If you have been to an airport in the last 10 years you are bound to have seen plenty of kids racing along on their Trunki.
From the first time I saw a Trunki, I always thought that they looked amazing and knew that I would have loved to have had one when I was young.
We have now bought one for each of our daughters and have used them on several trips abroad.
In this Trunki review, we will tell you all about the features of the Trunki ride on suitcase for kids and share our experiences of using them.
Trunki Review
Size: 18.1 x 8.2 x 12.2 inches (46 x 21 x 31cm) | Weight: 3.8 pounds (1.7 kg) | Capacity: 18 litres
Pros
- They look great with a really fun design that kids love
- Fun for kids to ride or pull along
- Get through the airport easily by pulling your child along
- Really well built from quality materials
- Loads of great designs to choose from
Cons
- The small(ish) size doesn’t take full advantage of hand luggage allowances
What is a Trunki?
Since then the company has gone from strength to strength and sold millions of their cute pull-along suitcases and have branched out into other kids travel products.
They look pretty cool, tell me more….
One of the great features of the Trunki is the simple yet characterful design. The original version was just in blue or pink but the clips and handles have been cleverly designed to give the case a distinctive look and character that appeals to all children.
It now comes in a wide variety of colours and characters that make it even more fun for kids.
Each Trunki suitcase is made out of sturdy plastic with a ‘saddle’ groove on the top for your child to sit. From this riding position they can push themselves along.
Kids can now zoom around the airport under their own steam and the airport changes from being a boring chore into a huge play space.
The wheels are in a fixed position so there is no steering involved other than by pushing, sliding or lifting the case to face a new direction.
This works great, especially when queuing for passport control or security checks as kids ride along while you wait in the queue. They just push with their feet to shuffle themselves forward when the queue moves.
Once you are out past the queue you may want to pull your child along to get a bit more speed up and make sure that you don’t miss your flight. To do this you simply unclip one end of the carry strap and pull them along.
This is where your kids will really start to enjoy themselves as they lift up their feet and get whisked along through the airport. Getting to the plane becomes an adventure in itself!
You do need to be a bit careful when pulling your child along, especially in crowded airports, as people are hurrying about and not necessarily looking down at their feet for a child riding on a Gruffalo.
Steering the Trunki using the strap is pretty straightforward as you just pull in the direction that you want to go in.
Some airports like to put in 90-degree bends that need you to take a bit of extra care but we have never had any issues with crashing or tipping the Trunki.
How big is a Trunki? It looks fun, but is a Trunki Practical?
The Trunki measures 18.1 x 8.2 x 12.2 inches (46 x 21 x 31cm) in size has a capacity of 18 litres. This means that it comfortably meets the requirements for airline hand luggage.
If you plan to use it just for things to entertain your child on the plane, you can comfortably fit a change of clothes, a few toys, books, a teddy and an iPad in the case.
As we tend to travel with hand luggage only we need to fit most of our daughters’ clothes in the Trunki. We have managed this quite easily for a couple of weeks’ worth of clothes (they are small clothes after all).
It is a lot smaller than a full sized piece of cabin luggage though so you are limiting what you can take if this is the only bag you are taking for them (of course they can also borrow some space in my bag).
We feel that the benefits of having the wheeled ride on luggage in the airport and the fun that the girls can have outweigh the lack of space. If you need more luggage space you can always get a bag in the hold.
Inside the Trunki, there is a pocket for keeping small things safe and also ‘teddy bear seatbelts’, which help to keep everything in place.
The Trunki opens up like a traditional suitcase and can be closed using the sturdy clips at each end. These can be locked with a little plastic key, not really necessary but our girls love to play with keys! As it is part of the strap they can’t even lose this one.
Is a Trunki heavy? What if my child won’t ride it?
The Trunki children’s ride on suitcase looks and feels really solidly built but it is still very lightweight at just 1.7kg (3.8 pounds).
This is great for keeping within airline luggage weight allowances, and also for the times that you will end up carrying it about.
Every child I have ever seen looked like they loved riding their Trunki, and our girls certainly do.
There will probably be times when you need to carry the Trunki – boarding the plane, getting in and out of the airport and any time that your child decides that they have had enough of riding on the Trunki. To help you out there is a shoulder strap as well as the carry handles and you could always pull it along without a rider.
Is the Trunki only useful for flying?
The Trunki really does come into its own when you are on the smooth floors of an airport navigating queues and walking to distant departure gates making it a great kids carry on suitcase.
But we get lots of use of ours when we are not flying. We always use them for weekends away or camping trips.
We just put the bag in the back of the car with the girls things inside. They are a handy sized bag and also an extra toy to play with/place to sit when you arrive at your destination.
Our Trunki’s are also used quite a lot at home for playing ‘going on holiday’ or pulling around like a pet, as well as for storing toys.
If you are never intending to fly with your child then I feel that you won’t get the best use out of a Trunki. But if you only fly very occasionally I think that you will find you use the bag more than you expect.
Flying with young children?
Check out our tips for flying with a baby or taking a toddler on a plane
Make sure that you have the right travel essentials by reading our buying guides for the best travel strollers, baby carriers and tablets (don’t fly without one!)
Is it safe to ride a Trunki?
The Trunki rolling kids suitcase has been designed from the start to be ridden by toddlers and young children and is a safe ride on suitcase for them use.
The Trunki riding suitcase is very stable and most children will have no problems when riding them and pushing themselves along.
Of course, you should be careful when towing your children, make sure that they are holding on, be careful on corners and don’t go too fast.
We haven’t had any issues and do not think that this is something that you should worry about.
The biggest risk in my eyes is simply someone walking into a child on the ride along case in crowded areas, but this has never actually happened and would probably just be an awkward moment rather than a full-on accident.
What Age is Trunki Suitable For?
The Trunki age recommendation is for children 3 years old and over.
Our girls have used them from 2years old. As long as they are able to balance and hold on they should be ok but children this age vary a lot in their development.
The younger they are the more careful you will have to be pulling them along and it is also more likely that they won’t ride it all the way to the gate so (so keep your baby carrier handy).
I have seen some quite big kids riding on Trunki suitcases at the airport who didn’t look like they were ready to move on to less fun luggage any time soon. I guess, they will last our girls until around 6 years old….
What Colours are Available?
There is a fairly new unicorn design that I know my girls would love, it comes complete with a horn and brushable tail!
Some of the designs come complete with sets of stickers so that your child can add their own personalisation to the design.
The Best Trunki Alternative
There are a few other kids suitcases that are worth considering, although the Trunki is our favourite.
We are big fans of Skiphop products, they are always really well made and have gorgeous designs that kids love.
This wheeled luggage is practical and looks great.
If you are looking for an alternative ride on suitcase this scooter design looks really cool.
Trunki Review: Our Verdict
We love our Trunki’s and think that they really make getting through the airport a lot more fun. We like them so much that buying another Trunki for our second child was high on our list of family travel essentials.
Having looked around, we are pretty sure that they are the best kids ride on suitcase and the best ride on suitcase for toddlers.
Whilst we don’t take them on our longer trips to South East Asia or Central America, they are perfect when going away for two or three weeks.
What we hadn’t expected before we bought the first one was that they would be used so much around the house and come in so handy for weekends away and trips to see the grandparents (our girls love them too and insist on taking them every time), and even camping.
We definitely have no regrets about purchasing our Trunki’s and most parents are equally pleased with theirs as you can see from these customer reviews.
