My AllPakt Review

Ok!  We've had some time to play around with our AllPakt and the votes are in!!

First Things First- What is an AllPakt?:
An AllPakt is a durable and reusable kid-sized backpack that's filled with travel-friendly toys, activities and accessories road-tested and approved by road warrior parents!  The company's sole mission is to bring peace to parents and joy to kids en route to family vacations.  Side note: this idea started in mexico...at a swim up bar...over a margarita.  I mean, how can the idea NOT be genius with that sort of foundation?!

Initial Thoughts:

Overall, I love the concept of this bag!  My son was first drawn to the sculpting clay (ok, and I'll admit that that item didn't even make it to the car), but all of the other goodies really kept his attention.  It helped because many of the items were new to him- and I think THAT's the key with the AllPakt.  An argument could be made that you could just throw current toys and activities in a bag and call it a day, but what really keeps the kids engaged are new and shiny toys they haven't yet played with. 

Two thumbs up for our AllPakt!

Part of the draw of this bag is the excitement of getting a travel pack that builds up the enthusiasm of going on a trip.  Sure, all items can be purchased on their own (and with my rough calculations that would be close to $65* making the AllPakt a steal!), but I see my AllPakt package in the same way I see those "Sealed With A Kiss" packages (you know the ones that I never received at summer camp....thanks Mom...  Insert side eye).  It's a travel care package for your kiddo that benefits parents too by keeping kids busy while on the road!  I could easily see this becoming a travel tradition in the Brochu household!

I also liked that the backpack was of good durable quality.  Zippers seem sturdy and I can see my son using the bag long after he's moved on from the goodies inside.

Honest Baby Wipes were included.  I am a wipe enthusiast (Wet Ones, Kirlands, Pampers...you name it).  I don't necessarily have a preference- I just prefer to have wipes within a sticky arm's reach at all times.  With toddlers, you can never have enough!  So the Honest Wipes were a nice touch in my honest (mom) opinion (couldn't' help myself).

While we loved the idea overall, there were a few things I could have done without.  Check out my breakdown by item below!


Thoughts by item: 

Magnetic Board with Magnets- I was surprised at how long my son played with this.  He even wanted to take it from the car to play with in the house.  The magnets diminished the amount of "Mom can you pick that up" requests and I liked that this toy stirred his imaginative play talents.  Ours was dino themed and we happen to be obsessed with Dino's in this house (ICYMI- dino jewelry for mom too :)

Plush Hand Puppet- eh, take it or leave it.  It's cute and fun.  But really only provided a few minutes of silliness between me and my son.  That might say something about the other stuff in the bag- too many other really neat goodies to be sidetracked by a hand puppet.

Doodle Pad- This is perfect for my four year old.  He is learning his letters and loves to write.  He also loves doodling and drawing.

Stackable Crayons- Smart! The anti-roll feature is just genius when it comes to travel crayons.  Ours were lego themed so provided both coloring and construction entertainment.

Bilingual Book- I am all about the bilingualism (we happen to be pushing French in this house- and by "we" I mean my husband and kids since I do not parle the francais).  I think any book would do but I guess it's always good to expose our kids to other languages.  Fortunately I happen to know a little espanol so was able to provide a stirring rendition of Jorge el Curioso.

Lap Tray- This was good.  Small, but it worked.  It provided a decent surface for coloring.  The edge around the trey helped prevent things from falling off which was significantly easier for my son to manage than the clipboard we had been using.

Wikki Stix- I could probably do without these.  My son lost interest in these pretty quickly.  My husband played a bit with them to show my son how he could sculpt and manipulate the stix to make funny shapes, but they still didn't keep my son's interest and I continue to find them crumbled on the floor or in the playroom.

Sculpting Clay- My son loves clay and Play-Doh so he was instantly drawn to this item first.  My only complaint, it would be better if this was stored in a reusable container (vs. the foil wrap it came in).  I think the Play-Doh mini's would be a perfect swap.  Otherwise, it's hard to reseal and pack back up into the bag (then again, as I write this, I wonder if maybe the foil was resealable and we just didn't notice it in our zeal to get it open....unfortunately we have already tossed the packaging and the clay because it dried out).

CubeBot- My son thought this was neat but it may have been a little sophisticated for him.  He didn't really understand what to do with it and tossed it to the side to play with the other items.

Honest Travel Wipes- Always a win.

Our Surprise- Wipeable Activity Cards- Super Smart and I will definitely keep these on hand (except, maybe I'll hand them out one at a time so I don't have to pick up 100 cards off the back of the car again...and again!).  These little activity cards are genius and include mazes and little scribble activities.

So speaking of handing out items one-by-one, that's probably the best way to handle the AllPakt.  I found that my son was over stimulated with all of the options- sort of like when he opens a bunch of gifts for his birthday or holiday.  He is excited to play with each toy but eager to move on to the next. For the sake of making the most of a long car ride or flight, best to spread them out and encourage your child to really engage with each activity before moving on to the next.

Are you interested in an AllPakt- Take advantage of the Friends & Family Special Offer- $5 off with promo code TU1D5LB

Important notes:
I received our complimentary AllPakt in return for a fair and honest review
*My calculations are cursory at best!  I did a quick Amazon search and ballparked prices when exact items weren't available.  I also added on a $5 "surprise" toy charge.