There are a lot of kids bike baskets and bags out there that are cutesy but not necessarily practical. If you’re a bike family that does REAL biking, your kids probably need a way to carry their gear (not just a stuffed animal around the cul de sac).
Enter Po Campo. This bike bag company makes high-quality adult bike bags–and pint-sized ones for kids too.
Whether you need a solution for the bike commute to school, the mountain bike trail, or even an overnight trip, Po Campo has a bag for your child.
Zinger Backpack Pannier Bag
Pros:
- Multi-functional
- Padded, mesh back and straps
- Reflective details
- Padded chromebook pocket
Cons:
- Requires a rear rack (not common on kids bikes)
Price & Where To Buy:
- $50 List
- Check Price at PoCampo.com*
- Check Price at REI.com*
- $35.00 at Amazon.com* (Last updated: 2023-05-10 at 16:14) – More info
The Po Campo Zinger was hands-down our favorite bike bag we’ve tested. This creative bag is a backpack that converts to a pannier bag. (We’ve seen these for adults, but never for a kid).
As A Pannier Bag
When on the bike, the backpack straps flip forward (and snap in place), and the bag attaches securely to the rear rack via two velcro straps. There are several reflective details on the bag including the bright yellow backpack straps.
As A Backpack
When your child gets to their destination (school, the library or wherever), they can remove the bag and wear it as a backpack. The bag is a good size and has plenty of room.
Inside, there is a padded compartment that can fit a Chromebook as well as an open storage area for books, lunch, etc. In addition to the interior storage space, there’s also a front pocket and water bottle pockets on each side.
It’s worth mentioning that the front pocket has a closure that’s similar to velcro but is made of molded micro-grip instead. We thought this was awesome since velcro with kids tends to get dirty, snag clothes, etc….
Works Well For Non-Bike Activities As Well
My favorite thing about the Zinger is that it’s multi-fuctional. The backpack worked well for outings even when a bike wasn’t involved.
Both the backpack back and straps are padded and mesh so they are comfortable and provide for at least some airflow. I wore the backpack one day on a short hike, and find that it worked well.
Requires A Rear Rack
Of course, the downside of this set up is that your child’s bike needs a rack to use it. And most kids bikes, don’t have a rear rack installed (or eyelets to accept a rack).
Woom offers a rack for their bikes, and if you’re in the EU (or luckly enough to find one used in N. America) the Islabikes bikes have racks. We used our Islabikes Beinn 20 with the bag.
If your child’s bike has eyelets to accept a rack, Racktime makes the “Fold-It Fix”* rack that will work on bikes with 20 inch wheels and up.
Blip Water Bottle/Feed Bag
Pros:
- Easy access to snacks
- Can be used for a (small) water bottle in lieu of a cage
Cons:
- Velcro straps may be too short to wrap around headtube
Price: $20
I’m big on snacks to motivate kids during bike rides and it’s nice if they can carry them themselves.
The Po Campo Blip is a small open feed bag that attaches to your child’s handlebar and headtube and fits a few granola bars, gummies, or snack of choice. The top has a drawstring closure that keeps items from falling out. There is also a mesh pocket on the sides that works well for stashing granola bar wrappers.
It can also work as a water bottle holder if your child doesn’t have a cage on their bicycle. We found that a regular sized cycling water bottle was a little too big to stay securely in the bag without bouncing around, but a smaller child-sized Camelback bottle worked well.
Feed bags like this are popular among adults (I have one), and yes, you could just get a boring black one for your kiddo too, but the Po Campo Blip is a little cuter and smaller than a grown-up feed bag.
My only complaint about the Blip is that the velcro straps were a bit short. The top strap was plenty long, but I had difficulty getting the other two around the headtube. On Po Campo’s website they show the bag on a BMX style riser bar, but for a flatbar this was problematic.
Aside from using the bag on the handlbar, you could also mount the bag anywhere on the bike that you can get the velcro straps to fit–i.e. the seatpost, top tube, down tube, etc.
Speedy Handlebar Bag
Pros:
- Multiple pockets
- Easy to fasten to handlebars
- Can be used as a cross-body bag as well
Cons:
- May rub cables
Price: $35
The Po Campo Speedy handlebar bag is the perfect answer for any kid who needs a way to carry their personal items on the bike. It’s not as big as a basket–there’s no way to carry a stuffed animal–but it’s much more practical and secure.
The bag is large enough to fit quite a bit. Think Pokemon cards, a snack, some rocks, a compass and feather.
There are three separate pockets including one main zippered pocket (that has a key clip) and a front pocket that quickly opens and closes. Like the Zinger backpack bag, the Speedy’s front pocket has a molded micro-grip closure rather than velcro. The rear pocket is not accessible while strapped to the bike.
The bag secures to your child’s handlebars via two velcro straps. These were easy to operate, plenty long, and did a good job of keeping the bag from bouncing around too much.
The only thing to be aware of is that if your child has a bike with both derailleur cables and brake cables attached to the handlebars, there’s quite a lot of cable up there and the bag will be propped up a bit and may end up rubbing on cables (not ideal).
Finally, it’s worth noting that the bag also converts to a cross-body bag. My son didn’t want to use the bag for this purpose, but I can see other kids loving it. They can bike to the ice cream shop and then wear the bag inside.
Bottom-Line: Well Made, Durable Bags
Overall, we were impressed by all three bags. They are well-constructed–the material and stitching were top notch.
Considering how durable they are, I felt like the prices were very reasonable. This was compounded by the fact that they were easy to use for multi-purpose activities, making the investment even more worthwhile.