By The demands on new parents can be overwhelming. A new baby comes with more to do, more to consider, and more to carry. As bag enthusiasts, where do we turn for a new diaper bag?
A new indie company, No Reception Club, created the Getaway Bag that they hope to fill that need. The Getaway Bag launched as a kickstarter campaign in July 2021 and is running until mid-August.
Tech Specs
| Imperial | Metric | |
| Height | 19.7 in | 50 cm |
| Width | 10.2 in | 26 cm |
| Depth | 6.5 in | 16.5 cm |
| Weight | 2.82 lb | 1.28 Kg |
| Capacity | 1465 cu in | 24 L |
Quality and Comfort
The Getaway bag is made of a 300D RENU Recycled Polyester fabric made from 100% fashion industry textile waste. At 300D, the bag is softer than usual. While this is a departure from the typical 500D or 1000D Cordura commonly reviewed at The Perfect Pack, it is a material appropriate for it’s intended audience – parents of all different preferences and styles will love how soft the fabric is to the touch. Normally I would expect a bag made of this kind of fabric to be extremely floppy, but the Getaway bag has an internal partitioning system that gives the main compartment a lot of structure. As a result the bag holds it shape even when empty.
This bag has a large dose of veg tan leather trim. The bottom of the bag is covered with leather to improve wear resistance, as well as giving the bag some character as the leather develops patina through use.
The front part of the “lid” at the top also has a soft strip of the same leather. While the bag has a loop handle in the back, I find myself grabbing the front lid exactly where the strip of leather sits to pick up the bag often. I do not know if the placement is there to specifically invite this move or not. It works well nevertheless.
Most of the zipper pulls are made of a small strip of leather as well, which certainly makes the operation a bit more enjoyable, given that these pockets are in near-constant use. The bag uses Duraflex buckets at the top opening.
The straps of the bags are padded with a dense foam and are comfortable when the bag is filled with mostly clothes and soft toys. The back panel is quilted with the same nylon fabric. It looks good but will likely get sweaty in hot climate. Being travel-inspired, No Reception Club have cleverly hidden a luggage passthrough in the back, with a small security pocket that can easily fit a passport behind it.
The interior of the bag is lined with an off white 61% recycled polyester, 39% nylon fabric with a fun print. While readers of TPP maybe more used to high viz orange interiors, as a diaper bag a more calming liner seems appropriate. The fabric feels good to the hand, but I do worry the white will get dirty over time.
Organization and Access
This bag has a lot of organization. Starting with the laptop compartment in the back: It is a fully zip-open compartment, intended to be TSA-friendly. The laptop pocket inside, in the far back wall, is sized for up to a 16 inch laptop and it is suspended from the bottom by a little. The laptop pocket relies on the foam at the back panel for protection from the back. On the front wall of this compartment there is a single medium size zipper pocket. This area offers minimum organization only. Unless traveling, this back area maybe better used to store the optional changing pad.
Because the compartment is under the backpack straps, it has the same problem as the Goruck design where one must flip over at least one strap to get to the zipper to get to the compartment.
The front of the Getaway bag has a medium sized compartment accessible via a U shape zipper. The front wall is divided into two mesh pockets that are great for smaller items like lotion bottles as long as they are not too bulky.
The back of this pocket can be fully unzipped and provide access into the main cavity of the bag. I am not sure why I would use this access because of the much better side and top opening. I think they should just remove this feature to cut down on manufacturing cost.
The front pocket is also a good place for the changing pad, which No Reception Club offer as an option with their Sidekick sling bag.
The main compartment has one innovative design feature. While it will work as a large single compartment with top and side access, the better way of organizing this space is to use one or both of included shelves.
This design is not new – I’ve seen this design in many camera-centric bags – but I had never thought of this until now. The shelving design is really useful for organizing items for a parent. The dividers create a place for a change of clothes, a place for bottles and supplies, and a space for toys. I think of this as a personal parent locker.
Unclipping the Duraflex buckets and opening the top lid also reaches this main compartment. Inside has an additional cinched top opening, creating room stuff a few more things in the top. I found this useful for the extra kids’ jacket that I forgot to pack neatly.
The back of the top lid has another compartment that is good for sunglasses, lotion bottles, or an organizer pouch.
On the other side of the “locker opening”, there is similar looking opening that opens into compartment that is 2.5 inches deep. This was a great place to put things that I need quick access to – snacks, or wipes. In addition The No Reception Club kickstarter also has an optional fanny pack that is designed to fit inside this compartment. I really like this compartment. Laying the pack on the side and gave access to all the parenting essentials.
There is a subtle design feature — this compartment has a single zipper pull opening, while the locker opening has a double zipper pull, making it easier to tell them apart. Being a bag nerd I would change out one of the zipper to something that looks and feel different to help with identification.
On both sides of the bag there is a water bottle pocket. However they are completely in the way of the two main access points of the bag. I was faced with two options — either use the bottle pocket but remove the bottle each time I needed to get inside the bag, or put the bottles inside one of the shelves instead.
There is one more thing: the bottom of the pack has a fairly large compartment that is lined with waterproof material. This is the “messy pocket.” Dirty clothes, or other items that need to keep away from clean contents? Put them here. There is enough slack in the dividing fabric so that if this compartment isn’t full, items from the main compartment above can push into this space as well.
What’s Perfect
This is a very well thought out diaper bag and more:
- The clever use of the internal divider / shelving is spot on for organization
- The overall setup of the other side and the bottom messy compartment makes a lot of sense
- I like the feel of all the leather trim — giving the bag a very classy feel and look
What’s Not
- The front pocket opening into the main compartment is not useful
- I could use slightly more organization in the laptop compartment but that is really not the main focus of this bag
- I wish there were a dedicated way to store a water bottle on the outside of the bag that didn’t interfere with the side access
- I am slightly worried about the white interior liner getting dirty over time, but I like the idea of having a light color and happy print for a parent bag
- The bag nerd in me wishes a small loop patch area so that some of us can tag on our favorite patches.
Wrap Up
As bag enthusiasts we periodically get asked about which bag can be used as a diaper bag. Until now I didn’t have a specific answer. Many bags have good organization and can double as a diaper bag for sure. This Getaway Bag however managed to pull together a set of features that result in an enjoyable and highly functional diaper backpack. They even included two simple but effective straps for hooking the backpack onto the back handle of a stroller. Check out the kickstarter campaign while you can, especially if you are a parent.
Note: The Getaway bag was provided by No Reception Club as a sample for review purposes. The content of this review was not shared with No Reception Club before publishing. Our reviews are unbiased and never modified to keep a brand happy.
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