Customer Reviews

Kiva Key Chain Tote

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I took this bag with me on a recent trip to Italy. I used it every day and found it really indispensable, so much so that I bought another when I came home. In Italy the grocery stores charge for nags, or give you a discount for bringing your own...so the bag paid for itself on my first trip!

It is small and the fabric is thin, as others have noted; but you would be surprised at how strong it is, and how much it holds.

When the bag is stowed in its' pocket it's around 1 1/2 x 3 inches, and weighs practically nothing. It is ideal for travel, when you find yourself carrying all kinds of things, and space and weight mean a lot more.

I know I will want to have one with me whenever I travel, or go to a farmers' market, or flea market...I can think of lots of occasions where it would be useful (which is why I want 2).

I really like this bag and I own four of them. This is a collapsible bag that folds down into a pocket about half the size of a fist. My wife and I keep them in our cars in case we buy something and want to use reusable bags. As a result, we almost never use disposable plastic bags anymore. For normal grocery shopping we use canvas bags but for quick shopping trips they are great!

The material is very thin but very strong. It has to be thin to fold-up very small. After years of use I have not teared or punctured a bag. I imagine this is possible if something sharp and poky were carried in it but most bags would have the same issue. (I haven't yet ripped them after many trips to Home Depot.) The handles are strong. The bag material is still high quality when comparing bags purchased years ago and now.

There is little form to the bag and zero padding since it is so thin. Folding it up is easy. Either stuff or fold it into the pocket and zip. After unfolding the bag it will have a wrinkled appearance like in the product picture.

I use the bags all of the time and plan to buy them for family for an eco-friendly gift. (I just wish Amazon carried them in black.)

Light weight bag to take anywhere. Very helpful for carrying lots of small purchases. Great gift idea.

I actually received *two* bags in my package! I think they've changed the fabric: the tag inside mine says "100% polyester" - I don't think that's the same as rip-stop nylon. The bag feels like it's made of heavy plastic. Maybe they have started using cheaper fabric, and doubled how many bags you get?

I agree with the other reviewers about the convenience of this tote. As long as you pay attention when you first unpack it, it's pretty easy to stash back in the bag.

I started with the black one I purchased at Whole Foods in Seattle. Wow! What a wonderfully useful thing! Folded, it clips to my laptop bag, ready to handle any unexpected needs - grocery trips, extra stuff to carry home from work, etc.

A couple of years later, I found 2 more on closeout at Bed Bath and Beyond. Snapped them both up. Now I have three which I often chain together and attach to my PC bag or whatever.

I will take no plane trip without them (who knows what Mom will insist I take home?). I won't go grocery shopping without them.

They have been more than useful at work when I have to tote a bunch of stuff from place A to B.

The only tricks (in my humble opinion) are these:

Trust in the force. These are 10x more durable than the thin fabric suggests. You won't believe what you can put in there.

Take a few minutes to practice the fold-up. The trick is to not get the fabric caught in the zipper. The first couple of times feels odd. Once you get the process nailed, it's super easy.

Every so often, I can't find one of my three. Panic ensues. OK, so it's just a bag. But WHAT a BAG!

To me these are a 'can't live without'...

Every time I bring this bag into my local Trader Joe's to pack groceries, the cashier and I are always shocked at how much it holds. Just when we think it's full, we add another product. And when I swear that it's going to rip from the heavy load it makes it into the house yet again. I give these away as stocking stuff gifts and everyone seems to love them. Fits great in my purse or car.

This item is very durable, light and small. Perfect for an extra tote for shopping

Overall I like this product. It's small when folded, easy to transport, and actually not that hard to refold.

As stated in another review, the fabric is VERY thin, so it does not work that well for bulky objects, e.g. large cameras as they will misshape the bag and make it look kind of funny.

It is great for carrying towels and etc. to the beach, especially when you can zip your keys up inside the pouch that becomes a little pocket when the bag is open. The key ring ending up inside the pocket means they're also ATTACHED to the bag so you don't lose them in the sand somewhere if you open the pocket.

I got the lime color and felt kind of uncomfortable and conspicuous carrying the bag anywhere other than the beach as it looked a teeny bit too large and thin to be a shopping tote, was REALLY bright and kind of misshapen depending on the contents. It was awesome as an instant beach bag though, and just the right size for holding towels and other stuff. (The bag also looks better with towels inside to "shape" it.)


So, for a general vacation or safari to deepest Africa, I'd skip it. But if your vacation involves the beach, it's great as a packing light/instant beach bag.

This tote bag is strong and so easy to carry in my purse for when it is needed. It's also washable and folds up quickly to the size of my fist. Makes a great little gift for anyone who goes shopping or for traveling.

I bought several of these in 2003. Every last one of them is still in regular use: I take them with me every time I go anywhere that I'll need a tote bag (groceries, drug store, hardware, even clothing stores; or to the beach or any kind of trip).

They're lightweight, yet very strong; I've regularly loaded them up with heavy items like tools, milk cartons or even wine bottles (but wrap the latter so they don't clink together and break). They're easy to fold back up into their little pocket, but you can just stuff them in any old way if you want. The size is perfect; it's hard for grocery clerks to overload them, yet they carry a lot of stuff; they're deep enough to even support a baguette so it doesn't fall out. When they're full, they tend to stay upright; I don't find the apples all over the trunk like I have with grocery plastic bags. They wash up easily and dry quickly, and don't stain very easily. Plus, you can put your car keys in the pocket while you're shopping.

I also have their duffel bag, which I use for the gym and for travel. It's every bit as useful, strong and light as these are. After six years of daily use and being banged around in the trunk of the car, all but one of these bags still looks like new, and the one just has a couple of tiny holes in the bottom. The holes have been there for a couple of years, and haven't frayed, expanded, or been any problem other than cosmetic. One other entertaining benefit: you will impress almost every grocery clerk you encounter when you whip these out and open them up. Clerks like them because they're easier to fill than the regular grocery bags.

Oh, and they're cheap and even pretty good looking. These things are so perfect, they should be illegal or fattening!