Huhu Everyday Diaper Backpack 2.0 Review
Huhu was founded by Meng who was frustrated in her search for a high quality, gender neutral and general purpose parenting backpack. She decided to embark on a journey as an entrepreneur to create such a backpack. We started following her progress and had the privilege of providing feedback on version 1 of the Everyday Diaper Backpack. The 2.0 was released last year and after using it extensively for the last 3+ months for both everyday and travel, I’m ready to write this review.
Disclaimer: Huhu provided the backpack in exchange for an honest review.
Overview
- 20 L capacity at 2.1 lbs
- Flap top opening secured with a magnetic push buckle, and front panel side zippers that go down a little more than halfway down for partial panel loading
- Numerous external pockets of various sizes, including two different sized stretch water bottle pockets, and a large front stretch stash pocket
- Internal laptop sleeve, small side pockets, and medium zippered mesh pocket
- 750D polyester exterior and 210D polyester lining, both recycled and OEKO-TEX certified to not have any harmful substances. Metal hardware, closed cell foam, YKK zippers, and various magnets round out the material palette
The Everyday Diaper Backpack 2.0 is designed for functionality without sacrificing aesthetics. It doesn’t look anything like the selection of diaper bags on Amazon or in big box stores, and is priced as a premium product ($195), like most of the bags we review. It’s a bag that can be used as an everyday backpack even after the kids have grown up, similar to the design ethos of the Beau R1 backpack. But unlike the Beau R1 and many other diaper backpacks, the Huhu backpack has a more gender neutral appearance with multiple color options (black and taupe).
Access and Organization
The primary method of access is the top flap covering the main compartment, secured with a magnetic push buckle that has some adjustment to afford a little bit of expandability. This allows fast and easy access to the inside of the bag, even with one hand. No sweeping motion or delicate touch required with a zipper.
To get wider access into the main compartment you can pull down two zippers on the side for a partial “drawbridge” opening. While I usually prefer full clamshell with the zippers going all the way down, I appreciate that this approach prevents the front panel from opening all the way and spilling everything, which would instantly dial a parents’ stress level to 100, especially if you’re walking around the rim of the Grand Canyon.
The Everyday Diaper Backpack 2.0 offers a lot more organization than it looks. Not including the main compartment, there are:
- Top flap zipper pocket (7 x ~10–12 in)
- Flat side zipper pocket (5 x 7 in)
- Bottom “locker” compartment (5 x 6 x 11 in)
- Three open stretch pockets — small and medium side bottle pockets, and a large one on the front
What’s great is that none of these are “diaper bag”-specific — you can use them however you want. What’s also great is that there are a variety of pocket sizes, giving a natural guide to where to store certain items. For my wife and me, we used the top flap pocket for a couple of our toddler’s favorite cars, and a wallet. We used the flat side zipper pocket for bandaids. The “locker” pocket was diapering — 4–5 diapers plus a pack of wet wipes and the included foldable changing pad. The stretch pockets were used for water/milk bottles and alcohol wipes/hand sanitizer/sunscreen.
The bottom locker compartment lining expands into the main compartment, so that impacts how much space you have available. If you keep the bottom compartment empty, it just compresses flat because it’s just a layer of the lining fabric. On the other hand, if you are trying to put things inside when there is already stuff in the main compartment, you have to push the contents upwards in order to make space for the bottom pocket to store whatever you’re putting in.
The main compartment has a laptop sleeve, a horizontal mesh zippered pocket, and two suspended side pockets. The only obviously baby-specific feature is that one of the suspended side pockets is meant for wet wipes. There is an external zipper on the side that accesses the interior of the main compartment side pocket and is meant to quickly access wipes without needing to take out the whole pack of wet wipes. In practice, it wasn’t the most efficient operation, at least not with the Water Wipes packaging. It was always easier to just take out the whole pack when it’s stored in one of the other pockets. Instead, we used these internal side pockets for fruit and veggie pouches (our toddler’s favorite food of course).
Inside the main compartment we would mostly store food, snacks, a couple books, and a change of clothes. But dumping all of those things inside can also be pretty messy, so that brings us to…
Additional Pouches
Included with the backpack are 2 large zippered pouches that have a transparent vinyl panel so you can see what’s inside. Each pouch measures 9.5 x 10 in. In addition, there is a thin opaque divider so you can keep some things hidden from view. Like the other organization, these are just general purpose pouches. We used them to keep our food-related things together (bib, fork/spoon/chopsticks, and the actual food), and an extra change of clothes.
The version 1.0 of the backpack also came with pouches, including a half-size pouch. Those were made of a thinner material and were less durable, but we still use them sometimes.
Aesthetics
The Everyday Diaper Backpack comes in two colors — black and taupe. While black is always a safe color, the taupe is a nice lighter, earthy/natural tone alternative. My wife loves the color, but it’s certainly not a stereotypical feminine color like a pastel pink or purple. The stretch fabric, webbing, and most of the zipper pulls are also color-matched which are details that are easy to take for granted but go a long way.
The biggest downside of the taupe color (or any light, pastel color) is that it’s really obvious when it’s dirty. In addition to just gradual dirt and stains, we had a tube of sunscreen in the front stretch pocket that leaked due to the cap becoming partially open, and that stain just looks pretty gross.
Fortunately, most of these stains come out with a warm water and soft detergent bath. In my case, the sunscreen leak resulted in pretty heavy oily stains, but after one long soak they have mostly come out. Additional soaks could further get them out, but you can see the drastic improvement below.
