How to Pick a Breast Pump Bag (5 Things to Check)
Pumping at work · Buyer's guide
Most pump bags are a tote with a logo on it. A few are built for what pumping at work actually involves: cold milk, wet parts, a laptop, and getting out the door with your hands full. Here are the five things I check before I'd call a bag a pump bag, written from years of designing them.
When I started Idaho Jones, I'd already done the thing every pumping mom does: bought a "pump bag" online, then spent the next week stuffing a separate cooler, a ziplock for wet parts, and my laptop into a bag that wasn't shaped to hold any of it. The bag wasn't the problem. The checklist I bought it with was.
So here's the checklist I wish I'd had. Run any bag you're considering through these five. If it misses on two or more, keep looking.
1. A way to keep milk cold
Your milk needs to stay cold from your last session until you're home, and it shouldn't ride loose next to your laptop charger with no cold plan at all. There are two good versions of this. One is a milk pocket that's insulated on its own. The other is a dedicated pocket sized to fit a milk cooler bag or a chiller like the Ceres Chill. Either works, so long as the bag has actually thought about where cold milk goes.
2. A plan for wet pump parts
Pump parts come out wet, and they shouldn't touch your clean clothes or your work things. Here's the honest part: most pump bags, ours included, don't build a wet/dry compartment into the bag itself, and that's on purpose. A separate wet/dry bag does the job better, because it lifts out to rinse and dry instead of leaving damp lining inside your main bag. So the thing to check isn't whether the bag is a wet/dry bag, it's whether it has room to hold one. (For what it's worth, our Robin is the piece I designed to live inside these bags and corral the wet parts.)
3. A laptop slot
If you're carrying a pump to work, you're almost certainly carrying a laptop too. One bag that holds both means you're not juggling two on the train or the school run. A padded sleeve that fits a 13" to 15" laptop turns your pump bag into the only bag you grab in the morning.
4. A structured shape that stands up on its own
This one sounds minor and isn't. A soft, slouchy bag collapses the moment you set it down, so everything inside shifts and you're digging. A structured bag holds its shape, keeps your pockets where you put them, and lets you find a flange without unpacking the whole thing in the mothers' room. Structure is what separates an organized bag from a nice-looking sack.
5. A carry style that matches your commute
The best bag is the one you'll actually carry every day. If you walk, bike, or have a long commute, a backpack keeps your hands and shoulders free. If you want something that reads as "work bag, not pump bag" in a meeting, a tote is the move. And if your gear is lighter, a compact backpack does the job without the bulk. Pick for how you move, not just how it looks in the photo.
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The two of ours I'd point you to
Both are built to carry your pump, milk, and work things together, and both have room to hold a wet/dry bag and a cooler. The choice between them is really backpack or tote.
See the whole bag collection →
The short version
A cold plan for your milk. Room for a wet/dry bag. A laptop slot. A shape that stands up. A carry style that fits your day. Five things. If a bag has all five, the rest is just picking your color. If you're stuck between Chertsey and Ellerby, hit reply on any email from me, it comes straight to my inbox and I'll tell you which one I'd carry.
Ece x
Founder, Idaho Jones
