Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Steven Thelin photo
Spain, Madrid
1 Level
671 Review
49 Karma

Review on CleverMade Collapsible Laundry Basket - 2 Pack Of Large Foldable Hamper Bags With Handles by Steven Thelin

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Good bag . . . except that it collapses far too easily

I bought this for an admittedly unintended purpose, which I think is relevant but not critcal to this review. I recently installed a Seahorse SE920 protective case on my ebike for use as a trunk. I love that it is durable, lockable, and waterproof, but it’s clamshell design means that it’s fairly short compared to the rear basket I used before. I bought this collapsible bag so that for some grocery trips or rare hauls (e.g. if I needed to carry several packages) I could easily stack things high with less risk of them tipping or spilling out of the case. It’s lightweight, collapsible design means that I can keep it in the trunk all the time if I want to, so that I have it for unexpected occassions.My feelings after seeing it in person are mixed. On the one hand, it fits in the case’s footprint almost perfectly, wasting only a bit of space around the edges; it collapses and expands very quickly (but too easily, as I’ll get to in a second); the bottom and sides seem rather sturdy overall; and it doesn’t take up very much space in the trunk when collapsed.My issue is with just how extremely easily the bag collapses under a couple conditions:1) you can push on the corners and the wider of the faces (from the outside in) without collapsing the bag, but it only takes the slightest pressure, almost a mere touch, on one of the narrower outside faces to trigger the collapse mechanism; I worry that this might make it finnicky in real-world use2) worse, the bag collapses when moderate pressure is applied to the wider faces of the bag from the inside out. What this means in practice is that when I put a couple somewhat bulky grocery bags inside to test it, the outward pressure of the bags triggered the collapse mechanism—that’s not a good sign for increasing my hauling capacity. I suppose the good news is that it only collapsed on one side and not all the way down to bottom? With some adjustment, I could fit the grocery bags without causing immediate collapse, but the pickiness of the arrangement makes me nervous.I haven’t tested the bag for a real world haul yet, and I feel it could still be my best option in an urgent situation, so I may keep it, but I’m definitely considering a return. I know my use is a bit atypical, but I feel this bag would be greatly improved, even for the intended purpose, with the simple addition of a small button to unlock the collapse mechanism. As-is, I find myself wondering why the aggregated rating for this product is so high.

Pros
  • ‎7070-MBLK-GREY2PK
Cons
  • The paint on the handles chips easily and looks unsightly