questions about combi urban sling

[kensjen]

DH saw this diaper bag in a magazine and his eyes lit up! I have been wanting to get him a bag that he would actually use, and maybe even be a little excited about. So what do you all (and your DH) think of this bag?? Does it hold much, is it comfortable? Also, is the silver as cool in person as it is on paper?? And one more thing, seems to be a popular bag, sold out lots of places....where online can I get one, and who has the best price?

Thanks so much!!!!
-Jen

[bjiang]

I having this bag in black. It has been my everyday diaper bag for a year until I lost the diaper changing pad. It's a medium sized diaper bag (even though it looks big) and has a lot of pockets to organize your stuff. I really liked this bag when DD was a baby. Now that she is a toddler, the insulated bottle holder on the side does not fit a sippy cup and is pretty useless. Although the strape is adjustable but it is pretty long even at the shortest setting, so if you are short you may not like how it carries.

[SASM]

Hi Jen,

I have this bag in black, as well, and love it. It is not HUGE but works for me(maybe I over pack, though). Just to give you an idea of how big it is, this is what I have been carrying pretty much from Day 1:

In the 2 FRONT pockets under the flap:
3-4 disposables (plus a small stash inside just in case DH forgets to stock it), plastic travel wipes container, baggies and sanitizers,

In the MAIN compartment:
Change of clothes, receiving blanket, burp cloth, large zipper bag, a sweatshirt for Ian, Ian's baseball cap, a picture book, my Hot Sling, and sometimes water for me. Oh, and the secret stash of 2 disposables. :-)

In the small zippered compartment inside:
This varies but normally just two bibs and my nursing pads.

In the inside pockets:
#1: Ian's "medicine cabinet", trial-size sunscreen, lotion, a bulb syringe, and his wrist rattle.
#2: My "medicine cabinet", my snacks, and a few odds and ends.

The bottle compartment:
Either his 4-oz Avent bottle or a small bottle of water for me (I nurse). This compartment only holds that size bottle ~ seems too small for a 9-ounce.

Flap in front:
This is my "purse" ~ wallet, lipstick, pad of paper, pens, extra pacifier, etc.

I don't think that I over pack but with all of this stuff it is QUITE FULL. To answer your other question, the silver version is very cool in person, although, personaly, I would still choose the black. FYI, if you are thinking of CDing, this bag would probably be too small. The other negative for me is that the fastener for the strap has been releasing more than I would like it to recently. Other than that, I LOVE this bag. It is MY bag but DH has absolutely NO PROBLEM carrying it around :-) Good luck with the decision. Oh, I saw a silver one at BuyBuyBaby in Scarsdale, NY a few weeks ago :-)

Edited to add:
The bag is fairly light itself, but with everything that I carry it can get quite heavy. I had my 9-months-pregnant girlfriend carry it around one day b/c she was considering buying one and she thought it was very comfortable with the weight dispersement and shoulder pad. :-)

[peterkin]

I have this bag and have been using it for about 6 months or so (DD is 9 months old). DH has *no problem* wearing this diaper bag. I use it as my purse and diaper bag -- it's the only bag I carry if DD is with us. I have the black one.

It looks more like luggage than a purse -- it's not very dressy. The strap is kind of wide/large but it's comfortable. I usually just throw it over one shoulder like a shoulder bag but you can sling it across your body too.

My only complaint really is that it's getting pretty full. I had thought that I would carry less stuff as DD got older, but right now I'm in a stage where I seem to carry more -- b/c I carry baby food and snacks and sometimes sippy cups *plus* bottles *plus* formula, plus toys ... on the other hand I carry no change of clothes and fewer diapers than I used to. This bag is kind of large but skinny (though mine is bulging pretty much lately). It does "carry" very well, it doesn't stick out too far, the strap stays put on my shoulder when I'm juggling DD and other stuff, and it sort of conforms to my body better than a backpack or tote (though I'm considering a tote right now, maybe I'm bored or maybe I keep dreaming that I'll find something that everything FITS into without being bulky, yeah right).

Oh, the key clip on the outside broke pretty quickly -- if you hang keys on it, keep an eye on them -- DH found my keys lying on the garage floor -- thank goodness that didn't happen when I was away from home! So I don't use the clip anymore, I put my keys inside one of the pockets in the flap.

One thing I **love** about this bag is that it has a lot of compartments so it's easy to find things.

FYI I think there are some good messages in the archives that tell you how others have organized their CUS.

I think I bought mine from BareBabies http://www.barebabies.com and you can also find them at Combi http://www.combi-intl.com/combi/1950.htm.

HTH, Ruth/Laura 09/14/02