Back to School with Smiggle Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
My two girls (ages 7 and 10) are both massive ‘Smigglets’ – they can’t get enough of the stuff, and it always features very heavily in Christmas and birthday lists. For Christmas and birthdays, they tend to ask for the cute and funky stationery, pencil cases and gift-type items (my eldest’s Smiggle jewellery box is one of her most treasure possessions), but the other time of year that the “can we go to Smiggle?” cries are particularly loud is during the school holidays! The thought of kitting themselves out with some of the super cool and bright Smiggle offerings actually sends them giddy!
Normally, I’m not one for letting them have free reign on stuff like this, and I do usually insist that they go sensible and functional, because I like stuff that is built to last and prefer substance over style. But with the Smiggle stuff, we have always found that you actually get both, so this year, they have some Smiggle stuff to go back to school in September with! You would think they had won the lottery when they saw it – they were so excited! We were sent backpacks, pencil cases, drinks bottles and lunchtime stuff.
Backpacks
- Explore Attachable Backpack – Pink
- Seek Reflective Access Backpack – Coral
The girls were sent a backpack each – I let them choose which one they would like, and fortunately, they each chose a different one! My eldest went for the Explore Attachable Backpack in pink (RRP: £34), mainly because of the Eiffel Tower on the front – she is really keen on all things French at the moment, and was really quite enchanted with the gorgeous pattern. The backpack is a subtle, pale pink colour and it has four zipable compartments as well as two pockets on each side of the backpack. It has lovely, well-padded and fully adjustable straps, which is important as the kids get older and are carrying heavier and heavier stuff into school with them. The other things that’s really important if they’re carrying heavy things around with them is the quality of the materials and stitching, and both on this bag really are very good. Throughout the bag, the stitching is good and strong, and the zips are super-smooth and easy for little fingers to use.
Inside the main compartment, the bag is split into two – one of the sides is designed specifically to carry a laptop of up to 15”, which is great as once my daughter starts high school, she will likely be taking her laptop to her friends’ house to do her homework. The bag also has little clips on the side – these are specially designed for the matching lunch box (available separately) to clip onto, meaning that you don’t need extra hands to carry a packed lunch into school.
This is a brilliant rucksack – it is plenty big enough for everything your child would need for either high school or primary school, it is well constructed and I am sure that it is built to last. There is plenty of space for all of their things, as well as the additional pockets and compartments for storing drinks bottles and other things that they might want to keep quickly at hand – deodorant, a purse or a bus pass for example. It is available in a number of different colours or patterns to appeal to boys or girls, and all of the options have matching pencil cases, lunchboxes, drinks bottles and more available too.
My youngest daughter chose the Seek Reflective Access Backpack in Coral (RRP: £34). My youngest liked this one because she thought the coral colour looked really great with the lilac accent colour, and she loved the pattern – a coral camouflage pattern with lots of sweet treats (ice-creams, doughnuts and more) concealed in the camouflage. This one is designed slightly differently to the other one, but is a similar size so offers exactly the same levels of practicality. This one has three compartments, plus the two drinks packets at the side. The same as the other one, the main compartment is also split into two, with one of the sides accommodating a 15” laptop. The main compartment on the Seek backpack is accessed via a double-zipped flap on the top, which we thought was a little unusual and cool.
There is also reflective piping throughout the backpack (front and back), which I think is always good to see as when she’s walking home on dark winter afternoons, it’s good to know that she’ll be visible. I also really liked the chest-strap on this backpack (the explorer doesn’t have it) – my youngest daughter has a very narrow frame, so can sometimes find that backpacks slip down her shoulders. The shoulder-strap mean that this shouldn’t happen, so she should be able to balance the load better and hopefully be less annoyed by it slipping.
Just like the Explorer, the Seek is available in a range of colours and patterns, and there are plenty of other items in the range to coordinate with it. Both backpacks have a well-sewn in hook for hanging on a coat peg as well as space inside to write their address and contact details should the bags go missing. I am really pleased with both the quality and practicality of both of the backpacks, and the girls feel like the bees’ knees with them, which is also great to see!
