It’s not every day I’ve seen a duffel bag that makes me like duffel bags again. For years, they’ve been my least favorite form of luggage, after carry-on suitcases and durable travel backpacks.

Something is different about the No Reception Club’s Hideaway Duffel Bag, though. It’s made with your little ones in mind, and it’s certainly ready for the unexpected turns that travel with a baby, toddler or kids can take.

I’ll start this review with packing the Hideaway Carry-On Duffel, and at the end, I’ll let you know if this duffel bag could make you like duffels so much that you’ll want this one for family travel. Let’s dig in.

Intro to the Hideaway Carry-On Duffel

Typically I dread packing duffel bags. They’re like a non-interesting version of backpacks…with all my packing cubes stuffed in, or a “bottomless pit” (this is one of No Reception Club’s catch phrases). They’ve never been my chosen form of luggage.

But I think that changed, once I opened the Hideaway Carry-on Duffel Bag for travel. It’s a sturdy duffel bag, and as you explore it, there are more highlights at every turn. It’s made for expertly organizing your baby, toddler or child’s things while you’re in transit, and that helps a lot, given all the chaos of family travel.

There are five ways to carry it, including as a backpack with the two included backpack straps and as a single-strap travel bag. Some well thought-out functions include internal mesh pockets (one of which that is also accessible from an outer pocket!), an insulated “cool” compartment, a matching laundry bag, a zip-around main compartment where you’ll find the four-square “Cubby” and MORE! Let’s get into it.

Best features

In order of the features I used, I’ll detail what’s important for you to know as you’re considering getting the Hideaway Carry-On duffel bag for your child.

The Cubby

The duffel comes outfitted with the “Cubby,” a pro-level organizer that automatically makes things easy to find. It also eliminates the needs for packing cubes, even though I use those a lot to pack light when traveling with a toddler.

Right away, I liked the satisfaction of packing clothing neatly rolled into the cubby compartments, and using the large space leftover for something I really needed to fit in this duffel: a 2.5 TOG winter sleep sack (in size 24-36 months, so it was big!).

Wait, I’m not done yet: the entire cubby section and main organizer compartment zips around to conceal it, so that everything stays neat during transport. It’s one of those things you’ve gotta see to believe.

Converts into a backpack

For backpack-style carrying, which may make sense for airport travel, or just heading from the car to the hotel when you have kids to juggle, there are two backpack straps. They’re detachable, too! And they stow nicely so you don’t have to look at them when they’re not in use.

Mesh pockets (one connects to an exterior pocket)

You’ll see that I packed stuffed animals in here. That made Elmo and Cookie Monster look a bit squished, so I kind of regretted it, but it made them really easy to find when I unpacked my daughter’s stuff on the trip.

Plus, the smaller mesh zipper pocket connects to an outer zipper pocket, for double access.

2 External buckle straps

These straps on the outside of the bag are what make this duffel look like a true “travel bag.” They add the perfect amount of ruggedness, but really: they’re incredibly useful. Want to tack on your baby carrier? Jam it in these. Need to strap a pool towel to the duffel? Buckle it in.

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Insulated compartment

Wow, cool (literally). This insulated compartment is just like the insulated mini cooler that came with our Getaway Bag from No Reception Club.

It has the same style and same use case: store some snacks during transit so that they don’t get cold, or store your baby or toddler’s bottle in there (note: it would have to be a narrow or small bottle, if you’ve already packed the duffel to the brim).

Magnetic side pockets (for storing the top handles)

I love a good magnetic-closure pocket on a travel bag. I think they’re the latest and greatest way to have neat closure, and they’re quite satisfying as well. I liked finding this as I was packing the Hideaway Duffel for my toddler.

Laundry sack included

Does this duffel bag just keep on giving? It comes with a matching laundry bag! I’m game for this!

Specs

Here’s a bit about the specific technical measurements of the Hideaway Duffel Bag.