The inside of the bag is a really bright, almost neon, blue. I appreciate that there is high visibility for the inside but it does look quite overbearing and stark next to the neutral exterior. My wife does not like the inside color. A neutral/earthy color might be appealing to a general audience, but personally I’m fine with the bright blue!
And of course, I like that the backpack doesn’t scream “diaper backpack.” The proportions and lines resemble a “regular” backpack that you could take to work, on a day trip, or for travel.
Comfort and Usability
The curved straps and foam back panel on this bag are quite comfortable and robust. They use closed cell foam for stiffness, and a soft neoprene-like covering for comfort. I wish there was a sternum strap or at least webbing to allow for one, but I don’t think that will be a deal breaker for most people.
Magnets are peppered over various parts of the bag which add a cool factor in daily usage. The front and side stretch pockets have hidden magnets that keep the openings tight against the bag so they stay low profile. The top flap also has two magnets that keep the lid passively closed against the front of the bag, which has actually been quite useful for one-handed opening/closing.
Another handy feature of the bag is that it can stand on its own in most situations, especially if you use the bottom locker pocket for diapers and pack of wet wipes.
Now for the annoyances I have
First, the grosgrain/ribbon zipper pulls. While they look nice aesthetically, they are thin and glossy and are not easy to grab securely. The front panel zippers have a heavier hexagonal bead attached via paracord, and these are WAY easier to grab and feel a lot more premium.
Second, the strap adjustment. The webbing gradually loosens under load while wearing the bag so I frequently have to pull to tighten. This doesn’t bother my wife at all, which means that when it’s my turn to carry the baby stuff, the straps are literally as loose as possible and I have to fight a little to grab the tiny double-folded strap end in order to pull it tight. If the strap ends were finished to create a loop where thumbs could fit through, that would make this specific issue easier to deal with, but it would be better if there was just more friction to prevent it in the first place.
There are some more minor caveats I observed, but wouldn’t call annoyances. The side flap opening for the bottom locker pocket also has a stretch pocket layered on top. When a bottle is stored in that stretch pocket, it makes unzipping the locker pocket opening awkward/difficult. Also, there are D-rings on the side of the bag which can be used to hang the bag from a stroller handle if you have the necessary straps/clips. However I found that the width of the top part of the bag (~14.5 in) is almost as wide as the stroller handle, so it’s easy for the stroller straps to slide down the side instead of staying on the horizontal portion of the handle.
Construction and Durability
After 3 months of everyday usage, the Everyday Diaper Backpack hasn’t shown any rips or tears or fraying. There are signs of cosmetic wear which is expected, but no symptoms of anything coming apart yet. The fabric is pretty good at repelling pet hair, but as alluded earlier, the lighter color is more susceptible to visible scuffs and stains, especially the stretch fabric.
I like how the top flap opening is done in a way where the corners tend to fold inwards when you close the flap down. This means less exposed holes which obviously is good for water resistance.
A suggestion I have for the exterior stretch pockets is to have bottom corner cutouts to allow for liquid and debris (i.e. crumbs) to escape. These cutouts are a staple on bags like EVERGOODS’ line and I’ve found them to be effective.
The bottom is lightly padded and has a thicker/coated exterior fabric. There’s no scratches on the bottom at all, which is pretty remarkable given how many different surfaces we set this bag on.
While I would consider most of the materials used in the bag to be high quality (shout out to the metal hardware), there are a few things that felt less confidence-inspiring.
- The top handle — it’s padded but definitely not with the same foam in the straps. It’s very compressible, and the covering also feels like it could start to fray if rubbed against a rough surface.
- The mesh used for the internal zipper pocket in the main compartment is so-so; a stray sharp edge or pointy object could cause a tear
- As mentioned earlier, the grosgrain zipper pulls are thin and feel cheap — paracord throughout would’ve been better in my opinion.
One neutral observation is that the straps are attached via webbing to the top of the bag, and reinforced using box stitching to the straps themselves. Sometimes when donning the bag, one of the straps can get pretty twisted up, moreso than if the strap was directly affixed to the bag. Again, just an observation, not a critique.
Summary
The Huhu Everyday Diaper Backpack 2.0 is a bag both my wife and I would highly recommend for parents who appreciate high quality carry and prefer a general purpose product that can be used after the kids have grown up. At $195 for the backpack and pouches, I think the price is fair but is definitely a premium when you consider other diaper backpacks, and the Beau R1 which I think is comparable in caliber (in terms of design they are very different).
The closest alternative when it comes to parenting bags designed by bag nerds, and similar price, is No Reception Club, with their Getaway Backpack (which I also reviewed). Their bag is more oriented for travel and has a little more volume, but is still quite suitable for everyday like the Huhu. If I had to choose between the Huhu Everyday Diaper Backpack and the NRC Getaway, I’d pick the Huhu.
If you don’t want to fully invest in the backpack, you could also check out the Huhu Go Anywhere Changing Wallet for $55 — this has been our “leave some diapers in the car” kit. It features the same quality materials and magnetic buckle, has a space for a few diapers and pack of wet wipes, and includes a foldable changing pad. There is a bundle with both the backpack and changing wallet for $225.
As always, thanks for reading this review. While we may pump out content more slowly, you can be assured that every bag has been sufficiently used in real life to inform our honest reviews. We appreciate your support here and on Instagram!
