The Trunki Paddlepak – Sheldon the Turtle // A Review

We have been big fans of the Trunki brand for some time; we’ve had our Trunki suitcase for most of Ava’s lifetime and have loved it and used it all the time. A couple of months ago we were sent a Trunki PaddlePak for Ava and we are now a big fan of that too.

The Trunki PaddlePak Review

Ava has the ‘Sheldon the Turtle’ Medium Paddlepak and it is the perfect size for her at age four and a half. She wore it for hours whilst we were out and about so it must have been really comfortable for her to wear otherwise she would have whinged and taken it off straight away! She loved being able to carry her cuddly toy cat and a couple of snacks (as well as a small change of clothes) around with her and she really loves the cute Turtle, and is very proud of it and the fact she can carry it herself. She ran around for ages with Sheldon on her back and didn’t complain once (unusual for her!).

The PaddlePak is a water resistant backpack made from lightweight and durable material – it is designed to stop wet stuff getting in, or leaking out – so perfect for using as a swimming bag or taking to the beach, as well as for every day.

Once you have a few things in the PaddlePak the Turtle really takes shape and he is lovely. It’s such a bright, fun bag for kids and it’s brilliant that it’s waterproof, so it can be used for days out without worrying about the things inside getting wet if it rains. We have also used it for swimming and it worked perfectly for that, keeping the wet things inside without any leaks, and it helped that Ava was happy to carry her things herself so there was less for me to carry for once!

The Trunki PaddlePaks have some great features, such as the roll-top closure which makes a water tight seal, adjustable shoulder straps, so it can grow with your child and last you longer, an external tail pocket with a chunky zip so little hands can open it themselves (Ava loves things like this – being able to keep a little toy in there and getting it out herself). It has a mesh back for a comfy, breathable fit as well as reflective strips for increased visibility. It also has an internal dry pocket to keep little things dry.

There are loads of different styles of the Trunki PaddlePak available – I love Inky the Octopus, but I let Ava choose and she chose the lovely bright green Turtle. The medium PaddlePaks (which we have) are recommended for ages 2+, but they also do a large size for kids age 5 and over, as well as purses that attach to the PaddlePak.

The medium Trunki PaddlePak costs £19.99, which I think is a really good price for a bag that you can use as a swim bag as well as for every day, that is comfortable for kids (a huge plus!) as well as looking really fun. The one thing I do think would be a good addition is to have a chest clip on the bag so that it stays in place a bit more when they are running around. It certainly didn’t fall off, but I know Ava felt like she needed to hold onto it a couple of times when she was running around.

I’m really happy with the Trunki PaddlePak – it’s a great quality, fun and very practical bag, that kids are happy to carry around and use, and you can fit plenty in. I love the Trunki brand for kids and have been recommending the suitcases for a long time, and actually got one for my friend when her baby was born (I’ll be writing about that soon!).

We were sent Sheldon the Turtle Trunki PaddlePak to review, but all thoughts and opinions are mine and Ava’s.