How awesome is this ‘swimming’ bag by Trunki?  I was super excited to show Bella when it arrived and she immediately wanted to use it.  That evening she was off to Nana’s for a sleepover, so we moved her staying over gear from her usual backpack to Coral the tropical fish!  I wasn’t sure it would fit, but we managed to pack in a spare set of clothes, pyjamas, her two favourite teddies (smallish ones) and a toy car!  It filled out even more when packed and looked amazingly fish like as she ran around the house not wanting to take Coral off!

Review of Trunki PaddlePak ‘Coral the Tropical Fish’

It’s so fabulous how it puffs out like a fish when on the back.  I’m not sure who loves it more, Bella or me!  I say ‘swimming’ bag as although Coral is designed for pool and beach days, with its fabulous water resistant material, it also has a multitude of other uses as a handy kids backpack.  The waterproof material would also be appreciated for any outings in this country as you never know when you’ll get stuck in some rain!

The bag has a great opening, which I couldn’t find at first.  Rather than read the packaging, I dived straight in trying to find the opening zip which I assumed it had.  Feeling rather dumbfounded and even asking Ben to see if he could see it, I then looked at the packaging.  Ah ha.  I did wonder why there was a safety clip at the top!  You simply undo this and open out the mouth, then unroll it three times!  Then you fill (or feed) coral with your things, roll it back up and close the safety clip.  I’ve never seen a bag open like this before and I actually think it’s pretty cool.  It’s quite fun to have a bag that opens and closes so differently to any other.

There’s a handy zip pocket on the tail which would be great for locker change when swimming or for safe keeping of shells discovered on the beach!  It also features a handy glasses holder on the strap so they’re within easy reach.  Trunki really do seem to cover all angles and think of everything when they design kids products.

The following weekend we took Coral for an outing to the shop and park.  We were hoping for a dry weekend, but we didn’t have total luck.  It was damp, wet and spitting every now and then.  So, we decided to pop to the shop during a dry spell to fill coral up with snacks and munch them in the park.   It was such a gloomy day, but I couldn’t help but feel cheerful with Bella playfully skipping ahead with a luminous Coral in place!  I certainly wouldn’t worry about losing Bella in a crowd!

We sat on a bench in the park and Bella enjoyed opening her bag which we’d just filled with snacks.  Bella reached into Coral’s mouth and pulled out our goodies one by one.  It was super windy and Coral nearly blew away to which Bella exclaimed ‘Gosh!  Hold on tight!’.  The wind sadly put Bella off playing in the park so we ventured home where Bells danced round the living room keeping Coral on the whole time!

I’m sure Coral will enjoy many more adventures with us and I can’t wait for a summer day as she’ll be perfect for our next beach trip.

I thought I’d ask Bella for her opinions too and here’s what she said:
Mummy: ‘Do you like your new backpack, the fish one?’
Bella: ‘Yes I do.  It’s goooooood, I like it, I like it like scrambled eggs and cheese butter!’
Mummy: ‘What’s the best thing about Coral?’
Bella: ‘Wearing it and carrying it’

You can find Coral for £19.99 and free UK delivery here: https://www.trunki.co.uk/paddlepak-pink-tropical

 

I was kindly sent the backpack for review by Trunki.  I was able to choose the design I liked best and would definitely recommend this product.

 

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