Cross Country Faux Leather Diaper Bag

This bag is absolutely fabulous. I bought this bag with the intention to use it as a diaper bag/personal bag during travel. And it did not disappoint. First of all, I needed this bag to be roomy enough to accommodate all the regular diaper bag accessories (eg., diapers, wipes, changing pad, sippy cup, toy, etc.) plus the items that come in handy while traveling (eg., even more diapers, two changes of clothes, emergency medicines, sunscreen and bug spray, jacket, iPad, headphones, blanket, etc.) PLUS my oversized wallet and sunglasses. This bag handled all of this and probably could have handled a couple more things. What was especially nice though is the way the bag felt when carting around all of the above. Although it was quite a load, when I adjusted the shoulder straps to allow as little slack as possible (I carried it as a backpack) it didn’t feel especially heavy. By the way, some have noted that the shoulder straps often need adjustment; I wrapped the excess strap material around the metal loops on the bottom of the backpack and they never budged. And while we’re on the subject of shoulder straps, the padded leather makes them feel especially nice. As I mentioned, I had this bag chock full and I never felt like the straps were digging into my shoulders. Now let’s talk about the pockets. Not only are they well placed, but two of them are lined with plastic and some sort of insulative material, which is such a nice option if you need to pack wet items or if you have travel paperwork that you need to keep separate from the other stuff. And hanging just outside the interior pocket is a large key hook that works perfectly for keeping my keys accessible. One of the best features of this bag, though, is the way the main zipper zips down and allows the front of the bag to pop open like an accordion. So, again, when you’ve got a very full bag, you can easily get to things even if you’ve stored them at the bottom of the bag. Some have complained that when worn as a backpack, the bag is a little wide. The reason for this is because the exterior pockets on each side of the bag bulge out a bit. Honestly, I love this feature. My everyday diaper bag is a Fawn bag (also worn as a backpack) with sleek, in-line exterior pockets and when the bag is full, it’s impossible to get anything into those pockets. The cross- country bag’s pockets allow me to easily pop my daughter’s sippy cup in and out of the pockets even when the bag is packed to the brim. Finally, and maybe I should have mentioned this earlier, the bag is soooo nice looking. There are clearly a ton of diaper bag backpack options out there, including some that use more lightweight material but I specifically wanted something that was not only high-functioning but pretty stylish. The cognac vegan leather of this bag is just my style. I’m willing to bet most people who see me have no idea that this is a diaper bag. And if I were to carry it as a shoulder bag, it would be even less obvious. Because of the shape and leather material, it kind of looks like a trendy, roomy briefcase or business bag. And as an added bonus, I got to test out the “water resistant” feature as I had it strapped on while walking around in the rain for two hours. While I wasn’t exactly in great shape afterward, the bag was fine and my contents were perfectly dry. I wish I had bought this bag sooner; it would have made our travel with our toddler that much easier!

I have had this bag for over a year now and fell in love with it right away. I chose it in Cognac because I love brown bags. Some PROs: The feel is of vegan leather is amazing and it does not nick easily and I've managed to keep it scratch free for all this time. The interior is roomy and there are numerous interior and exterior pockets, making it perfect for organization and storage. CONs: The straps became loose only after a month of use, making it nearly impossible to carry as a backpack without having to pull it up constantly. The bag is heavy and pretty bulky. When full, it barely fits in the carrier underneath our storage. The backpack does come with a strap, but ultimately, as a Mom, being hands free is the ultimate goal and the loose straps leave much to be desired. While it looks and feels nice, I would suggest passing on this bag. I reached out to Honest also and they did not provide me with a solution, but only took it as a feedback. I'm very disappointed.