Freuville Mothership vs. MS3 or Oioi Messinger diaper bags

[emmasrun]

I am trying to decide between the folowing 3 bags. I have 2 under the age of 2 and am an overpacker. Has anyone had experience with the new Freuville MS3? What is the storage space vs the mothership? Any insulated pockets? How about verses the oioi messinger? any thoughts>? Thanks.

[Radosti]

MS3 is smaller than the mothership. The Fleurville company was just sold to JJ Cole, so beware... their CS has been NASTY. I also know that the OiOi messenger is lighter and does have an insulated bottle holder. So, go with an OiOi, hands down.

[sfmom]

I have the Fleurville mothership and have been pretty happy with it. I wasn't aware of the sale to JJCole. I've seen the OiOi and if I had to buy another bag it would probably be the OiOi. Other moms I know rave about this bag.

[Radosti]

Let me tell you, I am so very unhappy to be caught up in the worst CS experience with Fleurville because of that sale to JJ Cole. I am currently dealing with my credit card because talking to the fleurville people is like talking to a wall.

I had to help a neighbor out. That's how it started. I picked up an azure floral OiOi messenger diaper bag for $45 at Buy Buy Baby on Clearance and put it aside for this baby. It was beautiful. Then, my neighbor's daughter in Israel is expecting. She asked for a deal on a great diaper bag to give to her daughter as a gift when she goes to see the baby. We both looked at Fleurville seconds, but they either had pink or blue, no neutral. The daughter isn't finding out. So, to help her out, I sold her my OiOi messenger and bought myself a few things off the Fleurville seconds sale. The mothership is fine, but heavier and being pink, not as pretty as the OiOi messenger I had. The lexie tote is pretty, but so trashed that I am getting the CC in on it since they sent me a second hand item, not seconds. The computer bag I ordered is also fine.

If I had to do it over again, I'd have stuck with the OiOi diaper bag and just been on the lookout for another clearance OiOi for my neighbor. Packing for 2-3 kiddos, you want the bag itself to be as light as possible. And the fact that it was very pretty helped a lot.

Oh well. What's done is done, but learn from my mistakes...

[aajamu]

As far as I know, the Mothership does NOT have adjustable shoulder straps. That was a turn-off for me (automatically). A bag that big should have adjustable straps, you know?

I've never seen any MS3 interior shot photos, so that was a no go for me as well. None on their website, none on vendor sites. I haven't seen them in the stores either. So I would pass until I see photos.

I've had an older model OiOi messenger (charcoal dots) and it did not have adjustable straps, so I hated it. Sold it on ebay. THe newer ones do though. I like OiOi quality in general, and if you buy from an authorized retailer, they have great customer service. However, the organization is just so-so. The interior pockets aren't super roomy and they are all odd sized - like too big or too small. But....the bags hold up well and look great, so if you can deal with not-stellar organization, you might want to check them out.

If you are looking for a larger bag with adjustable straps, you might want to check out the Petunia Pickle Bottom boxy backpack. It is well organized (ones from 2009 are anyhow), a good size for overpackers, and you can wear backpack, messenger, or shoulder. The glazed bags hold up very well. The only downside is the annoying velcro, but to be honest, that didn't ever annoy me that much. The Storksak Jess is another wonderful messenger bag (only with no flap, even though photos make it looks like it has one) - roomy, comfy, well organized. It is more expensive, but sometimes they come up on eBay or those "deal of the day" type sites (Gilt I think, I can't remember which one, but one of the higher end deal sites).