidentally snap open.There are two rounded velcro closures that hold the front flap closed. There are two zippers: one on the wipes pocket and one on the outside back pocket of the diaper bag. The zippers and zipper pulls are very hardy and not at all prone to sticking or splitting. The velcro closures are the only part that seems likely to give away. the two velcro circles that are attached to the bag itself have pulled halfway off. This is undoubtedly due to my husband who tried to cram 9 diapers into the bag for an overnight stay. As long as you don’t overpack, it should be fine. I’ve already stitched my velcro circles back into place.

Strap: The strap is about 19 1/2″ long. Looking at this diaper bag from the front, the right side of the strap is sewn into place. Just above that is a “female” snap followed by a “male” snap about 7″ down the strap, followed by another “male” snap that is 6-7″ down the strap, followed by a “female” snap which is at the end of the strap. On the left side of the diaper bag is another “male” snap. This gives you a variety of options as to how you want the strap to work. You can fasten the first two snaps on the strap and have a 3″ loop that is ideal for hanging over a single handle on an umbrella stroller, a second option is a 7″ loop, or you can fasten the strap to the other side of the bag and have a shoulder strap.

ID Card: The Royal Heinie comes with a card that you can fill out with your information in case you lose it while out and about. This fits into a little transparent and waterproof pouch on the inside of the flap. Don’t feel like filling out a card? It’s the perfect size for a business card as well.

DURABILITY

The only item on this bag that has any possible durability issues are the velcro flap closures. Don’t over-pack this bag, and you’ll be very pleased with how it holds up to use and abuse.

EASE OF CARE

This bag is machine-washable cold and should be air dried. I have never had to wash it, though. It is very easy to wipe off with a wet cloth, or a quick run under the faucet even when you’ve used it to store a poop-covered onesie after a blow-out. It seems to resist odor retention rather well.

MADE IN THE USA

The Royal Heinie is made in the USA in Florida.

BOTTOM LINE

This diaper bag has made it to my list of “things I can’t help but recommend to everyone that I talk to”. If you want a monster-sized bag that can fit a week’s worth of supplies, this is not the bag for you. If you’re looking to downsize your diaper bag and have something that is usable and easy to keep tidy, this diaper bag does it better than any other that I’ve seen. It does its job simply, it does it well, and it does it with a great sense of style.