Travel by air these days, and I would imagine in many an airport terminal you will spy little Trunkis, probably with a 3-6 year old perched on them, being pulled along being a parent or older sibling and provoking a few smiles and the odd tut from a passenger who thinks they are going to get ridden into. If you haven't seen one the Trunki is a hand luggage sized hard plastic case that is designed to be used as a ride on as well as a suitcase. It's a clever idea that famously wasn't chosen on "Dragon's Den" but which seems to have become a very popular product. and which comes in many varied forums, this being the entry level suitcase,it's called Trixie when it's in pink, but is identical to the Terrence case, both of which can be seen in all their glory with children riding them on the very flash (in both senses of the word) www.trunki.com.
The case is one of my daughter's most prized possessions that has been used on one foreign holiday and many a smaller trip. On balance, it's something I would recommend for the age three to six year olds for whom it is designed, but with some reservations. The Trunki is a very good, immediately likeable product that could be just that little better than it is.
What you need to know:
This particular case is the same size as all the cases in the range, no matter what their design. At 46 x 20.5 x 31 cm exactly and with 18 litres capacity it's a good hand luggage size and we have found that it fits easily into the hand luggage guides in airports, and perhaps more importantly into the overhead lockers on planes with ease.
The plastic the case is made of is very solid, and we have the newest model so it has an internal carry pouch (pencil case size) and also straps to hold things secure on one side. There's also an external strap, which you can see the little girl pulling the case along with in the product photo that ciao have put above in it's unclipped position. It but also clips onto hoops on either side of the case in order that it can be used to carry the case. It is adjustable by length and also incorporates two clever features, an id label and also a "key" which can be used to lock the clips on the side (in the pictures that's the bit that looks like the case's nose). The full specifications and explanations of what the newest features are can be found in all their glory at this link:
http://www.trunki.co.uk/upload/content/files/trunki_trio_spec.pdf
I would have to say that marketing and image wise Magmatic, the company who came up with the Trunki idea have done a sterling job - but is it any good? Well yes, and no.
To start with the good, the first positive about this case, and probably the most important thing is that as soon as my daughter saw it she fell in love with it. This was for several reasons I think. As it is relatively light (1.7kg) she can carry it herself, and she instantly liked the idea of being able to sit on it, at aged 4, nearly 5, she is a bit big for ride on toys but that doesn't seem to worry her at all.
She really seems to like the fact that you can hold onto the horns and is happy either propelling herself along with her feet or being pulled by a rather over-enthusiastic sister, or by ourselves, her parents.
We find the strap is strong enough to pull her along easily on airport terminal floors, though I wouldn't think it is designed for pulling on pavements in all honesty. As there is an anti-topple part to the case at the bottom we have found that she is not prone to toppling off, it's not an easy item to steer but as a ride on it works well. The lock feature (which I've included in a separate photo so you can see it up close) functions well, though it would be easy enough to open the case without a key, and I'm not sure it's a very necessary feature, though perhaps that is as I don't trust my 4 year old to carry anything of value!
Though the interior is not copious by any means - I've included a dvd case in my photo to give you some idea of scale, here too the case works well, on our most recent 'plane trip we found we could fit most of her clothes for a short stay and a fair few toys into the case. The wheels do take up a fair bit of space in the inside as you can probably see from my photo, and make it a slightly strange shape to pack but overall it's fine .
So, great idea, my child loves it, so why isn't it quite a 5 star product?
Though the Trunki is a good product, easy on the eye, and has child appeal, I think it could be a bit better than it actually is.
My first slight gripe is with the pricing of this item, you can expect to pay £29.99 or so, which is quite a lot of money for a child's item and also the fact that the case I bought was mis-labelled in my opinion has not impressed me.
Let me explain:
When carrying the case (that's me, not my child), I tend to use the smaller handle. On the case that I bought the packaging proudly proclaimed "now with two handles" and pictured a case with, two handles. When I opened up the wrap around packaging I was, then, rather surprised to find that there is in fact only one handle. Unfortunately I found out the hard way that there are clearly a few issues with quality control or labelling where this company is concerned as an email enquiry lead to the company saying the packaging was a "mistake" and not offering to do anything about it - if you want 2 handles you have to pay another tenner for one of their other cases apparently. This seems a pretty big error to have made in all honesty and I didn't find the customer service great for a child's item, and I would have found the case easier to carry I think if it had the two handles as billed. They did say that they had sent "stickers" to the retailers stocking the item to put over the misleading labelling, but there wasn't one on my case when I bought it. Having since checked on the Trunki website where they have a promise - their words not mine, I'm all the more unimpressed, they didn't listen to me when I contacted them they just fobbed me off in all honesty, having promised:
" to always...
Put children first. (And fun second!)
Make travel as enjoyable as possible
Comply to the highest safety standards
Be kind to the environment.
Listen to our customers
Eat our greens"
I don't think there is any point whatsoever in putting promises on a website, however pretty and witty when at the first hint of needing customer service, I, the customer, was left deeply unimpressed.
That said I can *almost* forgive the case the labelling issue, and Trunki *do* put children first, I suppose...but overall at £30 I do think it could be better made than it is.
The wheels are very flimsy looking and just moulded plastic, to be fair they haven't broken, yet, but they could be better, you can probably see from the close up that really they aren't that thick. Another issue is with the actual fastening for the case, it is, it has to be said, inexplicably difficult for children and actually even adults to open and close. This is undeniably a negative as far as this case goes. Added to his there's something inside which is labelled as being a "secret compartment" which I can find no use for, and the interior strap is incredibly hard to open and close due to the way it clips together. Also, and without being picky, the top of the case when closed isn't exactly flush and just doesn't look like it fits very well. The plastic the case is made of is robust enough, but it's not particularly easy to open and close, which is a fundamental function as far as cases go in my opinion.
In Conclusion to Buy or not to Buy:
Overall then, a case that is adored by my child - it's the first thing she reaches for on any trip, large or small though I think will be outgrown in less than 2 years as once you can no longer ride on it I should think part of its appeal will go. As you have probably guessed, given my experience with Trunki Customer Service, and the issues that I have raised, it's probably much less loved by me, the person who actually bought it.
A combination of small niggles, the feeling that fundamentally it wasn't labelled correctly, that when I pointed this out politely I wasn't listened to by any stretch of the imagination, and the inescapable fact that it's rather expensive for what it is has kind of taken the shine off it for me. Obviously none of this matters to my daughter who still, bless her, thinks her Trunki is the best thing since sliced bread.
To sum up, the Trunki, or more exactly this exact one, in my experience, is a product that is great design- idea and looks wise, appealing as a concept, but in reality could be better than it actually is - that said I think you would be hard pushed to find a 3 year old who wouldn't want one.
Recommended then, begrudgingly.
A shorter version of this review in my name on dooyoo
*disclaimer* - when owning a Trunki please be aware of other adults in airports who may not want to have your little darlings drive, or be driven into them, DO smile nicely at all the other Trunki owners but don't use them inconsiderately. We don't - honest.
Taken for a Ride? 
I loved the idea of this when it was on dragon's den.