Trunki Ride-On Suitcase Review: Ride-on Toy and Suitcase

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Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

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Trunki Ride-On Suitcase Review

Price and Where to Buy the Trunki Ride-On Suitcase: $53 to $68 on Trunki.com

Pros: Kids think it’s a ride-on toy, which offers hours of in-airport amusement. It’s fairly sturdy, doesn’t tip easily, and has horn-like handles for gripping. In addition to handles, it has an over-the-shoulder carrying strap, which can be repurposed—in a way not mentioned in the instructions—as a towing strap.

Though it’s small, it fits a good amount of children’s clothing. I packed five days of pants, jeans, long-sleeve shirts, sweaters, and other necessities for a four-year old and still had room for a toothbrush and a light jacket. As a carry-on, it could fit a significant number of books, art supplies, stuffed animals, and other kid carry-on musts. It’s small enough that from about three years old, a child could probably get it through the airport. (Though you know at some point, you’re going to be lugging it for them. And they will probably be crying.)

Cons: The clasps are hard for small hands to open—this could be seen as a pro or a con, depending on the situation. It’s fairly small, and would max out carrying clothing for one kid. Because it’s hard-sided, it doesn’t tolerate over packing, and simply won’t close when it has exceeded its capacity.

How the Trunki Ride-On Suitcase Rates

Usefulness: 9/10. The combination of toy and suitcase is genius, and can provide entertainment during layovers, and other kid-challenging travel delays.
Value: 10/10. At $40, it’s a deal that delivers both suitcase functionality and toy entertainment value.
Durability: 9/10. A bag kids can ride on is essentially pretty durable, but Trunki takes it the extra step, with a design that makes it easy to replace parts and a promise to always try to repair any broken part on a Trunki.
Cool Factor: 10/10. If you’re in the target demographic, there is no cooler suitcase.

Final Verdict: Trunki has basically become a pet for the young product testers in my house. They pull it around, ride on it, and hide things inside of it. It seems best for kids between two and about six—younger than two and their legs aren’t long enough; older than about six and it loses its cool value.

Editor’s Note: Reviews are based on usefulness, portability, durability, value, and “cool factor.” Some review products are sent to us free of charge and with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions, positive and negative, and will never accept compensation to review a product. If you have any questions or comments concerning our reviews, or would like to suggest a product for review, please email us at editor@smartertravel.com.

(Photo: Trunki)

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