Pencil Cases
- Explore Post Pencil Case – Pink
- Explore Post Pencil Case – Mix
We were sent two Explore Post pencil cases to try out (RRP: £12.50) – both of them identical but for the patterns. My eldest snaffled the pink one so that she would have one to match her French-themed backpack, whilst my youngest was delighted with a very vibrant mix animal-print themed multi-coloured one.
The quality of the pencil cases is very good – they feel substantial and well put together – I can’t see them losing their shape with daily use. They look like an envelope or letter, with a triangular envelope-style front for popping their small bits in and a much larger main compartment that is also accessed via a zip.
There is space on the back for your child to put their name, and I particularly liked how this was themed into the envelope design and it looks like the address. There is loads of room in there for almost anything they would need to take to school with them – you could easily fit pens, pencils, mathematical instruments and colouring pencils into it without stretching it.
The pencil cases are made of polyurethane, so they should wear well without getting dirty or stained, and if they do get a little grubby in the bottom of a schoolbag, they will easily wipe clean. The kids think these are fabulous and incredibly cool – they’re already on the lookout for some equally cool stationery to fill them with!
Lunchtime Stuff
- Explore Drinks Bottle – Pink
- Seek Drinks Bottle – Coral
- Super Sandwich Container
- 4-in-1 Container Nest
- Happy Snack N Stack Containers
Finally, we were sent water bottles and other bits and pieces for lunchtime. The water bottles (RRP: £8.50) that we received matched the girls’ school bags, so it was a no-brainer as to who was having which one! The water bottles each fit perfectly into the external side pockets on the school bags, so having ones that match is especially cool.
The Explore bottle is the one that matches the pink, French-themed rucksack. It has a 650 ml capacity, which is plenty to last the kids for lunch as well as the walk home too. The bottle itself is clear Tritan (ultra-strong) plastic, is BPA free and is a flip-top straw design. The top is lilac and pink, and matches the backpack perfectly.
The Seek bottle seems to be essentially the same bottle, but rather than being made from a clear Tritan plastic with a print, this one is a translucent coral colour, with the cool camo-sweet treat pattern printed around it. The flip-top spout is coral and lilac, and just like the other, it is made from super-strong Tritan plastic and is BPA free.
The kids loved these bottles; the flip-top straw style is especially popular in our house and they loved these ones. The plastic really is very strong and even though we have taken them out several times since we got them, they have remained scratch-free and still look great. They have also been completely leak-proof, which I think is especially important if they are to be kept in the same bag as schoolbooks and a laptop! They’re really easy to wash – they do need to be hand-washed, presumably to protect the pattern.
We were also sent a super sandwich container in lilac and pink (RRP: £5). It’s a really simple little box, designed especially to pop a single sandwich in and remove the need for single-use sandwich bags. It is BPA-free, and has funky little rubberized pink icons on the lilac box. It’s so small and light, it’s ideal for popping into a larger lunch bag, to keep your sandwiches from being squashed, and it closes with a secure little clip on the side and is a hinged design. We are trying to reduce our use of single-use plastic, so this will be great.
We were also sent a 4-in-1 nest set of plastic lunch containers (RRP: £8.50). These sit inside each other like a Russian doll and are lovely pastel colours with a cool rainbows and unicorn print. It is also available in a football and skateboard theme, in case unicorns aren’t quite your child’s thing! The nest design means that after your child has had their lunch, they can pack the boxes away inside each other, saving a considerable amount of space.
The final item we were sent was 4 Happy Snack N Stack Containers (RRP: £5) – a stacking set of little pots – they each sit on top of each other in a totem-pole style. These are a really clever little idea, and are really useful for if the kids want little dip-pots with their lunch. We have tried ours with hummus and carrot sticks, as well as spiralised cucumber, cashew nuts and even yoghurt out of a larger pot. The kids think this is super-nifty and love using it!
We have loved trying out some of Smiggle’s Back to School products. We thought that the quality of them all were great, as was the practicality. It’s a massive bonus if the kids like their school products, as it gets them excited about going in, so they have all been a massive winner on all fronts for us!
Rating: 5/5
For more information, to find your nearest Smiggle store or to buy online visit www.smiggle.co.uk.
COMPETITION TIME: For your chance to win a Smiggle Back to School bundle consisting of a backpack, pencil case and ruler stationery set visit our competition page here. Closing date 11 August 2019 (Midnight).