Mom’s Guide 2018: The Best Backpack Diaper Bags

If you plan on ever leaving home with your child, diaper bags are a necessity.

No ifs, ands or buts about it.

But what about if you’re going travelling or even just going on a day trip, a backpack-style bag is a lot more convenient. Especially since you can convince the father to wear it all day. Wink wink.

What’s also nice about backback diaper bags is that they have a LOT more capacity, which is perfect, especially if you’re the proud parent of twins.

Not to mention when you’re changing a diaper in a dirty public bathroom and don’t want to put your bag on the floor. It’s a lifesaver to have both hands free at all times.

Of course, they’re not quite as cute and chic as some of the nice designer diaper bags out there, but if you’re going for a backpack, you’re probably more concerned with functionality than appearance. And that’s where backpacks shine.

My Favorite Backpack Carrier

I absolutely love the Skip Hop FORMA. (click here to check price on Amazon.)

I got it in the black color so my husband would be fine using it, but the blue is pretty nice too. But not manly.

The backpack itself is smaller than I thought it would be, but to me that’s a good thing. It still has a ton of room, and a total of 8 different pockets to put things in.

It also has stroller clips, letting you attach it to your stroller’s handles. However, some strollers tell you not to hang anything from the handles for safety reasons, so be sure to check your particular manual before you do it.

What’s really awesome is that it comes with two storage “cubes.” One of them is insulated, so it’s perfect for keeping your bottles, snacks, even water or whatever else you might want. The other one is just mesh, so it’s for anything you don’t need to keep cold.

You can access both of the cubes from the front of the backpack, so you don’t have to dig around to get things out. It’s doable with one hand, which is a lifesaver, for real.

The main zipper compartment can also be opened with just one hand, and it’s where all the magic happens.

On the outside, we have 2 bottle pockets, which are insulated, and can hold the average-sized bottle or can. Pretty standard stuff.

This is just about the perfect backpack diaper bag in my experience. I can fit everything I need for a day, and my laptop fits in, too, if I take out the changing pad. If you have a smaller laptop like a MacBook Air, you would be able to fit it WITH the changing pad, I bet.

I really love the Skip Hop FORMA! And I think you will too.

Other Reasons To Love Diaper Bag Backpacks

Besides the hands-free thing and the size, I also think they’re awesome because they’re usually a lot easier to organize.

The typical hand diaper bag ends up being one big disaster in my experience. Sure, good ones have a few different pockets to put things in, but inevitably, it ends up one big mess.

What I like about backpacks is that they usually have a whole bunch of different zip-up pockets to keep everything separated. No more spaghetti mess of diapers, snacks, keys and clothes all jumbled up in a ball.

But the best reason of all:

They’re PERFECT for dads!

Most men wouldn’t be caught dead carrying around the typical diaper bag. Hell, I can barely get my husband to carry my purse for me when we’re out, let alone rock a pretty floral pattern.

But oh no, he has no excuse not to use a backpack. If you get a good one, they’re more or less unisex. Plus, because they’re bigger and have a lot more weight if filled, he’d only be a jerk not to wear it for you.

They last forever, too. Any good backpack lasts forever, and unlike a diaper bag, you’ll get a ton of use out of a backpack, long after you use it as a diaper bag.

Finally, they’re great if you have a bad back. Unlike typical diaper bags or messenger bags, backpacks distribute the weight over both of your shoulders. As long as you don’t fill it up full of heavy junk, it’ll be so much easier on your back.

What I Don’t Like

On the downside, backpacks aren’t as convenient to get stuff out of. You have to physically take it off before you can zip it open and get your stuff out.

Compare that to a regular diaper bag or messenger-style bag, and they’re a lot easier. But it’s a pretty small price to pay, in my opinion.

Summing It Up

Diaper bag backpacks are great for most people who don’t necessarily want to carry around a second purse or handbag.

I personally love the Skip Hop FORMA, but there are a lot of other backpack bags out there if it doesn’t look like one you’d like to use yourself. If you want to see more, you should look here!