Can someone compare the Skip Hop and the Timbuk2?

[hudsonam]

I really have to stay away from this site. Every time I think I've decided... And THEN I got an email back from BrownsOn5th saying they'd match $81.95 on the Vera Bradley Baby Bag, PLUS free shipping (saving me from the $94 it would cost to buy one in a store), just when I thought I'd decided to wait on that one... Oh boy.

Anyway, I started checking out the Timbuk2 site for the accessories to go with a Skip Hop, and *then* because of the color choices, and **then** I saw the post from a couple months ago with the mint/silver/gray bag, and I started drooling. Of course I would want to build my own, so I can have the center divider. ;-) So I'm going from $51 (arunningstroller.com = free shipping) for the Skip Hop plus $16 for a Timbuk2 strap pad for it ($10 + 6 shipping), so $67, compared to $90 + shipping (?) for a custom small Timbuk2 messenger bag.

Can anyone compare some pros and cons, and offer their opinion on which would be a better purchase? I need to step away from this board... ;-) I'm about to be broke once the baby arrives, yet I'm completely justifying splurging on a diaper bag. LOL.

TIA!
Anne Marie

ETA: I think this would look mighty pretty. ;-)


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/17887.jpg

[Momof3Labs]

I have both a small Timbuk2 and a Skip Hop. If I had to pick one, it would be the Timbuk2, hands down. I like that it stands by itself, and it is easy to find things in the bag (and you can pack it pretty full if you want - the front flap closes with long vertical strips of velcro so can be closed whether it is relatively empty or very full). The front zipper area is large enough for our diapering items (I hate having them in the same compartment as food - yuck) so I see no need for a divider on a small Timbuk2 bag. I like the T2 shape better for carrying as a messenger bag (the SH is much taller but very skinny) and the T2 closes more securely, IMO.

But the SH rides on my stroller all the time, and makes a great cupholder!

[hudsonam]

Thank you for the info! I really like that it's not just a diaper bag too. Do you think the small will be large enough? The medium definitely looks pretty huge. I remember looking at these bags years ago, when I was a student in NYC. I always loved the "build-your-own" thing. :-)

[Momof3Labs]

We have a small and a medium T2 and the small is plenty big for us (though I only carry a sippy cup, not a formula can or multiple bottles). The medium is enormous, IMO!! So it really depends on how heavy a packer you are.

[hudsonam]

I'll be breastfeeding (if all goes well), but probably won't NIP, so I have a small, lunch sack sized cooler I bought for keeping a couple bottles of EBM in the diaper bag. Think that will fit in the small?

Thank you for your help!

[Momof3Labs]

Then you'd probably do better with the medium. Although I never thought I would NIP (too modest) and was surprised at how easy it really was!!

[bubbaray]

I also have a Skip Hop and a small T2 as well as a medium T2 and a T2 Metro Mini.

I think preference depends how you will carry the bag -- on your shoulder or hang it from a stroller. Not that I dislike my small T2, but I prefer the Skip Hop for organization and how it hangs on my strollers. If I'm going to be out carrying DD and not using a stroller, I prefer the small T2 or even the Metro Mini (cute, carries a little more than a LE LT). But, I've never found the small or medium T2 straps comfy, even with the strap pad (the Metro Mini strap is comfy).

The medium T2 is REALLY HUGE! Seriously, I could probably fit DD in there, along with all my regular diaper bag stuff!! :)

If you need photos for comparison, let me know.

Melissa
Mom to Maya http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/binky.gif & Dog Mom to Bubba http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/dog.gif

http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/11089.birthday.png

[hudsonam]

Melissa, photos would be wonderful! I would be so grateful. Thank you!

[audball]

I had posted this earlier in a response to someone asking about relative size of the Timbuk2 Medium Bags and the SkipHop. Hope this helps!
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=63&topic_id=16653&mesg_id=16687&page=3

[hudsonam]

Thank you! That IS helpful. See, in those pictures, the medium looks big, but not gigantic, IMO. In the pictures of the red one (forget who has it now), it looked huge.

[bubbaray]

Here are the photos I had on hand. I will take more tonight. They are the Medium T2 with a Mothership, the Mothership INSIDE the medium T2 and the medium T2 beside the Metro Mini. I will take photos of all 3 tonight.

But, trust me on this, even though it d/n look huge in photos, the medium is! :)


Melissa
Mom to Maya http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/binky.gif & Dog Mom to Bubba http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/dog.gif

http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/11089.birthday.png

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/17978.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/17979.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/17980.jpg

[hudsonam]

Thank you for the pictures! I'm thinking maybe I need to be patient and wait until DS is here to see how the bag I already have works out :-(, and then decide if I want something smaller or larger than that (it's an Eagle Creek Parent Survival Pack, which I think is pretty big).

I'm also thinking, if I get a small Timbuk2 especially, that I should order it from ebags, and hopefully they'll still have a deal going on, so that it's cheaper. With a small, I probably don't need the center divider and grab strap. And I can get the shoulder pad on ebay or in a store somewhere. That way, if it isn't my dream bag, I can return it (timbuk2 charges $10 or $20 to return a bag), and/or it won't be a big deal that I didn't love it. But for a medium, I definitely want all those extras.

[audball]

Sierra Trading Post had some great prices too...www.sierratradingpost.com. The advantage with using ebags is that you can send it back with no additional cost to you.

bubbaray is right...the medium Timbuk2 may look deceptively smaller in these photos, but it is still a pretty large bag. I don't have a problem carrying a large bag because I had a large bag for school and then a large briefcase for work. Depending on your outing, you may want to scale down to the small messenger. I love the fact that I can put the kitchen sink into this puppy and it still has room for more! I have two in diapers and always carry two sippys and a bottle. But that being said, I switch bags often.

[bubbaray]

OK, here are some more photos. There is a Pink T2 Metro Mini (ballistic), Black/Grey/Silver T2 Small Messenger (ballistic), Navy/pink/Navy T2 Medium Messenger (cordura) and a red canvas Skip Hop in these photos. The last photo is the Medium Messenger with the Metro mini and the Small Messenger inside it. Still room for baby!

HTH

Melissa
Mom to Maya http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/binky.gif & Dog Mom to Bubba http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/dog.gif

http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/11089.birthday.png

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18001.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18002.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18003.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18004.jpg

[hudsonam]

Melissa, thank you again! Does your small have a center divider, or a shoulder pad? Do you think those things are an improvement to a bare-bones model?

ETA: I just reread your previous reply and saw what you said about the strap pad. :)

[bubbaray]

I can't remember what I wrote earlier... Too lazy to go back and find it in this thread too! ;)

Yes, I have the strap pad and yes, I got the center divider. I could live without the center divider (though I do like it), but I think the strap pad is necessary. It fits the small and the medium and is removable. It d/n fit the Metro mini and you d/n need it for that bag, IMO. The straps on the small and medium are quite wide and stiff. I guess I'm such a fragile sort that they kinda bug me -- LOL (I'm not at all fragile!!).

For the money, I would get an "off the rack" one on sale w/o the center divider, but get the strap pad. Not that I dislike it, but at regular custom prices, the T2 bags get kinda pricey. The co-op prices were great, and that's when I got my custom small with the center divider.

BTW, I don't think you need a grab strap for the small. It would be handy for the medium.

HTH
Melissa
Mom to Maya http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/binky.gif & Dog Mom to Bubba http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/dog.gif

http://www.babysfirstsite.org/newtickers/ticker/11089.birthday.png