It’s time for another review! I told you, I’ve been buy a lot of shit for the cat. This time it’s for his carrier! Or as Amazon likes to call it, the “BAGLHER Pet Carrier Backpack, Ventilated Design, Pet Travel Backpack with Comfortable Shoulder Straps, Thicker Bottom Support, Two-Way Entrance Pet Carrier Backpack, Black“. I don’t know why it says black, because that’s obviously the grey one, but whatever. I got grey for $33.29. Here we go:
I just purchased this backpack for my new cat. I had two carriers from my previous cats. However, those carriers were obscenely expensive and had a ton of features I didn’t need. Like wheels. This made them heavy and awkward as hell. So I decided to retire them and find something new.
I settled on a backpack because I loved the idea of letting my cat peak his head out of the top. So I looked at a lot of backpacks. I had a few requirements:
* Lots of mesh for breathing. (No plastic. Sure that bubble is see-thru and maybe even cute until it gets filthy with nose prints.)
* I wanted pockets for keeping important things like rabies tags.
* I also decided I wanted the bottom to be solid all the way around. This way my cat could lay down and have privacy if they were scared.
I took looks into account as well and picked this one. It came just in time for me to pick up my new little guy! I’ve had it for almost a month now and it’s already been through the ringer! He’s been to the vet. I took him to the grocery store (because why not). We also took him for a walk outside and he pooped in it. So it’s also been washed! So I feel like I can really review this bag now.
PROS:
- Tons of mesh for airflow.
- The bottom is solid on all sides so my cat can lay down for privacy.
- Pockets! I didn’t even expect to use the two side mesh pockets. However, as you can see in my pictures – my wallet ended up in one and his medication from the vet ended up in the other.
- Three entryways. Both sides of this open up wide and the top opens. I find it easiest to stick him in the side.
- Washable! Did I mention he pooped in it? Well, I washed it and we’re fine! I was afraid the bottom liner would shrink. It’s just zippered over a piece of cardboard-ish material (see photo). I popped it in the hot wash and air dried it and it fit back perfectly. No shrinkage.
- My cat can sit up. I had never considered that my cat might want to sit up instead of being forced to hunch down as in a traditional carrier. But he really likes to sit up. He’s laid down in it once. But he vastly prefers to sit up. The top opening lets him look out perfectly.
- The fact that it’s taller than a normal carrier means I can buckle it in! See my photo to see my cat buckled up and sitting pretty ready to go for a ride in the car.
- Soft carrier. This is a must for me because I had a cat that would throw herself against the side of her carrier in a panic. So I always go for a soft carrier for cat safety.
- The smaller footprint makes carrying this around less awkward.
- It’s a backpack, so you can wear it hands free.
- I love the way the top opening rolls up and velcros in place. I leave this sitting around with the top open in case my cat wants to hop in it in to sleep.
- The top handle is nice and secure – thick and comfortable to hold. I like it for carrying. It’s not just for looks.
- It’s a good looking bag. I got the grey and don’t mind it sitting out in my house. It’s not ugly.
- It folds up for storage.
CONS:
- Not super high quality. You get what you pay for and this is insanely inexpensive. That means your gonna sacrifice a bit on quality. In this case the bottom is only cardboard and the zippers are not exceptional.
- Yeah, that harness clip is worthless. I had hopes of buckling in my cat so I could open the top for him to poke his head out. Not gonna happen. The harness clip is on a long tether and attached to the top of the shoulder straps. Meaning your cat can easily and comfortably get out and sit beside this thing. I’m actually contemplating cutting if off and sewing a shorter length to the middle or bottom of the bag.
- It’s a bit small. The dimensions are 12″L x 10″W x 15.5″H. So that means the bottom pad is only 12” x 10”. My cat can curl up in there – but he’s only 9.5lbs. I’m afraid he might outgrow this. For the price, that’s fine. However, be warned – no medium or large cats. Only small cats.
- I wish it had support around the sides. Some bags have steel support to keep their shape. This does not. So sometimes when wearing it as a backpack, the top can scrunch and take away some of the head room.
- In practice, when walking with this as a backpack, there’s a lot of swaying for the pet inside. We found that my large hips swing a bit too much so we switched to my very slender husband for the walk. Even then he was swaying back and forth a good bit.
SUMMARY:
I’m super happy with this purchase. I gave it 4 stars because it is by no means perfect. I probably won’t be using the backpack feature anymore. However, I like the taller bag with a smaller foot print. It’s easier to carry and buckle in the car. Also my cat likes to sit up and see what’s going on. Love all the mesh and various entry ways. Already had to clean up a worst-case-scenario and it’s still as good as new!
100% worth the price. One of my friends already asked him to send him the link so he could purchase one.
Yes, that’s a gratuitous tattoo shot. You’ll survive.