Thank you to Beau Industries for providing me with sample products to facilitate this post. All thoughts are my own.
If you’ve been following this blog you know that I’m preparing to give birth to our fifth child in just a few weeks. The diaper bag is a parenting staple that I’ve never been particularly happy with. They were always bulky, never as functional as I would’ve liked, and my husband hated carrying them around. We were also bothered by the fact that once our kids were out of diapers, the bag was essentially useless.
The products by Beau Industries are made by active, outdoor enthusiast parents who design their gear with a practical understanding of all these concerns. Durability, sustainability, and well-thought-out functionality are at the core of everything they make. The Beau Pack R1 is made from carefully selected recycled materials and designed to have a life long after its diaper bag duties are done.
The first thing I checked upon receiving the pack was the material’s durability. While we try to buy products with sustainability in mind, I’ve often found that products made from recycled materials can be less durable than we require. You can imagine the abuse a diaper bag must endure, especially in our house. Being dragged in out of our van and stroller as well as the general indifference by our other kids. “This is why we can’t have anything nice,” is a phrase heard often in our house. (sigh) The Beau Pack did not disappoint. It was immediately clear that this bag could take lots of abuse. In their manufacturing process they use something called a “ballistic weave” and you can definitely see and feel a quality that’s high above any diaper bag I’ve ever had before.
Keep reading below for a more detailed description of the bag and its accessories but first I want to tell you about all the things I love about it.
First, it doesn’t look like a diaper bag. It looks like a rugged daypack. Neither my husband nor my boys would be embarrassed to carry this bag. Again, this makes it great to live a long functional life after its service as a diaper bag is done.
The Beau Pack R1 is very comfortable to wear. The padding on this bag and straps make it easy and comfortable to carry all day. That’s going to make a huge difference on long trips to the park, zoo, amusement parks or wherever we choose to venture.
There are tons of pockets for all of the baby’s gear to keep it all secure. There’s no need to dig through a sea of things you don’t need when you can quickly retrieve an item because everything has its own place.
Our ten year old, Annabelle, loves it too! She put it on and said, “Look Mom ! I’m ready to go searching for lost treasure just like Chester Copperpot!” I’m not sure I’m ready for her to go solo adventuring just yet but she could definitely do it using the Beau R1 pack. I’m not sure where she gets so much energy…especially after staying up so late. Which I only know because I woke startled by her passionate singing of the Adele’s “hello.” Hello from the other side? More like hello from the other side of the house…geez that kid has some lungs.
The Beau Pack is an ideal pack and diaper bag all in one. It has so many great features. The backside of the bag has channels in it to maximize airflow and gives it a cooling effect when it is warm out. It has designed ergonomics to help it fit firmly and comfortably to your body even as it gets heavier with the gear you load into it. The load stabilizing straps have EVA padding and PU foam that make the bag an ease to carry.