Skip Hop Zoo Pack

Bottom line

No matter where your child's interests lie, Skip Hop Zoo Pack probably has a backpack to please them. These adorable, brightly colored packs are durable, functional and fun. Parents will appreciate the Zoo Packs phthalate-free and BPA-free construction. They're just the right size for a toddler or preschooler, but a little too small for school-age kids because they don't accommodate a full-size notebook or folder.

Performance

Perfect for preschoolers. Skip Hop Zoo Packs have one large main compartment, a smaller insulated front compartment, and an adjustable mesh water bottle pocket. Reviewers say that's plenty of room for toys, snacks, a change of clothes and a blanket for naptime. It also has a write-on nametag and parent say the zippers are easy for little fingers to use.

Parents who purchase the Skip Hop Zoo Pack for kindergarteners are routinely disappointed, because it's not quite big enough to fit a full-size folder. Skip Hop doesn't make any claims about fitting full-size papers or folders, and they post the pack's dimensions on their website.

Comfort

Kids want to wear it. "It's the size of his back and perfect," writes one reviewer who was initially concerned about whether the Skip Hop Zoo Pack would fit a preschooler. Parents of children from 1 to 4 years old say this pack fits them very well, with lots of room to grow thanks to the adjustable straps. The straps are padded for comfort. The Skip Hop bags are BPA- and phthalate-free. The cute animal designs are soft and don't interfere with wearing the pack or rub against any body parts.

Durability

Will outlast your toddler. We found many comments about how well made the Skip Hop Zoo Packs are. Many parents say they hold onto these packs as overnight bags once their children need a larger backpack for carrying full-size folders, or passing it down to a sibling.

They get high praise for their ease of cleaning: just toss them in the washer, hang them to dry, and they look like new, say parents. The only complaints we found were from a few parents who said the fabric "ears" on several of the animal designs had started to fray, or that the zipper pulls had fallen off.