Volume

This duffel bag fits 42 liters, which is a pretty close comparison to a piece of luggage like my Quince hard shell carry-on, which holds somewhere around 48 liters.

To me, with smaller-than-mine child-size clothing, but with things like accessories, required stuffed animals, some toys, a book, travel essentials like cups and snacks, it comes out to about the same feeling of what fits inside.

Dimensions

The duffel bag measures 22”x13”x9”. It’s about the size of our Peak Design Travel Backpack nearly to a tee. While that bag is a backpack by nature, this one’s a duffel (that converts into a backpack). In that way, we’re pretty accustomed to a travel bag with these dimensions.

As a duffel bag that is pretty structured and squared-off, I know that for me (as a petite mom, 5’2” tall) this comes out pretty big on me for any type of carrying. For Dan, it looks more standard. (And you’ll see on the No Reception Club website that the parent modeling the bag is a dad who is 6’0”.)

Weight

At 3.3 pounds when empty, because that’s what matters, the bag weighs a considerable amount before you add anything in. I compare this to backpacks I’ve reviewed recently, which hold a volume about 60% of this and weigh a pound less.

I will say though, that the ~3-pound weight of the bag means that it’s made from sturdy materials. And for the price of this bag, the materials mean business (in my experience). I think as long as Dan is the one carrying this bag for our family, we’ll be good.

Where it could use improvement

In all honesty, I found very little wrong with the Hideaway Duffel Bag for family travel.

It has compartments that work, pockets for everything and snazzy features like a side magnetic snap pocket for storing the top handles (but I thought I could put something easy-access in there like napkins!).

The only place for improvement is potentially the “cubby,” whereby it comes in four sections, but what could be helpful is if there was an option to only use two at a time. This could be useful for if you want to be using some packing cubes for your child, or for the family, and if you wanted more free space.

OK, update: this is my bad, as I didn’t know that the cubby could be further un-compartmentalized. The cubby is noted as being able to create “up to 5 sections” of organization, so in fact, there are ways to break it down.

The great news is that the “Cubby” is machine-washable. That’s helpful for someone like me who likes to wash as much as possible, after a trip.

Is it worth that price tag?

I showed this duffel bag to my mom, saying it was my daughter’s new “fancy kid luggage.” My mom was very impressed, saying wow, this duffel is like traveling with a wardrobe. It’s so organized, strong, durable, smart and nice to look at.

I think that because the Hideaway Carry-On Duffel is a step-it-up-a-notch duffel and it’s built by parents for parents, that it’s a special piece of luggage. If you compare it to other duffels we’ve reviewed like in our Patagonia Black Hole Duffel review, Quince duffel bag review or even our Peak Design travel duffel review, the No Reception Club duffel is vastly different.

It comes with the features you’ll want when you’re on a layover with your child’s carry-on, like that insulated bottle and snack pocket, the wet/dirty compartment and the stow-away backpack straps and hanging straps (sold separately).

Plus, having the matching Getaway Travel Diaper Bag and Dopp Kit is too good to be true.

What is No Reception Club?

No Reception Club is a family travel gear company founded by Gemma Gaisano Ng and Daniel Ng. They wanted to create the perfect luggage collection for families traveling with kids.

We were fortunate to first try out their exciting creation of the world’s best travel diaper bag (is it?), detailed at my No Reception Club travel diaper bag review. It worked out amazing when we traveled to Mexico with our 20-month-old toddler!

We then got our hands on the matching Sidekick diaper bag belt bag, and that was a cool comparison against the one we had been using, from Kibou. We’ve also tried the No Reception Club Dopp Kit, which has been handy (and needed) for our toddler’s toiletries, and matches all our other NRC gear.

Overall, the company only makes a few products, and that is because they make them well. All of No Reception Club’s products have been developed by industry experts (I watched their development video about this), tested with real kid stuff and used by parents all over the world now.

It’s exciting to be able to travel confidently, as a new parent, with the No Reception Club luggage and gear that matches the challenge of taking trips with little ones.